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As a newly inherited red ear slider owner, I have read much of the forum here on what to feed your turtle. I do have a couple questions though,

This is how he was fed before I got him (this past Sunday) and how he has been fed until today.

Eats HBH Turtle bites twice per day. I leave in for 5-10 mins then scoop out what is left.
Crickets 3-5 per day until the 20 bought on Sat are gone.
Couple times per month fruit and veggies
Occassionally pieces of beef hot dogs.

The turtle is a girl, she is about 7.5 inches long, I don't know her age, but my nephew said she was a baby when he got her and he had her for about a year.

As I said, I just got her on Sunday, so I really have only fed the turtle bites and crickets. Today after reading the forum, I fed some lettuce. I am going to use the feeding schedules I saw on the posts, but want to know:


1. When feeding the turtle fruits and veggies, how long do I leave them in the water before taking them out?

2. Is feeding the turtle 2 x per day too much?

If not, should I offer the turtle- turtle bites and veggies, both am and pm or split them up?

Thanks for any advice

i just leave the lettuce leaves in the tank and eventually it gets eaten.

pellets and turtle food should be given every other day - no more than would fit inside the turtle's head. i feed half that amount every day to appease my 3 year old daughter.

Feeding twice a day is fine just feed what will feed in her head total. So feed her half of her head in the morning and the other half at night. Feed fruits very sparingly because of the high sugar, maybe once a week or so for a treat. Romain or Green/red leaf lettuce are good and you can give them a leaf or 2 a day. You should take a look at the feeding and nutrition section for specifics on what and what not too feed. I use a combination of HBH, and Wardleys until it runs out then it will be HBH and Reptomin along with a leaf of romaine a day with a occasional baby carrot or small piece of tomato.

That's an awful lot of protein you're giving her. Overfeeding can lead to long term health problems. If your turtle is only 1 year old, 7.5 inches is WAY too large!
Pellets every other day, about the amount that would fit inside her head were it hollow. Veggies every day......
NO PROCESSED MEATS! Hot dogs are very bad! In fact, no human food should be offered to an adult turt, with the exception of boiled white meat chicken, and even that should be a once in a while treat.
Crickets should be offered only once every 3 weeks to a month.....