The Best Turtle Food for a Healthy Pet

Written by Shaunice Lewis
Updated: February 17, 2023
© My Good Images/Shutterstock.com

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If you are a proud owner of a pet turtle, you want to feed it the best quality food possible so that it lives a long, and healthy life. Turtles are omnivores, so you’ll want to feed them a variety of fruits, vegetables, crickets, mealworms, waxworms and other small grubs and insects.

Their staple diet, however, should be a high-quality pellet or stick food. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best turtle foods you can buy for your pet in order to keep it happy and healthy. Let’s go over a few of our favorites below.

  1. Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick, Wild Sword Prawn
    • Includes high-quality, premium ingredients
    • Features a special growth formula
    • The recipe is the perfect 4:6 meat-to-vegetable ratio for turtles
    • Easy for turtles to digest
    • Does not contain additives, artificial flavors or coloring, or byproducts
    Check Amazon
  2. Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food
    • Nutritionally complete
    • No supplemental vitamins or minerals required
    • Floating food encourages natural feeding behavior
    • Contains a high level of fish and animal protein, which turtles require as carnivores
    • Contains natural vitamin E
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  3. Tetra ReptoMin Floating Sticks Turtle Food
    • Perfect for small turtles, newts, and frogs
    • Specially formulated for these small aquatic species with the correct balance of nutrients like calcium and vitamin C
    • Promotes growth with high-quality protein and essential amino acids
    • Easy to digest
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  4. Zilla Land Turtle & Tortoise Food
    • Formulated for land turtles, which are primarily herbivores that eat some insects
    • Promotes excellent health, improved shell color, and activity
    • You can serve it with fruits and veggies or serve it "as is," since it is nutritionally complete
    • These pellets feature the correct amount of proteins, vitamins, and minerals your pet requires
    • Easy to digest
    Check Chewy Check Amazon

A-Z-Animals’ Top Picks for Healthy Turtle Food

#1 Best Overall: Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick, Wild Sword Prawn

We found that Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick, Wild Sword Prawn is the #1 Best Overall turtle food in terms of quality, affordability, and convenience. This brand of aquatic turtle food offers high-quality, premium ingredients with a special growth formula. It contains a blend of wild sword prawns, akiami paste shrimp, seaweed, and vegetables at a perfect 4:6 meat-to-vegetable ratio for turtles. All of the ingredients found in this brand are made of superior quality and contain no additives, artificial flavors, or coloring. There are also no byproducts or other ingredients that can be harmful to your turtle.

This turtle food is also easy for your turtle to digest because of the way that the food was processed. The company uses 10 hours of low-temperature processing and then enhances the product with probiotics that are good for your turtle’s digestion. This method also helps to preserve the natural flavor of the food and maintain its rich nutritional value. Another great thing to point out is that when added to the water, the food does not immediately disintegrate and cloud the water, but it does rapidly soften — making it easy for your turtle to consume. The food stays intact for 24 hours, which allows your aquarium water to remain clear. All of these things are important to consider when it comes to choosing high-quality food for your turtle.

Several reviewers reported that their turtles’ tanks were dirty after feeding them this food.

Pros and Cons of Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick, Wild Sword Prawn

ProsCons
This is our choice for the best turtle food in terms of quality, affordability, and convenience.Several reviewers reported that their turtles’ tanks were dirty after feeding them this food.
It includes high-quality ingredients with a special growth formula.
It features a blend of wild sword prawns, akiami paste shrimp, seaweed, and vegetables at a perfect 4:6 meat-to-vegetable ratio for turtles.
It’s free from additives, artificial flavor, coloring, or byproducts.
It’s easy for turtles to digest because of the way it’s processed and due to being enhanced with probiotics.
This food stays intact and doesn’t disintegrate for 24 hours, which allows your tank water to remain clear.
Best Overall
Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick, Wild Sword Prawn
  • Includes high-quality, premium ingredients
  • Features a special growth formula
  • The recipe is the perfect 4:6 meat-to-vegetable ratio for turtles
  • Easy for turtles to digest
  • Does not contain additives, artificial flavors or coloring, or byproducts
Check Amazon

2. Most Nutritionally Complete: Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food

Mazuri aquatic turtle food offers a nutritionally complete food blend that does not require any additional supplementation. It is a floating diet that encourages natural feeding behaviors. It also contains a high level of both fish and animal proteins that meet the needs of carnivorous species like some turtles. It is for all breed sizes and offers a completely balanced, nutritional source for your pet turtle.

