Feeding and Nutrition :: what kind and brand of pellets do you recommend?

[aznxturtxlover]

hm. me and my sis just found out that we had bought boot-legged turtle food - NUTRIFIN. so now we dont know what kind to get. so could you guys leave us some suggestions

**how do you tell how old they are btw?

[DanielRES1180]

Do you mean the bootlegged Nutrafin with the typos? Reptomin is a pretty decent meal, but turtles also need veggies and live plants as well as fish and what not, there are too many to list on this post, check the sticky in the Feeding and Nutrition forum. See the sticky here http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5.

You can't really tell how old a baby turtle is. Since you bought the turtles as hatchlings, they're maybe one to two weeks old.

[TNTurtles]

For my hatchlings i use zoomed aquatic turtle food. I've heard reptomin is good too.

Yea, you cant really tell exactly how old a turtle is unless you are there when it hatches. The day I bought my hatchling i consider as its bday for me. I'm sure they were only a week or 2 old when i bought them but there is never a sure way to know.

[missibsu]

I also use the zoo med pellets. I've never had a problem with them. Also, don't neglect to provide veggies as they get a little bit bigger. The sooner the veggies are provided, the easier it will be for them to adapt to them.

[aznxturtxlover]

*THX*

yea, i mean the nutrafin w/ the typos

i looked at the sticky, but if i feed them live prey, do i have to give them a variety? cuz i'll try to feed them fish, but all the other live prey just sounded too disgusting.

and for the cuttlebone~ i bought some~ do you just put it in the tank where they live in? (me and my sis just scrape some powder in it) or would you recommend putting it in the tank where they eat?
**also, would you recommend powder or chunks, and does it really matter

[aznxturtxlover]

thx for all the recommendations everyone!! ^.^

[marisa]

For babies, I like Reptomin Baby (similar to regular Reptomin, but contains a bit less protein, a bit more calcium)--- the size is geared to smaller turtles.

If you put in some cuttlebone, make the pieces small (not more than head size)--easier for little turtles to bite. I also try to make the pieces thin so they break more easily.

[missibsu]

What do you mean by putting it in the tank where they eat? Generally there should be enough water in the tank that it isn't really going to stay in one spot. It isn't like they have a feeding bowl. Mine do know that one gets fed at one end of the tank, and one at the other, but other than that, the cuttlebone just gets thrown in in bite size pieces.

[fishandcandy]

I think she means that she has a separate feeding tank...

I'd put in in the tank where they live. They may not eat it right away.

[aznxturtxlover]

yeah. i mean that i feed them in a smaller tank. not exactly a tank, but a container.

thx for the advice

[industrial_girl_2000]

Tetra Reptomin foodsticks. I have tried others with Sheba over the years, but she likes these the best.

Also, I can use them to feed my aquatic frog so only have to buy one container at the pet store.

[sarah]

I use Reptomin. My turtles and frogs both love that kind

[knite]

Baby turtles love reptomin sticks. When they get older, I usually give them different turtle pellets such as HBH turtle bites ("shell conditioning" pellets, roundsize) and nutrafin (my turtle usually hates this brand ). I never gave Wardley turtle pellets before but I know that many pet stores sell them. Anyone feed their turtles this?

[marisa]

Unless they've reformulated the ingredients (haven't looked at the container in a while), Wardley's pellets have not been know to be as nutritious as some of the other brands, and I've seen it suggested that they need supplementation. As part of the diet, I would think they'd be OK.

Those "shell conditioning" HBH pellets contain a rather high content of oil (why they're called "shell conditioning" and why turtles like them). I've read of one keeper who gives them occasionally only as a kind of dessert.

[sarah]

I tried Wardley's at first and my turtles didn't seem to like it. They'll eat it now if you give it to them...(they'll eat ANYTHING now though lol) but when they were little they had a lot of trouble eatting it too.... I think it was too hard...