Keeping a turtle is quite easy and simple as it does not require much of your attention, which is why many people choose this pet as their companion.
But that doesn’t mean you can neglect their diet, feeding is one of the most basic but important things you need to take care of. With that in mind, this post will help you choose the best turtle food for red-eared sliders.
Here are the best turtle food for red-eared sliders you can buy in 2025:
- Best For Shell Growth: Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food
- Best For Newborn Sliders: Tetra Tetrafauna Pro ReptoMin Baby Turtle Formula Sticks
- Best For Immune Systems: Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks
- Best For Bone Growth: hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks
- Best For Adult Sliders: Hikari 330338
- Best For Rapid Growth: Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Pet Food
| 6 Best Turtle Food For Red-Eared Sliders | ||
|---|---|---|
Best For Shell Growth | Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food | |
Best For Newborn Sliders | Tetra Tetrafauna Pro ReptoMin Baby Turtle Formula Sticks | |
Best For Immune Systems | Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks | |
Best For Bone Growth | hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks | |
Best For Adult Sliders | Hikari 330338 | |
Best For Rapid Growth | Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Pet Food | |
Best For Shell Growth: Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food
- Provide good protein content for shell growth
- Ensure to help your turtles grow healthily – offer a good ratio of fat, fiber, phosphorus, ash, and moisture
- Ideal for specific growth stages of turtles – three pellet sizes
- The pieces don’t float long
If your young red-eared sliders are in their growing stage, they should be fed with plenty of protein to boost their shell growth. And the Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food is our suggestion.
It provides rich crude protein content, along with a good ratio of fat, fiber, phosphorus, ash, and moisture. It also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals
There are three pellet sizes to choose from, which is great for specific needs. Another bonus is their smell isn’t too bad.
| Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 44.8 oz |
Form | Pellets |
Ingredient | Wheat middlings, soybean meal, wheat flour, fish meal, corn gluten meal, spirulina, etc. |
Highlight Features | offer a good ratio of fat, fiber, phosphorus, ash, and moisture three pellet sizes |
Offering what we believe to be the best for shell growth, the Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food brings home our Editors’ Choice award this year.
Best For Newborn Sliders: Tetra Tetrafauna Pro ReptoMin Baby Turtle Formula Sticks
- Easy for newborn turtles to eat – small pellet size
- Good for turtle growth – rich content in protein, calcium, and beta-glucans
- Not smell bad
- A bit costly
As its name implies, this food is specifically made for newborn turtles. From the size of sticks which are smaller than usual (3mm in diameter and 8mm in length) to the formula that is rich in calcium, protein, and beta-glucans.
These nutrients are added in a perfect ratio to help baby turtles improve their immune system, bone and shell growth, and digestion.
A big plus is they block odors excellently so after your animal processes them, their waste won’t smell bad.
Last but not least, all the ingredients are generally easy to digest.
| Tetra Tetrafauna Pro ReptoMin Baby Turtle Formula Sticks Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 1.13 oz |
Form | Pellet |
Ingredient | Wheat gluten, fish meal, wheat starch, dried yeast, shrimp meal, cornflour, etc. |
Highlight Features | small pellet size rich content in protein, calcium, and beta-glucans |
We think the Tetra Tetrafauna Pro ReptoMin is the best choice if you’re looking for high-quality food for newborn turtles.
Best For Immune Systems: Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks
- Boost the animal’s shell growth and immune system - contain a wide range of vitamins, minerals, calcium, and vitamin C
- 100% safe – contain no dyes or artificial colors; 100% all-natural ingredients
- Break down too fast in the water
- It has a strong bad smell
We do appreciate the hard work of Wardley in producing their products. All of the stages in their manufacturing process are always strict and meet international standards for safety and nutrients.
The Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks are a typical example of our words.
They’re fortified with only natural ingredients; no dyes, artificial colors, or anything that can cause harm to turtles. Besides, they contain a wide range of vitamins, minerals, calcium, and vitamin C to boost the animal’s shell growth and immune system.
For newborn red eared sliders, we believe that it’s the best choice.
| Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 2 oz |
Form | Sticks |
Ingredient | Vitamin E Supplement, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Fish Oil, Dehulled Soybean Meal, vitamin C, calcium, etc. |
Highlight Features | contain no dyes or artificial colors high ratio of vitamins, minerals, calcium, and vitamin C |
We highly recommend the Wardley Premium Amphibian and Reptile Sticks if boosting the immune system is your top priority when choosing a turtle food.
Best For Bone Growth: hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks
- Improve bone growth - scientific formula & tailored nutrition
- Easy to open & remain fresh of the food – canned seal
- Easy to absorb and tasteful – contain animal protein
- A bit pricey
Feeding your turtles with hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks is the easiest way to boost their bone growth.
The scientific formula of this food also helps the shell of your turtle stronger, improve its body color, and enhance digestion.
One thing that we really like about it is the animal protein addition. While it tastes better than plant protein, which encourages your pet to eat more, it is easier to absorb.
