Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an eastern painted and red-eared slider in the same tank. I have noticed several differences.

It's a little difficult to tell, but I think if I fed them both til they were full, the slider would eat far more per unit weight. Plus, comparing sliders to painteds, it seems the latter is is closer to carnivore and former is closer to omnivore (the slider eats dry dog food readily, but the painted, even if I chop the bits into small pieces, since he is smaller, just doesn't seema as into the dog food), and a slider is far more likely to eat a dead minnow tossed in the tank.

Anyone else notice these differences?

I always keep Ancharis (oxygenating pond plants) in my slider tanks, and also duckweek, fairy moss, and water meal, and water hyacinth. They love them all. When the fall comes, I take as much in as I can from my koi pond, and keep the plants in sunny spots near the sliding doors, so I have some for the sliders. The E. painted's will eat them too.
I am new to box turtles, but have raised lots of water turtles for years. I never had a sick one. (my poor boxie is sick) They are much harder to take care of I think. Anyway, my sliders will eat anything you throw in there. Anything! The Eastern Painted that I have will "taste" anything, but has likes and dislikes. The Eastern hatchling, will try things, but also will snub lots of things that I put in there. He mostly eats the reptamin, and some dried shrinp..a little, but really pickes at the Ancharis.
Terry

What kind of turtle is in that bottom picture? I have seen them before, but can't remember the name..

It is a Northern Diamondback Terrapin hatchling.

Well I've had painteds for years, wild caught Easterns and a pair of store bought Westerns, and a Southern. The single RES I've had would eat pretty much anything, but the painteds were much pickier, and almost exclusively carnivorous. My first Eastern, I had her pre-Reptomin, and she liked this freeze-dried shrimpy stuff from Wardley's, I think it was called Turtle Delight. It would also eat any kind of raw fish, and loved crickets; I'd drop some feeder crix in and they'd climb up on her rock, but she'd spy 'em for sure and snake her neck up & onto the rock & grab 'em. The ones I've kept since liked the Reptomin, but didn't go for the ZooMed pellets; the RES loved the ZooMed.

I have had both Painteds and RES and I feel Painteds are a bit more pickier also. But, both have eaten a fair amount of greens for me though. They both will shred Anacharis, and Romaine Lettuce. Naturally, both species become more omivorius as they mature. It also just depends on the specific turtles tastes. Just like us, each individual turtle has likes and dislikes. I have had some painteds that liked one thing and others that wouldnt touch it...

-Chris
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Currently in the US Navy so I have sold off my collection. But over the years I have had dozens of turtles, fish, geckos, and other lizards. Cant wait to get back in the hobby once im out though!