Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok,
I feed my baby Mississippi Map Turtle everyday, what I feed it varies on what I have available. I feed it goldfish, guppies, rosy reds, chicken, turkey and turtle food. What should I add to the diet, anything to make the turtle grow quicker.
Michael

Michael's Place

Beefhearts an real fattener. But in all honestly, why do you want to make your turtle grow quciker. Enjoy their tinyness as it lasts. Before you know it you'll have a palm sized turtle and you'll say, "Where's my baby go?"

You can also add crickets, liver, and ghost shrimp to that list of turtle food

See I love baby turtles. I love when they are so small,etc. but if you don't feed them correctly they won't grow much, they won't grow the right way and they may die. Those look to be snappers, are they yours? They are one of the easiest baby turtles to bring out of babyhood. I had one for a year, it was about the size of a quarter when I got it, I fed it only turtle sticks and fish, it grew to be about 4 inches long in shell length in just the one year I had it.
Michael
Michael's Place

Hey Micheal,
Yes, those are my snapping turtles. I have three in total
They recieve a varied diet of guppies, rosy reds, crickets, turtle pellets, ghost shrimp, dried freshwater shrimp, earthworms, beefheart, earthworms, and greens

Persoanlly,
I would dump the goldfish entirely and replace at least half of the feedings of meat or fish with insects. I think wild diet studies show this species to eat a lot more insects than anything else. Also, be sure to cook the chicken and turkey throughly.
Then i leave some anacharis and hornwort in the tank whenever possible. Try berries and dark greens and carrot slivers. Missisippi maps aren't huge veggie eaters but they do take some plant matter and should be offered the option.