How to Feed Baby Turtles

Hatchlings eat a variety of prey items including things like pelagic molluscs & crustaceans (like larval crabs), hydrozoans (related to jellies and corals such as Portuguese Man-O-War), fish eggs, seaweed, and jellies. Green hatchlings, unlike the herbivore adult, also eat a variety of prey as young turtles.

As adults, these are the only predominantly herbivorous sea turtles; although some occasionally also dine on jellyfish and sponges. Green sea turtles have finely serrated jaws to accommodate their herbivorous diet. They mainly eat sponges, but also occasionally a small amount of tunicates, shrimps and squids.

• Feed land baby turtles a combination of commercially produced food and fresh leafy vegetables, such as romaine lettuce and cabbage.
• Feed your aquatic baby turtle in a smaller feeding tank.
• Feed your pet baby turtle, “feeder fish and crickets,” for some meals.

What do sea turtles naturally eat?

• Loggerhead: Hatchlings are omnivores (meaning they eat both animals and plants) but adults are carnivores, favoring crabs, whelks, and conchs.
• Green: Fully grown sea turtles are herbivores and like to hang around coral reefs to scrape off seagrass and algae.

If you place live insects, fish, or small amphibians in their tank, a happy turtle will “hunt” them down as part of their meal. If the turtle ignores them completely, this is a sign they may be depressed or unhealthy.

Actually, these turtles aren’t sad and they aren’t crying. Their bodies are simply shedding excess salt, as well as protecting their eyes from the sand while they work on land to make their nests. Unlike land and freshwater aquatic turtles, sea turtles have a salt gland to rid their bodies of excess salt.

They have nociceptors that are responsible for that. They also experience fear and stress. The truth is turtles cannot experience the range of feeling that we humans can. Turtles cannot feel anger, love, or happiness.

Turtles do not have emotions. They do not feel happy or sad, like humans. This is mainly because the part of the brain that is processing these sensations is not active in turtles. So turtles do exhibit some basic emotions.

Generally speaking, turtles don’t like to be picked up and petted. You will find however that some turtles don’t mind and may even enjoy it. There is a correct way to touch them and you must be careful. If you touch their shell they’re likely to hiss and even bite you.