A small plus is these sticks break down slowly in the water, meaning there’s less residue left in your tank.
| hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 6.35 oz |
Form | sticks |
Ingredient | Glycine Iron Complex, D-Calcium Pantothenate, D-Biotin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B1, etc. |
Highlight Features | scientific formula & tailored nutrition canned seal contain animal protein |
The hygger 6.35oz Turtles Formula Food Sticks are the best option you can find out there for enhancing turtles’ bone growth.
Best For Adult Sliders: Hikari 330338
- Support intestinal flora of your turtles - the added probiotics enhanced nutrient mix
- Improve the water quality - the uniquely lab-verified balanced odor-stop ingredients
- No complaint
This is an all-around versatile option for turtles of all life stages.
It helps support the intestinal flora of your animals thanks to the added probiotics enhanced nutrient mix. But making it outstanding is the uniquely lab-verified balanced odor-stop ingredients to remain active in their waste.
In other words, this formation gives a good impact on the turtle’s waste decomposition for water quality improvement.
| Hikari 330338 Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 20 oz. |
Form | Floating pellets |
Ingredient | vitamin D supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, dried Bacillus subtitles fermentation product, cinnamon bark oil, oregano oil, DL-methionine, etc. |
Highlight Features | the added probiotics enhanced the nutrient mix the uniquely lab-verified balanced odor-stop ingredients |
Made to support the intestinal flora of turtles, the Hikari 330338 are our favorite choice for adult sliders
Best For Rapid Growth: Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Pet Food
- Boost turtles’ growth – high content of amino acids and protein
- Leave less residue in the water – break down slowly
- Tasteful and delicious
- The size is a bit big
If you wish your red-eared sliders to grow as fast as bamboo, then Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Pet Food is worth a try.
The main ingredient of this food is freeze-dried river shrimps – also the key element to boost turtles’ growth.
Of course, it’s 100% natural and safe for their health. We love that it takes around 15 minutes to break down – slow enough for turtles to eat all so there’s not much residue left at the bottom. We guest that it tastes delicious because our “kids” drive crazy whenever we give them a treat.
| Fluker's Freeze-Dried River Shrimp Pet Food Specifications | |
|---|---|
Size | 1 oz |
Form | Pellets |
Ingredient | Freeze-dried river shrimps |
Highlight Features | the high content of amino acids and protein break down slowly |
The Fluker's Freeze Dried River Shrimp Pet Food is a perfect choice for those turtle parents who want to boost rapid growth for their kids.
How To Choose The Best Turtle Food For Red-Eared Sliders?
To feed your turtle properly, you need to have an understanding of what is essential for these animals, what keeps them healthy, what nutrients they need, and the amount they need.
While the specific amount differs between different turtles, there is the main rule you should keep in mind.
Protein
This nutrient is crucial for baby turtles. The larger the amount, the healthier the hatchlings will become. Adult turtles, on the other hand, do not require that much protein as they stick to green leaf foods like water lettuce, and vegetables.
According to a report, the diet for hatchlings and growing turtles should contain 70% to 80% protein while adults need 25% protein in their diet.
Vitamins and Nutrition
Baby turtles don’t really benefit from vitamins; they only need a small amount of these nutrients.
During this stage of their lives, turtles need to grow their muscles, so a bit of fat (about 6% to 8% of the diet) is the second most important nutrient after protein.
On the contrary, vitamins are essential for adult turtles because they need a controlled diet to lead a healthy life. In their daily diet, there needs to be 75% nutrition while this rate for baby turtles is only 30% at the highest.
Which Brands Make The Best Turtle Food For Red-Eared Sliders?
Tetra
With 69 years of experience in the industry, this company has become the world’s largest ornamental fish food manufacturer with customers around the world. It has a team of nutritionists, chemists, and biologists to research and come up with the best food for your aquarium pets.
Hikari
This brand is committed to offering the highest-quality, most efficient foods for ornamental fish. Here, you will surely get the perfect nutrient balance for your beloved turtles.
Fluker's
Established in 1953, this is a leading brand in selling supplies for pets in addition to other products. It’s another great place to buy high-quality food for your turtles.
FAQs
How much do I feed my red eared slider?
The exact amount of food to feed varies among different turtles, but the general rule is giving them enough food to consume in 15 minutes.
How do I know if my turtle is hungry?
When a turtle is hungry, it likely roams around the tank and checks the place where you often feed it. If you see this, you should feed it right away.
Can red-eared slider turtles eat cucumbers?
Yes, they can. Besides, they can also eat chopped carrots, tomatoes, and celery among other vegetables.
Can you force-feed a turtle?
Yes, you should do this if they are sick and refused to eat. Otherwise, they may starve to death.
How often should I feed turtles?
For baby turtles, you should feed them daily or every other day. For adult turtles, you should feed them every third day.
Conclusion
So, through this post, we hope that you have figured out what to look for in the best turtle food for red eared sliders. Basically, you need to pay attention to the amount and rate of protein, fat, and vitamins in its diet to ensure a healthy life for your pet.
