When it comes to turtles, these devilish little dinos can be surprisingly active and playful, especially in their younger years.

Whether your turtle is naturally small, or is in infancy, here’s our top 8 most recommended toys & enrichment items you can give your turtle for a great time.

1. Moss Balls
   • These are not only a great source of entertainment for the more active turtles out there, but does a great job to boost tank filtration and reduce excess waste from your turtle. My turtle loved pushing it around the tank at night!
   • See a few options we recommend below:
     • Exo Terra Moss Ball – Amazon
     • Marimo Moss Ball – Aquarium Plants Factory
     • Nano Marimo Moss Ball – Aquatic Arts
       
       
2. Underwater Grass & Plants
   • Be sure to do your research to pick out the right ones! Some plants can be toxic to turtles, but many are a wonderful source of both nutrition, and playtime. Turtles love digging at the roots and eating up some aquatic species of plants – so don’t get too attached to them, as they are likely to disappear over time.
   • Here’s a few options that are safe for most aquatic turtles:
     • Hornwort – Modern Aquarium
     • Java Fern (A Personal favorite) – Aquarium Plants Factory
     • Amazon Sword Plant – Aquatic Arts
     • Anacharis – Amazon
     • Java Moss – Aquarium Plants Factory
       
       
3. Banquet Blocks
   • In other pushable sinking toys, banquet blocks are both a fantastic way for turtles to lift and play with something, as well as supplementing your turtles’ diet with calcium to promote healthy growth, and maintain beak health.
   • Find a few options to buy one below – they’re all from the same brand, but can be bought at different places:
     • Banquet Block – ZooMed
     • Banquet Block – Petco
     • Banquet Block – Amazon
       
       
4. Ping Pong Balls
   • Similar to the moss ball, but more floaty. Especially good for small to medium sized turtles to where this won’t present a choking hazard, ping pong balls made for use in tanks are a great way to give your turtle some exercise and fun!
   • Find a couple of options to buy a set below:
     • Komodo Ping Pong Ball – Petco
     • (Again) Komodo Ping Pong Ball – Talis
       
       
5. Fish & Minnows (Not Vegan Friendly)
   • Admittedly, this option is for the less faint of heart. When it comes down to it, turtles are omnivorous, and part of that means they can get some of their nutrition via hunting. By giving your turtles some minnows in their tank, you can give them a swiftly moving target to get exercise and use their hunting abilities.
     
     From personal experience, I really, really do not recommend getting any big fish for this, or forming an attachment with these fish. You’d be surprised by how dinosaur-like turtles can get.
   • If this option sounds okay for you, there’s a few good places to get these:
     • Your local Petco/Petsmart – Ask for “Feeder Fish”
     • Feeder Rosie Red Minnows – Amazon
     • Rosie Red Minnows – Toledo Goldfish
       
       
6. Grass Feeder Balls
   • Similar to the moss balls, but with more of an express purpose of being a snack for your turtle. Whether you stuff it with aquatic plants, or veggies like lettuces that are safe for your turtle, this is a great way to both give your turtle some fun, as well as a robust means of sustenance. Most leafy greens are good to add to this, but do be mindful of nutritional value of what you add (for instance, iceberg lettuce has little to no nutrition, while dark leafy greens like mustard or collard greens are terrific sources of vitamins).
   • Find a few places to get these little feeder balls below:
     • Feeder Ball – Amazon
     • Feeder Ball (Slightly Different) – Amazon
     • Feeder Ball – Walmart
       
       
7. Floating Edible Plants
   • These types of plants are a favorite of my turtle. Ensure that these are NOT TOXIC (some are). Overall this is a great way for your turtle to get a little snack that feels like hunting for them, but also is effective at treating water quality, and stabilizing PH. Additionally, these little floating plants tend to grow really quickly, so unless you’ve got a little guy/gal with a really voracious appetite, a small amount will go a long way in self-replicating. Please note each set of plants requires a different amount of light and water temperature, so do your research prior to adding any specific plant type. We will also make a followup article on some plant options soon!
   • Here’s a few good options:
     • Giant Duckweed – Amazon
     • Dwarf Water Lettuce – Etsy
     • Water Lettuce – Amazon
     • Amazon Frogbit – Amazon
     • Anacharis Elodea Densa – Etsy
       
       
8. Floating Feeder Devices
   • Similar to the floating edible plants and the feeder balls, this is a toy that is great for promoting exercise and having your little guys/gals hunt it down. Fill this item up with turtle feeder pellets (not too full) and watch them go wild trying to fish it out!
   • Find a few places to get this below:
     • Zoo Med Floating Turtle Feeder – Chewy
     • Imagitarium Turtle Feeder – Petco
     • Zoo Med Floating Turtle Feeder – Walmart
       

So what do you think? Do you agree with these picks?

We hope this provides you a few options for your turtle friends/babies. Let us know what you think below!