both turtles reject earthworms???

[cordell]

Hello, I have a hatchling 3 towed and a 8 year old 3 towed. Both are now eating worms, mealworms. The baby does not show interest in earthworms, I have cut them up, left them whole, in the water, out of the water, you name it. He just wont touch them. Now mealworms, he eats those.

Now the 8 year old I was feeding mealworms this evening, I decided to sneak a earthworm in. BAM!! It bit, chewed and spit! She picked it up again and spit it out once more. She then walked away. I tossed in another mealworm and she ran over to eat it. What is the deal with the earthworms, and what can I feed that is close to the nutritional value of a earthworm but not one?

I will be starting a thread on the older turtle and her shell, i removed what i believe was shell rot or the starting of. we have only had her for about 1 1/2 months. this was on her shell when we got her.

Thanks,
Cordell

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You can also feed them berries and cantaloupe. My 3-toed prefer the blueberries and blackberries with Cantaloupe on the side, while my Ornata enjoy feasting on live worms.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Cordell:

The worms you buy for bait, for example, red worms, don't taste good. If you smell them you notice an acrid odor. However, if you put them into some sort of clean medium for a couple weeks and let them clean out their systems, the smell, and supposedly the taste, goes away and they become interesting food for the turtles. I don't know where you get your earthworms, but it might be the same thing. If you've purchased them, maybe you need to put them into some sort of clean medium for a week or so and then try feeding them.

I raise worms in a plastic tote with a layer of clean dirt on the bottom, then a layer of garden trash (leaves, grass clippings, plant cuttings), then a layer of egg shells and clean kitchen garbage (no meat). The box turtles love these worms. I will also buy some red worms, wash them off under the faucet, then put them into my worm pile.

Yvonne

 

[cordell]

I see, that makes sense. The worms were bought from PetCo though they look like worms for fishing come to think about it. The stuff they are in is almost if not exactly the same stuff. I can make my own worm bed to clean them out, if I do this they will reproduce in the bed as well correct? Must I feed them earthworms, or will the mealworms be OK?

thanks
cordell

 

[terracolson]

Yvonne, how do you raise earthworms? i buy the earthworms from petsmart and they are feeding quality vs. walmart, stinky quality....

It almost seems my turtles like the walmart better, but i hear you shouldnt use them, there not for feeding reptiles....only bait.

 

[cordell]

i buy the earthworms from petsmart and they are feeding quality

So you buy them from a pet shop as well. I got them from PetCo they should be feeders as well right?

cordell

 

[terracolson]

Petco, petsmart same thing, the quality is for feeding not bait. check out the walmart ones, you will see he difference so tell me about this healty bed, i need to know about that?

what do i need to do?

 

[cordell]

Yes please, some good instructions on the healthy worm bed with pictures. Maybe a thread on it so it can be a Sticky..

cordell

 

[Yvonne G]

I see, that makes sense. The worms were bought from PetCo though they look like worms for fishing come to think about it. The stuff they are in is almost if not exactly the same stuff. I can make my own worm bed to clean them out, if I do this they will reproduce in the bed as well correct? Must I feed them earthworms, or will the mealworms be OK?

thanks
cordell

Yes, those are more than likely redworms, not earthworms. Earthworms are basically whitish or grey, and the kind you buy at the pet store are red. Yes, make a worm bed with clean dirt and some leaves, even damp newspaper (they eat the paper). Mealworms don't have all the nutrition that the turtles require, but are ok to feed say, once a week or so. Fruit, veggies, green-leaf and red-leaf lettuce, grass hoppers, sow bugs, etc. All good box turtle foods.

Yvonne

---

Yvonne, how do you raise earthworms? i buy the earthworms from petsmart and they are feeding quality vs. walmart, stinky quality....

It almost seems my turtles like the walmart better, but i hear you shouldnt use them, there not for feeding reptiles....only bait.

The only worms I buy at Wal-Mart are night crawlers. I feed them to my box turtles with no ill effects.

Yvonne

---

You can fence of a small area in the shade over your regular dirt. Make a round with chicken wire or some kind of wire fencing. Put in a layer of leaves and garden trash. Lay down some newspaper. Then save up your kitchen garbage...apple cores, cantaloupe rind, orange rind, egg shells...and add the clean kitchen garbage to the worm bed. About once a week take a garden fork and turn over the whole thing to aerate it. This adds oxygen to the decomposing stuff. Or you can place a large plastic tub in the shade and do the same thing only on a smaller scale. Poke some holes in the lid so air can get in. And keep it moist. If you make it on the ground, you usually won't have to buy worms, as they'll come in from the dirt, but if you make it in a plastic tub, you'll have to get it started with store-bought worms.

Yvonne

 

[Kymiie]

I thought the big one was the baby untill i scrolled down!
lol xxxx

 

[cordell]

So what is one to do when both turtles do not like the redworms and only eat the mealworms? I found waxworms at the Pet shop today, I didnt buy any but they didnt seem to have the hard shell like the mealworms.

cordell

 

[Laura]

You can feed the meal worms to make them a bit better, but they really are more of a treat. and too many can cause a blockage for tiny animals. There exo skin is hard. They can also have a hard bite to little critters trying to eat them..

 

[terryo]

My lil three toed is eating some wax worms now. I ask the girl at the pet shop to pick out some small ones for me. If you get the red wigglers ...they are much smaller than earth worms (night crawlers) and then cut them in half they really wiggle all over the place and my little one seems to like chasing them. I buy them from Carolina Pet supply. I think that's the name of it. I put them in a plastic bin and throw some cut up newspaper (dampened) and some table scraps...mostly dandelions. They multiply like crazy and are much smaller than the other worms and I think easier for them to eat and they get some good nutrition.

 

[cordell]

Just wanted to update. Myrtle, the big turt has been eating worm for a while now. Myrtle eats and eats and eats! I swear that thing is a PIG, lol. I even fed her a crawfish! Pinchers off of course.

The baby now, that little devil is a whole new story! He has been eating wax worms and meal worms pretty regularly now. He skips a day now and then but the day before he skips he eats to much I think. Today I come home and didnt feel like warming up the wax worms so I tossed a red worm in. Well he ate it, then another, then another, I'll be damned if he didnt eat 1 more! He had this hunting look to him today, I caught him litterly running around his enclosure! He chills in the substrate but keeps his little head and half of the shell visible. I think he has accepted home.

cordell

 

[Jacqui]

Sounds like the baby won't be staying a baby for much longer. Glad they are both eating well!