Where to buy a yellow bellied slider?

What is a healthy diet for both my red eared slider & my yellow bellied slider turtle?

• On my first question I asked about the difference in growing between my yellow bellied & my red eared slider. My red eared seems to be growing faster than the other. It also likes to eat both hatchling food & shrimp. Its about 4". Has an orange/brown stripe, slender tail, thick neck & head, & claws appear to be the same length as the back & based on my research that is a female. But it is still juvenille, so I guess we won't know for sure until its older. My yellow bellied seems to be growing slower than the other, only about 3"/3&half". He doesn't eat the hatchling food, he only eats the shrimp, which he loves. But I read that young & male yellow bellied's are more carnivorous. They get about 12hrs of uv light a day, water temp stays at 81 degrees, 20 gal tank(will upgrade as they grow) that stays more than halfway filled & I keep clean& has a filter. Since, the food I feed them is crap, from what was stated in my last answer, what kind of meat should I feed them that isn't crap?

• Answer:

  Feeding Your Turtle To ensure proper nutrition, strong growth and a healthy long-lived turtle, feed a varied diet to both adults and juveniles. Just remember that adults eat less animal protein and more vegetable matter. Juveniles must be fed every day; adults can be fed once every two to three days. Do not feed more than they can eat; the excess food will go to waste and foul the water. Feed a combination of the following foods: Commercial diets (No more than 25% of total diet) Trout Chow, commercial floating fish, reptile or turtle food (pellets, sticks or tablets). The pellets and sticks have the advantage of being formulated specifically for reptiles and don't decompose in the water as fast as other foods. Animal Protein (No more than 25% of total diet) Live feeder fish--do not feed defrosted frozen fish; they are deficient in thiamin and excess consumption will cause a thiamin deficiency in your turtle. Earthworms--buy them from a reptile or aquarium store; do not feed the ones from your yard as they may contain bacteria, parasites and pesticides against which your turtle has no immunity. Finely chopped raw lean beef, beef heart and cooked chicken are okay for treats, but are not appropriate as a major part of a balanced diet for whole prey eaters. Raw chicken and beef is too often riddled with Salmonella, E. coli and other food-borne organisms. High quality dog kibble can be offered occasionally as treats, too; like muscle meat, dog and cat foods are not appropriate when used as a significant portion of a turtle's diet. Plant Matter (50% or more of total diet) Offer leaves of dark leafy greens such as collard, mustard and dandelion greens. Offer shredded carrots (and carrot tops), squash and green beans. Thawed frozen mixed vegetables may be used occasionally, but care should be taken as some frozen green vegetables develop thiaminase which destroys that all-important B vitamin. Fruit can be offered raw; shred hard fruits like apples and melons, chopping soft fruits such as berries. To help keep their beak in trim, let them gnaw on pieces of cantaloupe with the (well washed) rind still attached. Check out the edible aquatic plants sold at aquarium stores, too. You can drop these into their enclosure for them to free feed upon. Vitamin Supplements should be added twice a week. Use a good reptile or turtle multivitamin. Turtles must also be supplied with additional calcium; they often enjoy taking bites out of calcium blocks and gnawing on cuttlebone, so always have some available to them.