When it comes to feeding your red-eared slider, you need to make sure that you are giving it the correct amount of plant and animal protein. Make sure you feed them a balance between the two so they get the right amount of nutrients and vitamins.
When they are babies, they need to eat a lot of animal protein because they have a very big carnivorous side. However, it is good to feed them with some plant materials.
However, don’t be surprised if they don’t eat a lot of greenery until they’re older. When they become adults, you can remove animal materials and feed them mainly vegetation.
You can offer red-eared pellet food. They have a mix of the right amount of vitamins and minerals. They are sometimes more convenient for pet owners. But this shouldn’t be the only thing you feed them. It’s great if you mix up your food a bit to keep them from getting bored and to make sure they’re getting all the nutrients they need to be healthy.
Food to feed red-eared sliders
When it comes to feeding them, you can give them earthworms, live feeder fish (this includes goldfish, guppies, minnows), waxworms, crickets, aquatic snails, daphnia, earthworms, silkworms, mealworms and blood worms. These should only be given to small turtles. The adult red-eared slider should eat larger animal items.
When feeding the turtles, the vegetation sticks with collard greens, kale, bok choy, mustard, dandelion greens, and dark green leafy lettuce. Never feed them iceberg lettuce because it doesn’t have a lot of nutrition.
If your turtle lives in a pond or aquarium, you can always add aquatic plants to feed it. They love to eat submerged plants like frog bite, water hyacinth, water lettuce, azolla, anacharis, and duckweed.