Soft Shell Turtle Diet

Diet in Nature

• In the wild, most species of soft-shelled turtles prey on fish or insects. They often bury themselves in mud or silt and await passing prey to lunge at and devour. Softshells are carnivores and, once they have latched onto their prey, they can hold onto it for a long time with their powerful jaws, until the prey dies. This habit of lunging at passing food actually goes against what society views as certain traits in turtles--that they are very slow creatures. Soft-shelled turtles are actually very fast, and it's necessary for them to be so to catch their food. Land-based turtles are often slower, but that is because they are mainly herbivores and don't have to chase their food.

  In nature, the softshell's diet consists mainly of crayfish, insects and fish. They will also eat carrion (dead animals) if they need to, as well as certain plant material if the situation is dire.

Diet in Your Home

• Owning a pet turtle can be fun and rewarding for a child. Caring for a turtle is not very difficult. Soft-shelled turtles will often eat trout food or catfish food. Both contain similar minerals and materials that the turtles eat in the wild. Feeding the younger turtles a small helping is fine if you do so every day. A small helping should consist of 3-5 trout food pellets. If feeding the young turtle larger portions (5-8 pellets), you only need to supply it with food every other day. Adults normally only need sustenance twice a week, around 10 pellets a time.

  Don't over feed the turtle, though, as this can be dangerous. Make sure to view how much food the softshell is eating and judging how much is excreted in waste. If it seems to be leaving uneaten food behind, cut back on the amount you are feeding it.

  Calcium supplements are also important as deficient calcium can lead to metabolic bone disease in turtles. Make sure to sprinkle the calcium powder onto the food when you feed the turtle, as this will ensure he ingests it. Giving a turtle a cuttlefish bone is also another way to supply it with calcium. The softshell can gnaw on it and maintain his jaw muscles, as well as receiving important calcium. If using a calcium supplement, make sure to check the D3 vitamin amount. If you are housing your turtle indoors, make sure the supplement has D3 in it. If you are housing your turtle outside, the sun will provide the D3 and you do not need to provide it for the turtle, so get calcium supplements without it.

  Other multivitamin supplements are also important, particularly Vitamin E, which is eliminated in prepared fish food, but is essential to turtles' fat metabolism. Ask your veterinarian or pet shop owner to help choose the proper vitamins and amounts for your specific species of soft-shelled turtle.