Things You'll Need
- Small bowl
- Commercial high-quality turtle pellets
- Anacharis aquatic plant
- Romaine, watercress and dandelion leaves
- Finely chopped earthworm bits, fresh or frozen plankton, freeze-dried shrimp and krill
- Small feeder crickets, preferably gut-loaded
- Cuttlebone
- Knife
Instructions
Create a separate feeding area by filling a small bowl with water from the baby false map turtle's aquarium, using just enough to cover the turtle. Map turtles must be in water to eat.
Feed the baby false map turtle once a day with high-quality commercial turtle pellets, sold under the name Reptomin. Augment the baby turtle's diet with Anacharis--an aquatic plant--along with pesticide-free greens such as romaine lettuce, watercress and dandelion leaves. Feed the baby turtle all the greens it will eat, but limit the servings of pellets; don't let the turtle gorge itself. According to the Austin's Turtle Page website, feeding two Baby Reptomin pellets per day for the first few months is a good starting point. Another useful rule of thumb is to limit the baby turtle to all it can eat in 10 minutes.
Once or twice a week, substitute live food for the pellets. Offer the baby turtle finely chopped earthworm bits, fresh or frozen plankton, freeze-dried shrimp and krill, all purchased from a reputable pet store. Small feeder crickets are a good choice, especially if they have been fed before sale with vitamin-rich supplements, a process known as gut-loading.
Ensure your baby false map turtle gets enough calcium by offering a cuttlebone, available in the bird section of pet stores. Remove the hard backing from the cuttlebone by breaking it in two, then scraping with a knife.
Reduce feedings to every other day when the baby false map turtle reaches six months old.
Watch for the "pyramid" shell deformity that can be an indication of feeding excessive amounts of high-protein foods. The knobs on the turtle's shell develop prominent concentric rings, giving them a bumpy appearance. To avoid the risk of liver failure--another result of too much protein--cut back on live foods if your baby turtle exhibits pyramiding of the shell.