Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I am think about taking an Ornate from a friend. It isn't being cared for well and I know I can provide better conditions for it. I wanted to check with folks about diet. I was always under the assumption that ornates were for the most part carnivores. I am not sure though if I should offer veggies too?

Thanks,
Steve

I'm pretty new at this myself. I have raised plenty of water turtles, but haven't had a box since I was a kid. Anyway, I have a female ornate, and she loves all kinds of worms and bugs. But the thing that she loves the best is cantaloupe. I mix that with strawberries, grapes, figs,yellow squash and a mixture of "spring mix" that I buy in the super market. As long as there is cantaloupe in it she will eat it. But mostly, I give her some kind of bug thing in the morning...slugs, mealworms, red wiggler worms, earth worms, and wax worms, and at night the fruit. I couldn't put her outside in her outdoor pen, as my yard wasn't done and then the cold weather came so she is inside in a 55 gal vivarium. She hasn't been eating too well since the cold weather...I guess they just know when it's time to sleep for the winter. Here's some pictures.

Hi thanks for the reply. I will be sure she gets some fruits and veggies too then. I kept easterns as a kid so I have a bit of experience though alot of that amounts to what not to do. Glad to see you provided leaf litter and some soil in your setup, I am sure the turtle appreciates it.

Cheers,
Steve

My ornate eats bugs one feeding and veggies/fruit the next.

Yes, that's what mine was doing until the cold weather came and as I said in the other post, she stopped eating altogether.

Mine sometimes view plant matter as desert. They'll eat their berries or whatever only after they've had a bug to eat.
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PHRatz

Steve,

Ornates need their veggies and fruits also. They love insects and because they eat them with such skill and gusto people tend to give them lots of insects and then wonder why they don't eat their veggies. They are too full to eat their plant matter, so they ignore them. In the wild, Ornates eat wild berries, fallen fruit, grasses and mushrooms. Even the insects they eat are gut loaded with plant matter in their guts! Mine love corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, grapes, apples, cantaloupe, tomatoes, romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce. They are very greedy and easily spoiled so reduce the insects till they will eat their veggies.
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Tess
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