my southern painted turtle used to eat turtle pellet food now he stopped eating it and he only eats fish food flakes. Are the flakes good enough for him? because thats all he eats. any suggestions on other types of food that I can offer him. Also how big do they get. I was told that they grow a max of 4".
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southern painted turtle eating habits
angelo-s
May 18, 2005 07:57 AM
Replies (3)
PHLaure
May 19, 2005 10:51 PM
The fish food flakes won't hurt but they are made for fish, not turtles. I would stop giving them to him until he eats something else. Do you also feed live food such as crickets, mealworms, etc? Variety is really the best
A male painted will generally get about 4-5" and a female can get up to about 8".
angelo-s
May 20, 2005 09:15 PM
I have a paludarium and it inhabits fish frogs lizardes newts and salamanders as well so there is pleanty of variety of food there but all I see him eat is the flake food
PHRatz
May 22, 2005 11:32 AM
Are you saying you have this turtle mixed in with a variety of amphibians? The toxins exuded by the amphibians can make the turtle sick. If it were me I wouldn't mix a reptile in with amphibians, not worth the risk & that could have something to do with his lack of good appetite.. another thought:
Have you ever had this little guy tested for parasites? It's always a good idea to do that at least once a year. 
PHRatz
