What Do Green Sea Turtles Eat? Foods from Birth to Death!

Among the hard-shelled sea turtles, green sea turtles are the largest. These huge marine reptiles can weigh up to 700 pounds and can be about five feet long. The food they eat has the most crucial role in their growth. So, what do green sea turtles eat?

When hatchlings, green sea turtles eat worms, algae, fish eggs, larval crabs, etc. As they grow and become juveniles, jellyfish, seagrasses, algae, sea lettuce, crinkle grass, and other plant-based foods become more preferable. Adult sea green turtles depend solely on plant-based foods like red algae, seaweed, moss, etc.

I will give you a complete idea about the foods green sea turtles eat throughout their lives. Let’s begin.

What Do Green Sea Turtles Eat: Complete Breakdown

The most fascinating thing about the foods of green sea turtles is the transition in their dietary pattern. For the sake of your understanding, I will discuss their food habits with respect to different life stages. Let’s start with baby green sea turtles.

Food Habits of Hatchlings

When the eggs of green sea turtles are hatched, the babies typically eat the embryo fluid. After coming out of the nest, baby green sea turtles are typically omnivorous. In most cases, they feed on small animals and aquatic plants.

Their food includes live and drifting animals. For example, 

• larval crabs
• Copepods,
• Jellyfish 
• Seaweed and other plants

They also eat fish eggs, worms, crustaceans, small invertebrates, etc. 

You may ask, can turtles eat mealworms? Of course, turtles love to eat mealworms, whether live or dried. They don’t discriminate between animal-based and plant-based foods. These babies will also eat 

• algae 
• seaweed, etc. 

As the babies grow, their diet pattern starts to change.

Juveniles Eat More Plant-Based Foods

The juvenile period can be several decades long in baby green turtles. During this period, their eating habit goes through a transition. Omnivorous babies start to lean on plant-based foods.

But they still eat animal-based foods. For example, 

• Mollusks
• Jellyfish
• Worms 

Besides, they eat plant-based food as follows. 

• Algae
• Seagrasses
• and other plant-based foods.

They eat seagrass so predominantly that these grasses are often called turtle grass. Other sea turtles may also eat seagrasses. And what else do sea turtles eat? They may eat 

• Squids
• Duckweed
• water hyacinths
• Corals
• and many other marine foods.

Adult Green Sea Turtles Are Herbivorous

Green turtles reach the age of sexual maturity anywhere between 25 and 35 years. While they grow old, they change their omnivorous diet pattern and start eating only plant-based foods. 

For the rest of their lives, they eat foods as follows.

• Green or red algae
• Seagrass
• Red moss
• Sea lettuce
• Seaweed, etc.

The diet of adult green turtles can also vary depending on where they live. I will talk about that in a second.

Do green sea turtles drink water?

Of course. Green sea turtles drink seawater. They have adapted to the salty seawater and can remove the salt from the water using their salt glands. The glands are located near their eyes. 

Foods Green Sea Turtles Eat in Different Habitats

The dietary pattern of green sea turtles highly depends on their habitats. For example, turtles living near coral reefs eat different foods than pelagic turtles.

Close-to-Shore Turtles

Green turtles generally love to live in shallow waters. So, their favorite habitats are close to the shores. If these turtles live near coral reefs, they mostly depend on algae and corals from the reefs. Besides, they can feed on small animals living near coral reefs.

Remember, pet turtles may have a different eating pattern than these turtles. If you are wondering whether turtles can eat bread, they can, but bread does no good to turtles.

Pelagic Turtles

These are open-sea turtles, which means they go into the open ocean in search of food. They usually eat

• Jellyfish
• siphonophores, etc. 

Pelagic turtles also eat gelatinous organisms found in the open ocean.

How Do Green Sea Turtles Eat Underwater?

Even though green sea turtles are carnivorous or omnivorous when young, they turn herbivorous once they become adults. So, their feeding apparatus is fitted to that diet pattern. Here is a quick overview of their eating process underwater.

Their Jawlines Are Serrated: 

Green sea turtles don’t have teeth. In fact, no turtles have teeth. Instead, they have strong and powerful beak-like mouths. In herbivorous turtles like the one I am talking about, the edges of jawlines are serrated. These turtles bite on plants using their jaws.

They Crush Food with Powerful Jaws: 

After approaching coral reefs or seagrass beds, these turtles grasp their food with their beak-like mouth. Then, they apply enough force with their jaws to tear that plant off. And they use their jaws to ground the food with the serrated edges.

The Esophagus Moves the Food: 

After crushing and grinding the food, the muscular esophagus in green sea turtles moves the food to the digestive system. Their digestive tract is longer than other turtles, so the fibrous food can be processed properly.

These three crucial factors aid green sea turtles in eating plant-based food in their ocean habitats. Here is a video of green sea turtles eating algae. Check it out:

What to Feed Pet Green Sea Turtles?

You should feed the following items to pet green sea turtles.

Hatchlings or Juveniles

• Live or dried worms
• Shrimp
• Mollusks
• Fruits and vegetables
• Pelleted foods

Adults

• Leafy green vegetables, such as collard greens, mustard greens, etc.
• Fruits, such as melons, bananas, strawberries, etc.

How Do Green Sea Turtles Impact the Marine Ecosystem?

The food choice of green sea turtles has a great impact on the marine ecosystem. For example, they mostly eat seagrass, which helps keep the expansion of seagrass beds in control. These turtles also eat seaweed to check the unnecessary growth of seaweeds.

When in the open sea, these turtles feed on various live animals. It balances the species population in the marine ecosystem. So, turtles have a crucial role in this.

Conclusion

Green sea turtles, the flappy-leg turtles, spend their lives in the sea and live on marine foods. So, what do green sea turtles eat? Green sea turtles usually eat animal-based foods in their childhood. For example, fish eggs, insect larvae, jellyfish, and worms are the most common foods for baby and young green turtles.

Then, they transition from animal-based foods to plant-based foods. Algae, moss, corals, seaweeds, seagrasses, and other plant-based foods are mostly eaten by adult green sea turtles. 

These turtles adapted to such diet patterns with the help of their beak-like mouth, serrated jaws, and muscular esophagus. The transition in their diet is truly remarkable.