My Turtle Won't Eat

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Tim Cole, I'm with the Austin Reptile Service, I've been keeping reptiles and amphibians for over forty years, and we're going to talk about why turtles will not eat. Number one thing you need to do is first identify the species of turtle you have so that you make sure you're providing the proper food that they're going to eat. If you offer a cricket to a tortoise, chances are he's not going to eat. If you offer grasses to a water turtle, especially a yellow one, chances are he's not going to eat. You've got to have the right food for that turtle. Most of our water turtles when they're younger will eat insects, as they get older they will also eat more plants and vegetation. You've got carnivorous turtles such as snapping turtles, that primarily feed on fish, frogs, rodents, birds, anything that they can catch. A lot of turtles will also do very well on eating commercial diets, pelleted turtle food. Some turtles are very specific about what they'll eat, you have to give them certain things. Some can even be very specific as far as just eating cray fish or certain kinds of fish. So you really need to know what kind of turtle it is, what kind of diet they're going to eat, if they're not eating and you're offering them proper food, chances are you don't have them set up correctly that they feel comfortable. So you need to make sure the turtle's healthy, make sure it's set up properly."