How to Feed Baby Land Turtles

Baby land turtles, such as box turtles, eat the same food as adults, but the food must be chopped up smaller. It is important to introduce them to a well-balanced diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein from the very beginning. Because baby land turtles tend to be early risers and like eating first thing in the morning, you should feed them immediately after you wake up. If you tend to wake up later, leave food in their tank the night before.

Things You'll Need

Box
Soil
Moss or peat
Vegetables
Fruits
Shallow pans
Fish food flakes
Turtle pellets
Worms or tiny bugs

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a box for the turtles to eat in that is separate from their home. It should have a few inches of soil on the bottom, covered in moss or peat.
- 2
  Chop vegetables, such as lettuce, kale and carrots, into very small pieces.
- 3
  Chop fruit, such as berries and melons, very finely as well.
- 4
  Combine the fruits and vegetables in a shallow pan along with fish food flakes and chopped up turtle pellets.
- 5
  Place the turtles in the box. They will likely burrow down into the moss and soil, because baby land turtles like to hide.
- 6
  Remove the turtles from the food box after about an hour. It may not seem like the turtles have eaten, but you should notice the food disappearing after a few days.
- 7
  Replace the food with fresh food every day. Fresh vegetables and fruit grow soft and rot fairly quickly, and they might attract bugs. Also, turtles can contaminate their food if they walk through it.
- 8
  Place a few inches of warm water in another shallow pan.
- 9
  Put the turtles in the water pan along with small worms or tiny bugs. This should be done about once a week to ensure that the baby turtles are drinking enough water and moving around. The turtles may not eat the food in the water the first few times, but they soon will be chasing the bugs around in the water.