Small snapping turtles have miscellaneous food habits and can eat more food, but they prefer meat, so it is better for breeders to feed them more animal feed. Especially in their infancy, they have a large demand for food and nutrition, so breeders can feed them with animal feed as staple food and plant feed as complementary food. The animal feed suitable for small crocodile turtles is small fish, shrimp, red worms, earthworms, loaches, centipedes, shellfish, snails, lean meat, animal viscera and so on. Although feeding animal feed can make them nutritious enough, in order to ensure their nutritional balance, it is best for breeders to match them with some plant feed. The plant feed suitable for them to eat is aquatic plants, algae, cabbage, water spinach, apples, bananas and so on.

The frequency of feeding food is different at different stages. Generally speaking, the frequency of feeding in infancy needs to be higher, and it can be fed 1-2 times a day, and 80% full each time. When they mature, the feeding amount can be larger, but the feeding frequency needs to be lower, 2-3 times a week. In addition to their growth stage, the breeder also needs to decide the feeding frequency according to the water temperature. If the water temperature is too high, the breeder can increase the feeding frequency. If the water temperature is low, the feeding frequency can be reduced.