Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got an "African Sideneck Turtle" from Petco shortly before christmas and I'm slowly getting the hang of things. I've read up on just about everything I could find on sidenecks and recently remembered this website from my snake keeping days. I'm wondering about a diet for this little sideneck(well...hes about 4-5" long, so not tiny...).

I feed pellets on a regular basis, and there have been two feeder goldfish in the tank with him for about 4 weeks, and he hasn't touched them until friday when I think one died and he ate both. The first day I had it, I had a black moor in the tank and he went right for the little moor...thing didn't have a chance, but he hasn't seemed too interested in fish for a while.

About three weeks ago I put a small crawfish in the tank and he ferociously ate it up within about 3 minutes of putting it in. Every weekend since I've given him one or two and he goes right for them.

I was wondering if a diet of crawfish would be sufficient to support him or if he needs other things as well?

Thanks,
Cale

i kept a small group of these guys a few years ago.i kept mine like sliders.i fed them reptomin pellets,minnows(not goldfish,at least not regularly),frozen shrimp,redworms,nightcrawlers,& the occasional crawfish.mine liked to spend alot of time walking around the bottom looking for food so it seems reasonable that they would like bottom dwelling food.
ps.a bait store is a good place to find minnows,worms,& craws if you don't want to/can't catch your own.

I feed mine almost exclusively reptomin, with a few guppies and some wardley's pellets. I feed him in a container outside the tank - it helps reduce the mess inside. I keep him in a hundred gallon tank with quite a few giant danios that seem to be too fast for him to catch. I would be careful using bait stores as food sources, since you have no idea what they are feeding their fish/worms/leaches etc.

My 2 cents
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

well,maybe i'm just lucky.i happen to know the supplier/wholesaler for the bait store.i know how long they have been out of the pond & how long since a last feed.
the point i was making is that there are alternatives to the sickly rosies & overcrowded goldfish aquired from a petstore.as for guppies?why bother,offer half a minnow to the turt if its that small.
why would you feed either mostly or exclusively a dry diet?they don't eat pellets in the wild so why make them eat just pellets in captivity?as far as disease transmission &/or parasites,well,i'll risk it.i'd rather offer a varied diet & watch'em grow than just offer pellets & watch 'em survive.
you might live & grow,even reproduce,eating just peanut butter sandwhiches but its not really good for the long term,eh?