What Do You Feed Wild Turtles?

Wild turtles can be fed plants, fruits, insects or fish. Depending on what food sources were available to them in their wild habitats, some turtles may not be adapted to eating all of these foods.

Most land turtles are accustomed to eating grasses, leaves and an occasional insect. The majority of freshwater turtles eat invertebrate larvae when young and then transition to primarily eating aquatic vegetation as they grow older. Freshwater snapping turtles are ambush predators that eat fish and crustaceans. Saltwater turtles, such as leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles, eat a wide variety of foods, including jellyfish, shellfish, sea grass and algae.