A few reviewers said that their turtles wouldn’t eat this food.

Pros and Cons of Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food

ProsCons
This aquatic turtle food is nutritionally complete.A few reviewers said that their turtles wouldn’t eat this food.
It doesn’t require supplementation.
It’s a floating diet that encourages natural feeding behaviors.
This food contains high levels of fish and animal proteins.
Most Nutritionally Complete
Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food
  • Nutritionally complete
  • No supplemental vitamins or minerals required
  • Floating food encourages natural feeding behavior
  • Contains a high level of fish and animal protein, which turtles require as carnivores
  • Contains natural vitamin E
Check Chewy Check Amazon

3. Best for Small Turtles: Tetra ReptoMin Floating Food Sticks

The Tetra ReptoMin food sticks are best for small turtles and other small aquatic pets like newts and frogs. This brand is scientifically formulated for smaller aquatic species and provides the right amount of nutrients like calcium and vitamin C that your pet needs to stay happy and healthy. It is also formulated to promote growth with its high-quality proteins and essential amino acids which work to promote growth in your turtle. The food is made to be easy to digest since it is designed for smaller creatures.

Some turtle parents reported that this food clouded their pets’ water. A few said that their turtles wouldn’t eat it.

Pros and Cons of Tetra ReptoMin Floating Food Sticks

ProsCons
These food sticks are best for small turtles and other small aquatic species.Some turtle parents reported that this food clouded their pets’ water.
It’s scientifically formulated for smaller aquatic species and includes the right amounts of nutrients such as calcium and vitamin C. A few said that their turtles wouldn’t eat it.
It promotes growth.
It’s easy to digest.
Best for Small Turtles
Tetra ReptoMin Floating Sticks Turtle Food
  • Perfect for small turtles, newts, and frogs
  • Specially formulated for these small aquatic species with the correct balance of nutrients like calcium and vitamin C
  • Promotes growth with high-quality protein and essential amino acids
  • Easy to digest
Check Chewy Check Amazon

4. Best Food for Land Turtles: Zilla Land Turtle Food

Zilla Land Turtle Food is formulated for land turtles, which are primarily herbivores that consume berries, plants, flowers, and some insects. This recipe is formulated with these ingredients and helps promote excellent health in your turtle, as well as improved shell color and activity. You can mix this food with fruits and vegetables for an extra boost of nutrition, or you can feed it to your turtle alone as its primary diet since it is complete. This food comes in pellet form and is blended with the right amount of essential proteins, vitamins, and minerals to help promote healthy activity levels, vibrant coloration, and an increased lifespan for your turtle. This turtle food does not require refrigeration and is made to be easy to digest.

Some reviewers reported that their turtles wouldn’t eat this food.

Pros and Cons of Zilla Land Turtle Food

ProsCons
This recipe is formulated for land turtles, which primarily herbivores.Some reviewers reported that their turtles wouldn’t eat this food.
It’s made with berries, plants, flowers, and some insects.
It promotes health and improved shell color and activity.
You can mix it with your turtles fruits and veggies for extra nutrition or feed it alone as a complete diet.
These pellets do not need to be refrigerated and are easy to digest.
Best for Land Turtles
Zilla Land Turtle & Tortoise Food
  • Formulated for land turtles, which are primarily herbivores that eat some insects
  • Promotes excellent health, improved shell color, and activity
  • You can serve it with fruits and veggies or serve it "as is," since it is nutritionally complete
  • These pellets feature the correct amount of proteins, vitamins, and minerals your pet requires
  • Easy to digest
Check Chewy Check Amazon

Choosing the Best Turtle Food: What to Look For

When choosing the best food for your pet turtle, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind; quality, affordability, and convenience. Making sure that you choose a brand for your turtle based on these factors will help you choose the best one for your turtle and its specific needs.

Quality — First, you’ll want to make sure that the turtle food you’re considering is made of high-quality ingredients. This will ensure that your pet turtle won’t be ingesting anything that is bad for its health or will harm it in the long run. This includes unnecessary ingredients such as added preservatives, artificial flavors, and artificial colors. Your pet food does not need these ingredients and they can actually do quite a bit of harm to your turtle’s health when consumed over time.

