I have a painted turtle and a few red ear sliders. I feed them every other day. I feed ReptoMin pellets along with vegetables and bugs. Here is a typical week of feeding.

Monday: Pellets
Tuesday: Nothing
Wednesday: Various vegetables (rarely fruits such as apple skins) like romaine lettuce, carrot tops, wild dandelion leaves (from my lawn. Its safe)...ect
Thursday:Nothing
Friday: Pellets
Saturday: A few bugs, usually stink bugs (brown marmorated)
Sunday: Nothing


I'm interested in the health value of banana PEELS. I would cut them into bite size pieces and they would be feed (on occasion) along with the vegetables on Wednesday.


How is my feeding routine?

Welcome to the forum!

I feed my turtle once a day. I see no reason to skip a day unless it's simply easier for you. I feed pellets but my turtle eats few of them, mostly eating crickets, kale, and carrots. I offer grapes, other greens, and so on but he rarely eats those. I offer crickets and pellets daily and fruits and vegetables every other day.

My turtle's tank is full of stink bugs that put themselves in there and then drown but he never eats them. Your turtles want to eat them? If my turtle did, I would have a never ending supply of food as we have hundred of stink bugs, flushing at least a dozen a day, vacuuming up another few dozen weekly. At the height of the fall migration, I was sucking 200 out of the chimney flue daily.

I've never heard of feeding banana peels just banana insides. I wouldn't feed the peels.

Your turtles are probably getting enough to eat but would be healthier if they had the fruits, vegetables, and insects at least a few times a week. Try crickets and mealworms for variety instead of just stink bugs.

I love that they eat the stink bugs! They are all over my house and its the middle of winter! They have officially invaded Maryland! My turtles eat everything but orange skins. they eat the stinkbugs like pellets. I figure they are equal too if not better than feeding them feederfish.

I'm in MD too; the new Asian stinkbug capital of the world! I would think all those stink glands would taste bad!

I thought they would taste and bad as they smell. I wonder how much they hate me...feeding them banana peels and stinkbugs. I'm hoping the stinkbugs make up for the fact that I don't feed them any meats like live fish.

I don't know how much the turtles hate you but I'm betting the stink bugs hate you more! :lol:

LOL Robyn. Thanks for your help. I didn't know you had a forum before. I have been learning from your articles since at least 05! I would have joined a long time ago if I had known! Many of your articles are booked marked my my browser :D