How to Feed a Baby Mud Turtle

Mud turtles (Kinosternon spp.) are native to parts of the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. Several species of North American mud turtles--particularly eastern mud turtles (Kinosternon subrubrum) and striped mud turtles (Kinosternon baurii)--are popular in the reptile pet trade. Among the reasons for their popularity, mud turtles are hardy pets, relatively easy to care for in captivity and have generalist diets, eating a wide variety of plants, animals and carrion in the wild, with a particular fondness for invertebrates.

Things You'll Need

  • Crickets
  • Worms
  • Guppies
  • Krill
  • Crayfish
  • Snails
  • Leafy greens
  • Commercial aquatic turtle food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Know the diet. Offer your baby mud turtle foods it will readily consume, such as small crickets, worms (e.g., red wrigglers or earthworms cut into pieces), fresh-killed guppies, freshly thawed bloodworms, freshly thawed krill (and other small shrimp), tiny crayfish, tiny snails and a variety of commercial turtle foods. Although less preferred, you need to occasionally offer your mud turtle a range of healthy greens, such as romaine lettuce, water hyacinth or duckweed.

    • 2

      Avoid calcium deficiency. If you don't provide your turtle with UV-B lighting, include brand name commercial foods that contain Vitamin D3, such as ReptoMin or Mazuri aquatic turtle foods, in your turtle's diet. Turtles need vitamin D3, either from exposure to UV-B or diet, to physiologically process calcium and avoid metabolic bone disease.

    • 3

      Follow a feeding schedule. According to austinsturtlepage.com, baby mud turtles should be fed commercial pellets or meaty foods (e.g., earthworms or fish) once daily until they are about 6 months old, just "enough to diminish appetite but not gorge the turtle." Or, you can feed hatchlings and juveniles a few times a day, provided that you simply spread the food supply over the course of a day (don't increase the total daily food supply, rather just offer a fraction of the total daily food supply multiple times a day). You should also offer your baby mud turtle greens daily and allow him to forage at will, though most mud turtles do not eat plants well in captivity.

    • 4

      Avoid overfeeding your turtle. Overfed turtles are prone to shell deformities (also known as pyramiding) and too much protein can be harmful to the liver and kidneys. One crushed half-grown male guppy, one or two baby ReptoMin pellets, or a 1-cm piece of red wriggler are all reasonable options for a dime-size hatchling's daily diet. Reasonable daily diets for nickel-size, 1-month-old mud turtles include one adult ReptoMin pellet, one crushed large male/small female guppy, one 3-week-old feeder cricket or a 1-inch piece of red wriggler.