Affordability — Second, you want your pet’s food to be a good value, meaning you get a good quality product for a reasonable price. Your pet’s food should not cost an arm and a leg, and there are great brands out there like the ones we’ve mentioned in this article that offer high-quality, premium ingredients at an affordable price.

Convenience — Last, your turtle’s food should be convenient when it comes to feeding your pet, as well as storing the food. This means that your pet food should be easy to feed and clean up after, and it should have a long shelf life or be easily stored in the fridge.

The Different Types of Turtle Food: Pros and Cons Compared

There are a few different options when it comes to food types for your turtle. The type that you choose will depend on things like what you’re looking for for your specific pet and the type of turtle you have. Let’s take a look at the different types of turtle food you can buy:

  • Pellet — This form is usually designed for land turtles but can be seen in dissolvable form as well. Pellets like the Zilla brand we mentioned earlier are great for pet owners that have land turtles. You can even add a bit of moisture to them if you want to increase the palatability of it for your turtle, but it is not necessary. Pellets can be stored in a cool, dry place and do not require refrigeration.
  • Stick — Our overall recommended brand by Ultra Fresh comes in stick form. This kind of turtle food is designed to float in the water and stay intact for 24 hours which helps keep your aquarium water clean instead of cloudy, unlike food that may completely dissolve in the water. Sticks are designed to rapidly softened once in water, but will not completely disintegrate which would make the water cloudy and difficult to clean.
  • Canned — There is also canned turtle food that you can by for your land turtles. This is a shelf-stable type of turtle food that usually does not require refrigeration. The shelf life of brands like Zoo Med’s box turtle food can last up to two years on the shelf.

Now, let’s go over some of the pros and cons of each type of turtle food we’ve mentioned:

Pellets

ProsCons
No messCan be dry
Can be moistenedGenerally exclusively for land turtles
Does not require refrigerationMay not be the most flavorful

Sticks

ProsCons
Floats in the waterExclusively for aquatic turtles
Does not disintegrateMay not be ideal for baby turtles
Instantly softens
Stays intact for 24 hours

Canned

ProsCon
Long shelf lifeNot for aquatic turtles
Does not require refrigerationCan be more expensive over time
Great for land turtles

Verified Review: User Experience

Many customers that were in the market for turtle food had very positive reviews for our overall best pick, the Ultra Fresh Turtle Nutri Stick. Many people found that their turtles were also quite satisfied with the choice and seemed to love the taste. Here are a few examples of some of the reviews:

“My turtle is a little picky. He loves these though. Great price, reviews, and 45% vegetable prompted me to try because I have trouble getting him to eat veggies. Like a little kid. These are also calcium and vitamin D enriched.”

“I couldn’t get my baby turtle to eat anything but mealworms. I went through quite a few pellets, made for baby turtles, and she refused every one of them. Bought this on a whim and thankfully she loves it.”

“These pellets are loaded with so many vitamins and minerals more than any other pellet I’ve tried.
My two turtles Love them and eat them all within a matter of seconds.”

Customers were also very satisfied with the Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food brand:

“This food is well-received by all my different turtles, from sliders to mud turtles to Malaysian box turtles. I do still supplement with greens and the occasional fruit treat just for variety.”

“My sliders love this stuff! I don’t have to clean up leftover food because there isn’t any!”

About the Author

Freelance writer specializing in natural health and wellness.

The Best Turtle Food for a Healthy Pet FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 

Do I have to feed my pet turtle pellet food?

Experts recommend feeding carnivorous turtles pellets as well as live animal protein. If you have an omnivorous turtle, you should feed them pellets plus veggies or other acceptable plants.

 

Why do I have to feed pellet food to my turtle.

Most turtle owners feed their pets pellets, sticks, or canned turtle food in addition to whatever fruits, vegetables, insects, etc., their species of turtle would eat in the wild. Commercially prepared foods are scientifically formulated to meet turtles’ nutritional requirements. They are enhanced with vitamins, minerals and, depending on the formula, perhaps probiotics to help your turtle live a long, healthy life.

We recommend that you research the percentage of commercial food that you should feed to your species of turtle.

 

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