So frustrated. E. box turtle hasn't eaten in over 2 weeks!

[lisa127]

I had a few loose crickets turn into a few too many, seemingly over night. They killed and partially ate a Jacksons Chameleon.
Removing the long legs first might have helped. I did not.
tiffew, please don't be upset by this. I'm just relating my experience with crickets "gone wild".
I assume @lisa127 is warning about something similar?

Exactly.

 

[tiffew]

Yikes. I'm not going to leave any crickets loose. Thanks for the insight.

Thanks for the help

 

[lisa127]

Yikes. I'm not going to leave any crickets loose. Thanks for the insight.

Thanks for the help

Leaving nightcrawlers in there would be great though! They are nutritionally better than crickets anyway. Good luck!

 

[tiffew]

Thanks Lisa. Cut up nightcrawlers or full length? They wouldn't scare him?

 

[tiffew]

He is sleeping with his head out of his shell. Is that a bad sign?

 

[Eric Phillips]

Don't hit the panic button just yet! A couple legless crickets won't break the bank in the enclosure as long as your monitoring the situation. Both Ed and Lisa are correct about crickets but a couple in there won't do anything other than promote the innate instinct of hunting skills by your box turtle. Turtles have been on Earth for close to 200 million years, I feel sometimes its better off to leave human emotion out of certain elements and let nature do its thing. I provide dozens of smaller European Nightcrawlers(not cut up) and probably a 100 or more pill bugs left in the enclosure for them to hunt. I do not leave any type of larvae that will eventually morph into beetle or flying insect. I have left a few uneaten Dubia Roaches in there to only be eaten at a later date but don't do it very often. Your little one also isn't being drawn down by the warmth of the heating pad anymore and thats why it didn't spend every waking minute in the substrate. I know this is a learning experience but it will be ok. Yes, they sleep with their head out of shell and legs sprawled out at times. Only time to really worry is if the eyes become swollen, nares become closed with discharge, and open mouth breathing is noticeable. JME

 

[tiffew]

I will try to calm down with the questions, but had one more to bug you guys with....is it ok if the turtle is in the room next to the laundry room and hears the washing machine and dryer maybe once a day?

Also, and I'm not at all sure about this, but I can't find the cricket our son gave him this morning so there is a chance our turtle ate it. I certainly hope so. Right now he is still in the same spot as last night, but with eyes open and head out. I put some leaves sort of over him so he has a little cover since he decided to sit atop them all night. Once he gets home from school I'll send him hunting for pill bugs again and have him put a nightcrawler in the habitat.

 

[lisa127]

Thanks Lisa. Cut up nightcrawlers or full length? They wouldn't scare him?

If you're worried they may be too big you can try redworms instead. Some say their box turtles don't like them but all mine were fed them as hatchlings and loved them!

My 5.5 lb redfoot is afraid of nightcrawlers....LOL.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

About the washer and dryer. Tortoises don't hear the same way that we do.
The noise of the washer and dryer will not bother him. Movement nearby will scare him. Not sounds.

 

[Pearly]

this is my substrate after lifting my wwter dish close up of the above. Got small box of live nightcrawlers for my then very young hatchings for protein option, but they showed no interest, I ended up dumping the whole thing into the 40 gal terrarium tank's substrate where I was keeping my babies and they had happily lived and multiplied in there for almost 2 yrs. Also added 4 pillbugs that My kids had found in our garden, and after just few wks their population exploded! The torts at times hunted those and then with plants dug up from my garden to plant in the terrarium came some snail eggs bcs bfr long I started noticing tiny round and cone shaped snails all over the place which is by far the most favorite snack of my babies. I had all that going in that terrarium for almost 2 years! They had provided clean up service to the substrate and nutritious snacks for my babies. On the side note there has NEVER been an issue with any bugs crawling out of the tank into the room. The point of this post is, perhaps you remove the food too quickly from the enclosure? And I would definitely switch to the bigger size without the delay. Also I believe that it's best to have substrate layer as thick as possible, mine has been 5-6" thick and my torts don't burrow. For burrowing tort I'd probably try for even deeper if possible. I fed my babies first thing in am and then again in the afternoon their first year, and then always snack after their bath bfr bedtime. I didn't have the time to bathe in am. They are almost 2 yrs old and weighing over 2 lbs each so they get fed in am huge pile of food that they can never finish by dinner time, then bath after dinner and BIG bedtime snack after their soak. Mine are RFs but I think there a lot of commonalities in raising babies, torts or turts, they share many common characteristics. Hope you get this sorted out. Good luck

 

[Pearly]

It's 85 on the warm side, 75 on the cool side. He sometimes sleeps on the warm side, sometimes on the cool side.

His poop for a few days was bright fake grass green and mucous-y. I have no idea why because he doesn't eat anything green. Sometimes it is brown. He only poops when we soak him.

