eastern box turtle wont eat vegetables or fruits

[Agne]

hello my box turtle refuses to eat any kind of vgetables or fruits I tried cutting up worms and hiding them in the vegetables but she pics them out

 

[ascott]

hello my box turtle refuses to eat any kind of vgetables or fruits I tried cutting up worms and hiding them in the vegetables but she pics them out

They prefer the meat....you could actually try to puree or blend the greens/veggie in with worms and such so she can not pick them out,..I believe @terryo prepares a venison blend that her box turtles seem to devour.....

 

[tortdad]

How old is your box turtle? Less than a year old and you're going to have a hard time getting it to eat anything other than bugs. After a year it should be 80% bugs and 20% fruits/veggies. Mine wouldn't eat it either so I just didn't feed them bugs for a few days and only offered fresh fruits and veggies. They won't starve themselves to death, it took 2 days and now they eat just about anything I offer.

 

[Yurtle]

What kinds of fruits and veggies are you feeding? I've gotten stubborn box turtles to eat veggies, by mixing a few mealworms into the food blend.

 

[Agne]

How old is your box turtle? Less than a year old and you're going to have a hard time getting it to eat anything other than bugs. After a year it should be 80% bugs and 20% fruits/veggies. Mine wouldn't eat it either so I just didn't feed them bugs for a few days and only offered fresh fruits and veggies. They won't starve themselves to death, it took 2 days and now they eat just about anything I offer.

I have no idea how old my turtle is but maybe a width of 5 to 7 inches

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Have you tried lightly cooked squash, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots?

 

[Agne]

Have you tried lightly cooked squash, sweet potatoes, corn, carrots?

Yes she only likes meat

 

[Agne]

I

What kinds of fruits and veggies are you feeding? I've gotten stubborn box turtles to eat veggies, by mixing a few mealworms into the food blend.

tried that didn't work

 

[Yurtle]

What type of fruits and vegatables have you been trying to feed?

 

[dendem]

One of my box turtles hates veggies and fruits but then I realized she will eat strawberries. She seems to prefer red fruits over green things I also tricked her by using tweezers to feed her bugs. This conditioned her to see the tweezers and think Yum! I then fed her peas with the tweezers.

 

[CharlieM]

Banana and blueberries are very sweet and most will try these. If they will eat them you can slowly add greens. I've also chopped up stinky wet reptimin with greens and kept decreasing the amount once they start eating the greens.

 

[leigti]

My Boxturtle likes blackberries. Also try melon or honeydew. I have heard to try slightly over ripe fruits and vegetables, not rotten but pass the point where you were I would consider it good.

 

[Marty T]

Try cherry tomatoes and grapes.
Just squeeze them until they pop.

 

[Marty T]

Also try strawberries.

 

[leigti]

You can try getting the venison and sweet potato canned dog or cat food, and mix in finely chopped fruits and vegetables and greens. Two brands that I know of our natural balance and wellness. You can also add in chopped up worms then you slowly decrease the amount of the cat food.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Update?
Is it eating ok now?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Some turtles do not recognize supermarket fruit as food. Get it wild - mine are eating fallen mulberries today- or from the farmers market, or grow it yourself. Keep offering variety.

 

[TeethingBeastie]

My 3-toed hates veggies too. I have tried hiding a piece of carrot in with some chicken but she actually eats the chicken and spits the carrot out! Then she gives me the stink-eye and refuses the chicken. In the past year (she is now 5), she has occasionally eaten romaine lettuce. I keep giving her a variety of veggies (bell pepper, various squashes, sweet potato etc.) but they just go to waste. I bought a rolling composter so I wouldn't just be throwing tons of veggies in the trash. I hope someday she'll become more interested in veggies, but for now I try to gut load the crickets as much as I can. She does like a couple fruits (peaches and papaya), but I've read they are supposed to eat fruit sparingly? Lox probably eats more than she should. Good luck with getting yours to eat!