Yellow Belly Slider Turtles, feeding time

Yellow Belly Slider Turtles, feeding time

If you’re thinking about adopting or purchasing a yellow belly slider turtle, you’ll need to know what goes into their feedings. First off, turtles are messy and require constant care to keep their tanks clean. What goes in must come out and when it comes to turtles, there’s a lot that comes out, let me tell you. Having a good filter is a must, not an option. Some aquarium kits come with filters but they’re not going to be enough for turtles. You need a big filter. An aquarium vacuum will also help but one sure way to prevent a dirtier tank than necessary is by feeding your turtle in a separate container.

Yellow Belly Slider Turtles, feeding time

Most yellow belly slider turtle owners feed their pets, if they have more than one turtle, with tweezers or tongs or something similar. It depends on how big your turtles are. That’s a great way to know that your turtles are getting the right amount of food. I feed my yellow belly slider turtles twice a day. I put a couple of pellets in front of them along with some shrimp or cod. They need 70% of protein a day while they’re young. For the second feeding, I give them bits of lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers, and more meats. Every once in a while as a treat, I give them mealworms. If it was up to them, that’s all they’d eat. They absolutely devour them immediately. I’ll add more of a variety to their diet as they get older.

Another way to feed your turtles and really it’s the best way to keep your tank cleaner is to put your yellow belly slider turtles in a container with room temperature water. Yellow belly slider turtles are considered aquatic turtles and they eat underwater. I only know of one person who has successfully trained their turtles how to eat out of the water. I choose not to try this method. If any of the turtles start becoming aggressive, they’ll need to start eating separately. I’ve just purchased plastic tubs to feed mine separately. I have two turtles that are like night and day. Pokey is laid back and Slider really takes advantage of that. He/she is more aggressive and he wants whatever Pokey has. He’s very competitive. He’s recently started devouring my aquatic plants. Because I don’t want him to fill up on them, I’ve had to remove them and house them in a different aquarium. Again, they need 70% protein in their diet, daily. Some vegetation is okay, 24/7 vegetation is not.

Yellow Belly Slider Turtles, feeding time

Feeding time is a great way for your turtle to get used to you. They tend to spook easily from quick and sudden movements so be careful not to spook them when you’re feeding them. Pretty soon, they’ll get used to you and look forward to one on one feeding time with you.

Disclaimer:  This post is not sponsored in any way.  I’m a past and present turtle owner and all thoughts included are from my many years of experience in owning, handling, and loving yellow belly slider turtles.  I’m not an expert on turtle care. 

22 Comments

  1. We got our yellow bellied slider, Fred…two years ago in Florida. He was the size of a quarter. Now he’s about 7 inches across. He loves eating shrimp, pellets, and Romain lettuce. He follows me everywhere I go in my bedroom, and he keeps me entertained constantly. He is the best pet I’ve ever had! I love my Fred! ♥️

  2. When I was 3-5 I had a turtle named Myrtle. Mom said Myrtle got out of her home while I was at my aunts one weekend. Years later in high school the bus driver brought me a turtle in a 5 gal bucket that she saved on the way to pick us up at school, she drove me home so I didn’t have to carry it a mile. That turtle lived in the pond in our backyard for a couple years until we moved and she went to live in the neighbors pond.
    When I was pregnant with my 3rd child I almost stepped on one outside on our sidewalk, went in put it in a container in the sink, went to my appt and on the way home picked up a small turtle habitat, my 3 yo named him Fox the Box Turtle and he lived in our fish tank, we had him 4 years until he passed away, my ex was cleaning the tank and forgot he had put him outside, he managed to get into a red ant pile and that was not pretty. I found him that night when I got home from work (had been about 8 or 9 hours).
    We were visiting family in July, husband almost stepped on this little guy and brought him in for me to see… well you know it… Koopa was coming home with us. He is tiny, cute and friendly. I sent photos to my daughter who showed my grandson (6) and he said to name him Koopa (Mario Bros. fan). Funny is grandson had been asking for a turtle as a pet. He got one for his birthday last month. So now we are 4 states away and both have turtles. Husband made a stand today for a 55 gal tank that was gifted to us. We have him in a 5.5 gal now with a floating dock, river rocks on the bottom, a couple plastic neon plants and lives with a guppy and a gold fish (the tweedles). When we finish getting the 55 gal together this weekend we will move them over, and as long as the 3 get along they can stay together, but if Koopa starts getting aggressive the tweedles will go back to the 5.5 gal on their own.
    So far Koopa loves his pellets and sometimes the shrimp and mealworms. not too keen on the green sticks (the tweedles will eat them though) and so far hasn’t wanted any of the real greens. He also loves the fish food. I guess they all share well lol.

  3. I am 58 year old woman and am just crazy about my 1 year old yellow belly slider. She is about 6″ in length, measuring shell only. I am currently preparing a 75 gallon tank for her. She is the most fun I have had in many many years. I think my wife and kids are actually jealous of her and the attention she gets. She has so much personality and definitely a mind of her own. She will dance when I sing and she will hold my hand if I ask her to. I love love love my yellow belly and her name is “Baby Boom Boom” If you have the time and money, I’d suggest checking out the yellow bellies 🙂

  4. They’re so darn cute when they’re tiny. My middle son has been asking for a pet turtle for a year now!

  5. Wow this could make some awesome pets. My cousin always had a few growing up but I always too afraid to handle them.

  6. I haven’t considered buying one before but they are super adorable. I kind of want to now!

  7. They are so cute. I think even my cat George would put up with a little turtle friend. I hear they live forever… Good info to have.

  8. They’re so cute! Our boys have always loved turtles. This is actually one of their favorites.

  9. They look so beautiful and lovely. I love turtles; i have seen many during the raining season here in Nigeria

  10. There was a time when I thought about getting a turtle but the high cost of it’s tank and all the accessories put me off the idea. I didn’t know thought that they do eat so much as well, and that they need such a varied diet.

  11. ohh wow these are so cute and fun to watch

  12. These babies are so cute. These turtles are really hard to find in India.

  13. Awwwww. These turtles are so cute. I have seen a few of them on my travels though.

  14. I love meeting other turtle lovers.

  15. Aw, this was a cute post. My daughter wants a pet, I’d love her to get a turtle. Its not as common. This was an amazing post, thanks for sharing.

  16. They’re so beautiful! I had one growing up, I just stared at it for hours :))

  17. OMG these colorful turtles looks so cute. We have a baby turtle, it has yellow , black and gold color combination. These are so adorable. My daughter loves to play with turtles.

  18. turtles can really be very friendly. and, they look so cute when they raise their heads toward you when they are hungry. once fed, they can be very lazy, too.

  19. I do the same thing lol. They really are fun to watch.

  20. We always had turtles as a child.

  21. These creatures are so cute! I remember my friend having a similar looking turtle.. I used to come over and stare at it for hours. 🙂

  22. I love those little things. I use to have one when I was a little girl in a glass bowl. He lived a very long time.

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