Can Turtles Eat Meat (+Which Meat Is Safe and Which Isn’t)

Turtles and their dietary preferences can be very strange, sometimes turtles will eat everything in front of them (even if they shouldn’t), and other times they will become some of the pickiest eaters in the world. But how do they feel about meat?

Turtles can eat meat, both cooked and uncooked, as well as live prey. Cooked meat is recommended since uncooked meat can be unsafe due to bacteria. The meat should also be condiment free since condiments can irritate the intestines of turtles.

Most types of meat that we eat, pork, chicken, beef, etc. are safe for turtles to eat, but turtles can eat other types of meat that we don’t usually eat, like worms, crickets, and other insects. And they are actually recommended over the meat that we usually eat.

Turtles and Insect Meat

Insects are preferable to normal meat because they are safer, more convenient, and contain more proteins. And are one of the main meat sources for a turtle in the wild.

But keeping live insects in your home doesn’t seem easy or convenient at all, and it isn’t. This is why you want to get them dried.

Dried insects are the way to go. They are a lot more convenient, have a great nutritional value, are cheap, and you don’t need to take care of them.

Live insects can be a better choice for other reptiles, but for turtles, they don’t provide any extra advantage so the best option is to go for the dried ones.

As for which dried worms to choose, you should know that there are different drying methods, and some of them are better at keeping the nutrients of the insects.

The two drying methods are sun drying and freeze drying. And the one that is better at retaining the nutrients is freeze-drying.

I’ am a long-time fan of Fluker’s Freeze-Dried Reptile Treats, and I’ve been giving them to my turtle for quite a while and they seem to love it. But I’ll be honest with you I haven’t tried too many different brands and this is because all of them are very similar, so you can go with whatever you can find.

But the same thing can’t be said about feeder fish.

Turtles and Feeder Fish

One type of meat that turtles enjoy and is part of their normal diet in the wild is fish meat.

The most important thing that you have to remember about feeder fish is that not all of them are safe for turtles. Some of them can harm your turtle if they are eaten, and some of them will harm your turtle before they get the chance to be eaten. So let’s take a look at what fish you should avoid.

Feeder Fish That You Should Avoid

There are multiple reasons why some fish should be avoided so I will split this part of the article into categories, and list some of the more common fish that fall into that category.

Fish That Are Too Fat

Some fish have way too much fat for a turtle to safely eat. If a turtle has too much fat in its diet it will lead to a vitamin E deficiency, which can cause a lot of health problems.

Some common fish that have a high percentage of fat are:

Goldfish
Kribensis Cichlids
Rosy Barbs

If by mistake you’ve given your turtle one or two fish that have a lot of fat, you shouldn’t worry too much. Just a little bit of extra fat won’t harm your turtle, but if you keep giving your turtle the same fatty fish, then problems will start to appear.

Fish Containing Thiaminase

Thiaminase is an enzyme that blocks the absorption of thiamine, also known as vitamin B1. Vitamin B1 is very important for a turtle as it helps them regulate their metabolism.

Fish that contain a lot of thiaminases are:

Bullhead Catfish
Fathead Minnows
Goldfish
Carp
Gizzard Shad
Spottail Shiners
Buckeye Shiners

Fish With a Lot of Bones

Most fish have a lot of bones, but some of them are more dangerous than others. Some fish can harm your turtle before they get eaten, due to their exterior sharp bones, and some of them will harm your turtle after they are eaten, due to all the sharp and solid bones on the inside.

Here are some bony fish that you should avoid:

Swordtails
Angelfish
Bichir
Cockatoo Cichlid

The most dangerous thing about those fish is that most of them will cause internal damage, not external, so it can be quite hard to notice. So, if due to a mistake your turtle ends up eating a fish that you see on this list, make sure to pay close attention to it and see if you notice any behavioral changes. If you do you should go to the vet for a checkup

Fish That Are Too Fast

As strange as this might sound, some fish are way too fast for a turtle to catch, and if they manage to escape the turtle for enough time, they will start to reproduce, and in a just a couple of months you might end up with more fish then you started.

This can especially happen if you have decorations in the tank, which the fish can use to hide from your turtle,

While this is not such a big problem in itself, your turtle won’t be able to eat the fish, which is the whole point of feeder fish.

Some small and fast fish that can escape your turtle are:

Neon Tetra
Zebrafish
Tiger Barb

Wild Fish

Wild-caught fish contain bacteria that are harmful to turtles, so you should never add any wild-caught fish to the turtles’ tank, no matter what species it is.

Fish sold in pet shops are bred under strict conditions and are raised in safe environments. While fish in the wild are exposed to a lot of bacteria that can be harmful to a pet turtle that has not previously been exposed to them.

List of Fish That You Should Avoid

Here is a list of the fish that we discussed so far, and came to the conclusion that you should avoid:

Goldfish
Kribensis Cichlids
Rosy Barbs

Bullhead Catfish
Fathead Minnows
Goldfish
Carp
Gizzard Shad
Spottail Shiners
Buckeye Shiners
Swordtails
Angelfish
Bichirs
Cockatoo Cichlid
Wild-caught Fish

Not dangerous but your turtle will have a hard time catching them:

Neon Tetras
Zebrafish
Tiger Barb

So right from the start, we are excluding a lot of the most common fish that you might find in a pet shop. But don’t worry there are still quite a few fish that your turtle can safely eat, and they are found in most pet shops.

The Best Feeder Fish For Your Turtle

Here are the characteristics of an ideal feeder fish:

Low in fat
No thiaminase
Not too many bones, or sharp bones
Not too fast
Free of bacteria

And here are some of the fish that will fit those criteria:

Bluegills
Bass
Crappies
Guppies
Killifish
Platies
Mosquitofish

Those fish fit the criteria perfectly, so they will be a healthy meal for your turtle and they won’t harm it in any way.

Final Thoughts

So, turtles can eat meat, and from time to time you can give them a little piece. But chicken, pork, beef, and the meat that you usually eat is not the best option for a turtle. Instead, you should go for dried insects and feeder fish.

I hope this article answered all of your questions. But if there is anything else that you would like to know about what turtles can and can’t eat or anything else about turtles you can always leave a question in the comment section below and I will answer you as soon as possible.