Painted Turtle Hatchling

Question
I've taken in a painted turtle that was hatched on a beach where there was
minimal chance of survival. He's been doing well in a converted fish aquarium
(considering he's only the size of a quarter at the moment, he has plenty of
room. I know he'll need something bigger eventually). I've been feeding him
crickets, which he's been eating voraciously. My question is: how much/what
should I be feeding him? He's so small, but he's eaten about 5 crickets today
alone. Can you overfeed a turtle? Or will he stop when full? It'd also be handy
to know approx how much they eat instead of continually adding crickets
every few hours because I am unsure. Are crickets good, or do you have other
suggestions. He won't touch pellets.
Also, would he be fine if I eventually released him in the future?
Thanks :)

Answer
How much? An amount that, when scrunched up, would be about the size of its head is an appropriate daily serving. If you have difficulty keeping servings small, skip a day every week or so.

Overfeed? This is VERY easy! It is also very damaging to a baby turtle.

Besides crickets, try frozen/thawed krill or shrimp, worms (especially blood worms), pieces of beef heart, etc.

A great site for this is http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Release- we recommend that releases should happen within 8 months and 1 mile of capture. Also, the odds for success for a wild turtle are about 3 times better in the wild than they are in captivity because most keepers simply do not know how ot offer the right habitat.

Before you invest in the needed supplies, read the above site and decide if you wish to invest what usually comes to about $150+ in proper housing.

Good luck!