What Do Sea Turtles Eat? A Diet Guide by Species and Age

Sea turtle diets vary with species, age and location. There is no single menu for all hatchlings or all adults. These common feeding patterns are a useful starting point, not a rule that every individual follows at every meal.

Green turtles

Older green turtles mainly graze on seagrass and algae. NOAA describes their diet as predominantly herbivorous, while younger turtles can also eat animal prey. Calling every adult a strict vegetarian would overstate the pattern. NOAA green turtle profile

Loggerheads

Loggerheads have large heads and powerful jaws suited to hard-shelled prey. Adults eat animals such as crabs and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Young turtles spend an earlier stage in the open ocean, where food and habitat differ. NOAA loggerhead profile

Leatherbacks

Leatherbacks specialize in soft-bodied prey such as jellyfish and salps. Their backward-pointing mouth and throat structures help retain slippery food. We do not give one percentage of jellyfish for the whole species: a result from a particular feeding study is not a worldwide fixed diet. NOAA leatherback profile

Hawksbills

Hawksbills often feed on sponges on coral reefs. Their narrow, pointed beak helps them reach into reef crevices. They also eat other prey; describing them as eating only sponges would be misleading. NOAA hawksbill profile

Kemp's ridleys

Crabs are important food for Kemp's ridleys, along with other animals such as mollusks and fish. Their diet connects them with coastal feeding habitats. NOAA Kemp's ridley profile

What about babies?

Avoid the claim that every hatchling is an omnivore drifting in a seaweed mat. Young turtles' habitats and foods differ between species. An early life stage can also have a different diet from an older turtle of the same species. Our species profiles help put those differences in context.

A learning activity

Choose two species and compare their usual foods and feeding structures. How might a crushing jaw and a narrow beak help with different meals? Look for the source beside each species before answering.

Daily Migration and the lifecycle game simplify food into game targets. Game energy and egg rewards are invented rules, not nutritional measurements. To learn about a real feeding hazard, read what happens when a sea turtle eats plastic.