How to Make a Baby Turtle Eat

While wonderful pets, turtles are not the easiest animals to care for. With so many different species to choose from, it can be hard to know which foods are right for your pet. This is especially true when it comes to baby turtles. You want to make sure you're starting them off right and giving them all the nutrients they need to survive.

Things You'll Need

  • Live insects and worms
  • Turtle sticks
  • Floating turtle pellets
  • Turtle flakes or fish food
  • Chopped fruits and vegetables
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Instructions

    • 1

      Learn what kind of turtle you have. Different varieties prefer different sorts of food. Knowing what kind of turtle you own will help you know what to feed it.

    • 2

      Figure out your turtle's age. In the first few weeks of life, turtles live entirely off the yolk of the egg they hatched from. Don't be concerned if your baby turtle isn't eating. It's getting nutrients another way.

    • 3

      Feed your turtle in its natural habitat. Water turtles cannot swallow unless they are underwater, so you may want to put the food directly in the water to make it easier on them.

    • 4

      Provide a variety of food. It may take a while to learn what your turtle likes to eat, and its preferences may change as it ages. Have several types of food on hand to make sure your turtle gets what it needs.

    • 5

      Watch your turtle after placing food in its cage. You may not always see it eating, but over time you can learn more about its food preferences.

    • 6

      Don't overfeed your turtle. Most baby turtles need to eat once a day at maximum. Adult turtles need feeding only two to three times a week.

    • 7

      Remove uneaten food quickly--between five minutes to an hour after putting it in the cage. If left in the enclosure, this food can rot, leading to messy living environments and unwanted pests.

    • 8

      Be patient. Every turtle is different, with different nutrition wants, preferred times of day for eating and eating habits. If you give your baby turtle options, soon you'll know how to make it eat.