All they eat is worms and slugs

you're going to have to chop the greens up very fine you may have to run it through a blender and then mix it in with the slugs are what other meat you feed them so they get it all and they can't pick through it. They need to have Greens in their diet, or they will develop a vitamin A deficiency.

How long have you had them and do you have any pictures of them?

dmmj said:

you're going to have to chop the greens up very fine you may have to run it through a blender and then mix it in with the slugs are what other meat you feed them so they get it all and they can't pick through it. They need to have Greens in their diet, or they will develop a vitamin A deficiency.

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Ok. We will try this. Do you recommend any specific greens that they may think is yummy or loaded with the nutrients tortoises require??

Thevangang said:

Ok. We will try this. Do you recommend any specific greens that they may think is yummy or loaded with the nutrients tortoises require??

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I guess it depends on what type of greens you have access to. Dandelions always a big hit as are mustard greens and radish tops.

How old are they...babies or adults?

Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, and cantaloupe are healthy food items that are high in vitamin A in addition to greens.

i make a mix using butternut squash- cooked lightly, so it's soft. I mix it with Omega one turtle pellets, ground up in an old coffee grinder, mix with dandelion greens, chopped tiny. all of this gets mixed with water and fed to the turtles. mine love it. plate is always empty the next day.

Actually, studies done on wild Terrapene found that they don't actually consume much in the way of greens. The plant material they consume is composed mostly of fruits, flowers, and fungi, etc., with few greens.

lisa127 said:

How old are they...babies or adults?

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I am not certain of their ages. I have read that you can guesstimate by counting their "rings" like a tree?

you can for about the first 5 years, on the bottom of the plastron

Abramsmytankturtle said:

How long have you had them and do you have any pictures of them?

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We have only had them a couple of months.
Mrs. Turtle was hit by a car, so we took her in to help her mend.
Mr. Turtle's home was destroyed. My son, not knowing that box turtles can find a new habitat, brought him home. At the time, all we knew about box turtles was that if a person moves them to a new place to live, the turtle will spend the rest of their lives searching for home. We know better now and please, please, please believe me when. I say that it is not our intent to just take turtles from the wild and keep them as pets.
Oh, I will post a pic of them in a minute

MichaelaW said:

Actually, studies done on wild Terrapene found that they don't actually consume much in the way of greens. The plant material they consume is composed mostly of fruits, flowers, and fungi, etc., with few greens.

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Since our turtles came to us from the wild, should I focus more on fruits, flowers and fungi ( is that like mushrooms? )

MichaelaW said:

Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, and cantaloupe are healthy food items that are high in vitamin A in addition to greens.

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We tried carrots, sliced and made long ribbons with the peeler. Maybe they were not hungry? Maybe they didn't recognize them as food?

MichaelaW said:

Actually, studies done on wild Terrapene found that they don't actually consume much in the way of greens. The plant material they consume is composed mostly of fruits, flowers, and fungi, etc., with few greens.

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This is so true! But for some reason everyone wants to push greens and veggies on them anyway. In the wild half the diet is worms and insects. The rest is mostly berries and mushrooms.

Thevangang said:

Since our turtles came to us from the wild, should I focus more on fruits, flowers and fungi ( is that like mushrooms? )

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Each has their own likes and dislikes. Try berries, tomatoes, kiwi, cantalope. Mine won't eat mushrooms. I strangely have one that devours greens. The other won't touch them.......like most boxies. Half the diet should be protein.

Berries are always a favorite. Mushrooms usually do the trick but found some don't like it . kale also is a favorite compared to other greens. Banana and or apples also are good trrats.

Kyle

it can take some time for wild turts to eat when their envoronment changes. they get stressed. keep trying. Mine love scrambled eggs. when i first got them, this is something that sparked their appetite. ( no butter or oil in the eggs, just plain)

Thevangang said:

I am not certain of their ages. I have read that you can guesstimate by counting their "rings" like a tree?

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The problem with ring counting is you can have multiple ring growths in 1 year. This is a male 3 toed box turtle I received from Craig last year. As you can see with the arrows, this young stud has experienced 2 growth rings this year.

lisa127 said:

This is so true! But for some reason everyone wants to push greens and veggies on them anyway. In the wild half the diet is worms and insects. The rest is mostly berries and mushrooms.

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Yep, and Terrapene are scavengers, meaning that whatever they find, they will thoroughly indulge in. What they consume also has a lot to do with seasonal availability; for example, during the rainy season they will consume mostly earthworms.