He was a captive-bred turtle we bought from tortoisetown . com

He doesn't stay in one hiding place, just picks different areas of his moss to bury under. I put the food on a little plate after he's had his soak. While he's having his soak I put Omega One pellets and reptomin sticks in his water and, sometimes we try a worm in the water too.

Just catching up on your thread. Bright green poop color is rather unnatural for properly digested food, neither is the mucous in his poo... if that color resembles the color of your substrate, he's likely eating it, and presence of the mucous in his BM tells me that his gut is not too happy about it. I'd put out fresh food for this baby twice a day and leave it. Then whatever not eaten by next meal, remove and put fresh and leave. Cut up worm and fruit. I hear that baby boxies are not big on greens. You can always put some down but "fresh protein" foods are your best bet.

 

[Greta16]

Ok, I didn't know taking him out on the driveway like we did would be so stressful. I feel terrible about it now--we were just hoping for some sun on his back and some wearing down of his claws. We will discontinue for the time being.

We only handle him to weigh him every few days and put him in and out of his soaking water.

I've been keeping chopped worms, greens and fruit in there, but he's not interested. We did try strawberries. I'll try another one tomorrow.

He doesn't sleep on the hot side at all lately so he's not reaching 83 degrees unless he's soaking because that is on the warmer side.

How do you keep the food from shriveling up under the light?

Do you all have fake plants keeping them from looking up at us and seeing us? Would any of you mind showing me a photo of your habitat? Sandy Barnett suggested fake plants on his level that he has to walk through and that's what we've got. Beneath that is maybe 2" or slightly less of wet moss, it's very much like sphagnum moss.

I spray my torts food when ever I walk by her enclosure with a spray bottle. Food stays fresh all day. Sorry if someone already said this.

 

[tiffew]

My son found some pillbugs and put them in this evening. We don't think he ate any yet.
5-6" substrate sounds like a lot. And we need to clean the habitat weekly? That's a lot to take out each week.
if my turtle stays in almost the same place all the time why do I need to move him to a new and larger habitat? I'm not against it, just curious.
I guess I need to take a stool sample to the vet because of his mucous-like poop? He only poops at night when he does do it and I was told I'd need to take the sample the same day otherwise the stuff in the stool could literally die and not be evident in a test. It would be impossible for me to take it until the next day. Any thoughts on that?
The moss is not bright grass green, only the tiny plants that live in the habitat are. Would those make his poop bright green?

 

[Pearly]

My son found some pillbugs and put them in this evening. We don't think he ate any yet.
5-6" substrate sounds like a lot. And we need to clean the habitat weekly? That's a lot to take out each week.
if my turtle stays in almost the same place all the time why do I need to move him to a new and larger habitat? I'm not against it, just curious.
I guess I need to take a stool sample to the vet because of his mucous-like poop? He only poops at night when he does do it and I was told I'd need to take the sample the same day otherwise the stuff in the stool could literally die and not be evident in a test. It would be impossible for me to take it until the next day. Any thoughts on that?
The moss is not bright grass green, only the tiny plants that live in the habitat are. Would those make his poop bright green?

If you go with the bio-substrate - with live critters- the do the clean up for you. Provided you bathe your baby daily and remove the uneaten protein food chunks to prevent odors. I have NOT cleaned my substrate for almost 2 yrs and yes, 5-6" is thick layer but dealing with burrowing species in attempt to reduce his stress level, why not? Again, YOU DO NOT take it out at all! Never mind each week.

 

[Pearly]

As for larger living quarters, he is not moving bcs of not feeling too well, or maybe not feeling safe/secure or both. I'd give him more room, deep substrate with leaf litter to hide in, water feature in there, keep him very warm and keep trying to feed. As for stool sample, I never tested mine. I understand that gut worms should not be an issue unless there are overloading his gut in which case you would likely see the evidence of it in his poo. Now, being fairly new to reptiles myself, I maybe mistaken here. Someone more seasoned will come along and correct me please.

 

[tiffew]

Thanks, Pearly. He ate a cricket this morning!!!!!! We are so excited. Yesterday we gave the crickets some raw mushroom and today we will give them some egg and strawberries. Are there better things to feed the crickets?

 

[cmacusa3]

Thanks, Pearly. He ate a cricket this morning!!!!!! We are so excited. Yesterday we gave the crickets some raw mushroom and today we will give them some egg and strawberries. Are there better things to feed the crickets?

Dubai are better, crickets are a great jump start and that's why I recommended it. Now he will see bugs as food.

 

[tiffew]

Ok, why are Dubai crickets better? Thanks.

 

[lisa127]

Ok, why are Dubai crickets better? Thanks.

He means roaches, not crickets.

 

[ColleenT]

it is DUBIA not dubai.