Saw a turtle basking in the sun on a sandy beach in Minecraft but unsure what type of food it eats? First, you’re lucky to have found this reptile since it’s part of a very underrepresented form of mobs in Minecraft. Before they were introduced, these were only found in Minecraft mods and add-ons. They were alongside creatures such as crocodiles, lizards, dragons, alligators, and other reptiles and amphibians. Now that you managed to encounter the reptile without custom changes, you need to know how to keep it happy. More importantly, you must know what turtles eat in Minecraft to help their numbers increase. Let’s dive straight into it.
Which food items can turtles eat in Minecraft?
The answer to the question about what foods can turtles consume in Minecraft is straightforward—they only eat Seagrass and nothing else. When given once or a few times to a turtle with another nearby, two turtles will enter “Love Mode” and start breeding. In moments, two turtles will head to the nearby sand, start digging, and hatch 1 to 4 eggs. Shortly, baby turtles will spawn. That’s where food comes in to save the day again. Turtle babies require roughly 20 minutes, equivalent to one Minecraft day, to grow into adults ready for further breeding.
However, giving a baby turtle 1x (one) Seagrass accelerates its growth to adulthood by 10% or 2 minutes. In other words, you can feed a baby turtle 10 times before it reaches adulthood. You may only continue to do so for breeding afterward. Unlike mobs such as horses, donkey, llamas and many others, turtles cannot be tamed. Thus, they do not have a visible health bar. In other words, you cannot heal them, i.e., increase their health points (number of hearts) with food. An important thing to know since they move around a lot, is that you can lead turtles without a “Lead” item. Hold Seagrass without feeding, and turtles in the 10-block radius will turn to you and follow.
Where can I find Seagrass in Minecraft?
You’re lucky because Seagrass grows close to places you can find a turtle—in beach biomes. Precisely, any beach in Overworld where the daylight exceeds level 7 (Java Edition) and 8 (Bedrock Edition). Seagrass, in turn, can be found underwater, as a single block or a tall group of several (think 6 or more) blocks. However, you can only get Seagrass in Minecraft in two ways:
- Using Shears on a Seagrass block underwater. You cannot pick it up with tools unless you enchant Silk Touch.
- Killing an existing turtle. Each turtle can drop 0 to 2x Seagrass. The number can be increased up to 5x Seagrass if killed with a weapon enchanted with max Looting level.