turtles food

Question
Hi,
I have two small water turtles.
This picture is for turtles who look like mine.
http://members.aol.com/bjchawk/TurtlePics/16JUN004.JPG

I need your help in few things:

1- How can i know how old my turtles are ?
2- How much food do they need ?
I usually feed them two small sticks for each every day, but they ask for more like crazy. I am afraid they need more food. Do i need to increase food quantity ? Or should i keep the current quantity as is ?
3- Do they die if we keep them in deep water ?
4- Is it ok if we keep them in the same pool with other fishes ?

Thanks for your time

Answer
You apparently have Red-ear Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans). They are a type of turtle called 'pond turtles' which all share about the same basic lifestyle. The common Painted turtle is also a pond turtle.

It is difficult to tell the age of a pond turtle. If yours are about the same size as those in the picture, they are under a year old, based on size alone.

You can look at the belly scales and count the rings you might see there- count several scales and use the next to highest number as your age guess. For example, if you count several 3's, a couple of 4's and a 5, use 4 as your age guess.

The ring count method does not work well for small or young turtles, or for very old turtles. The only way to know a turtles age for sure is to see it hatch.


How much food? Young turtles are little piggies when it comes to eating. The first question should be 'what to feed them'. You mentioned sticks- some brands of turtle food sticks are very low in nutrition. Lok at the ingrediants. If flies or ants are mentioned, it is probably a low quality food.

Baby turtles eat a lot of worms and water bugs when small, then begin eating small fish as they get older. Most larger pet shops, or those that are good with reptiles will have several kinds of turtle food available that are packed full of nutrition and vitamins. They will also carry lots of kinds of worms, brine shrimp, crickets, and so on that your turtles will enjoy.

As a rule of thumb, keep feeding the turtles for about 15 minutes. Young turtles need a lot of food to grow properly. A few days a week you can give them a second meal. As you get familiar with how much they eat, try to offer them that much food over the course of a day. For example, if they eat a spoon-full of food a day, try offering them half of that in the morning and another half in the early afternoon instead of one big meal.


Deep water- As long as they have a place to climb out and bask in warm light, the water depth is not a critical issue. In the wild, they will spend most of their time in lakes fairly near the shore- deeper than most ponds or tanks in a home get. Crawling-out spaces are critical though.

Fish companions- Depends on the fish and personalities of the turtles. Some turtle harass fish- nipping fins, etc. and as the turtles get bigger and faster, they will eat small fish. On the other hand, a lot of fish harass turtles, nipping feet or tails and some big fish eat turtles.

Try it for a bit and see what happens. Also- turtles are messy eaters and can put most filtration systems to the test, so kep that in mind as well.


There are LOTS of great websites for Red-ears and pond turtles. My favorite starting place is www.tortoise.org. They have care sheets, links, and more that will be helpful.

Turtles are fun animals, and can live for YEARS with the right care- BUT they are also not the easiest animals to take care of- proper lighting, cage size, water quality, vitamins and minerals, diet, etc. must be provided correctly- and that takes a little knowledge and commitment. Please take the time to learn more about your pets and what they need.

Good luck!