OK, long story short, you have one simple goal in feeding your turtle, learn what your species eats in the wild and strive to simulate this in captivity. Fortunately for you I spent 17 years on the Macleay river and have explored it entirely and thoroughly and can help you with this.
For turtles, a diet with the correct calcium to phosphorus balance/ratio is important to maintain shell and bone integrity. If the turtle does not receive enough calcium in its diet to maintain the correct level in the blood, the needed calcium is taken from the bones. The bones are softened and the muscles weaken; the syndrome is termed Metabolic Bone Disease or MBD. For shelled creatures, the importance of maintaining good bone/shell strength is obvious. All you have to do is provide the foods that enable the turtle to maintain this balance, and it's not complicated. Avoid feeding exclusively foods that are high in phosphorus and low in calcium, these include grapes, bananas, mealworms, crickets and peas.
With its oxalic acid content, spinach presents another problem. This combines with calcium to form an insoluble salt, calcium oxalate, which builds up in the kidneys. Spinach should NEVER be fed to any turtle. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the total diet,
including any supplements should be a minimum of 2:1. Always check the nutrition labels on any commercial turtle food, pellets and or supplements for the proportions of calcium and phosphorus.
The recommended aquatic plants, especially Vallisneria, Elodea, Azolla and native duckweed are very high in calcium. Other great sources of calcium and natural protein are silkworms, earthworms/compost worms, black soldier fly larva, whole live feeder fish, aquatic snails (aquarium bred only - NOT wild caught) and white moths which can easily be gathered at night in the warmer months by leaving an outside light on. Natural sources of keratin (for producing healthy scutes) include whole live freshwater shrimps and small crayfish or yabbies. The ultimate feeder insect for freshwater turtles is woodies (feeder roaches).
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This is always one remark newcomers to turtles make... they are a great reptile to keep because they never do stop. Snakes will curl up and sleep for 2 weeks, dragons will bask motionless for hours on end but turtles never stop, they are always on the go and you'll never tire of watching it explore its habitat and the habitat you've created for yours is great. Little tip, if you want to create a couple of inexpensive caves for your turtle, take a raw unsealed terracotta pot and completely immerse it in a bucket of water for 24 hours and then saw it in half with a hacksaw or grinder.... you'll have 2 instant turtle caves that your turtle will greatly appreciate. Always choose a pot that's a good size larger than your turtle's shell so it doesn't accidentally wedge itself into the pot and drown.
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