how to fatten them up for winter..

ColleenT

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what foods are a bit fattening? i am not sure i am confident of my Boxies weights this year, and if i want them to hibernate, they need to gain some weight. i usually give them a mixed meal with butternut squash, Omega one turtle pellets, and dandelion greens and i alternate with earthworms. plus whatever they can catch in their own enclosure.

But i am guessing none of those are good for putting weight on them. Are eggs good for added calories?
 

Berkeley

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Eggs, mushrooms, pinky mice and shrimp are all good. (Rinse the shrimp well to remove as much of the added sulfites as possible).
Caterpillars are also quite common this time of year, and you can try to offer those- just be careful of the ones with hairs or spines as they often have irritating abilities or venom. ('Smooth skin goes down smoothly!')

--Berkeley
 

mark1

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i would say pinkie mice is a good idea , hopefully they'd eat frozen , if not they'll almost for sure eat live ones ..... aside from that i 'd try dog food , mine all will eat bil-jac frozen ..... earthworms get them pretty fat , minnows ,mine love minnows .......
 

ColleenT

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thanks for all the suggestions. i can get frozen pinkies, don't think i know anywhere to get live, and i can't stomach that, anyway.
 

Yvonne G

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If you can get them to eat Mazuri, that's a good item to help put weight on them.
 

mark1

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i also think ripe bananas can put some weight on them , and certainly contain a good amount of carbohydrates , i give them fairly often , i shake them in a bag with vionate , which is a vitamin mineral powder .... while i definitely feel better about a heavier turtle hibernating , i believe fat is not what gets them through hibernation as it does truly hibernating mammals , i think they use sugar or glycogen that is stored in the muscles and liver , someone could correct me if i'm wrong , but i believe that's the difference i know of between true hibernation and northern turtles brumating ........
 

Berkeley

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thanks for all the suggestions. i can get frozen pinkies, don't think i know anywhere to get live, and i can't stomach that, anyway.

Nah, frozen then thawed pinkies are fine. I don't feed live ones. Just put them right on top of the other food mix and they eat them right up.
--Berkeley
 

PJay

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I fed mice over the weekend and got a big surprise. The store didn't have pinkies so I bought small fuzzies and expected the turtles to use their beak and claws to rip off bite sized pieces. Nope! They swallowed them down whole, head first, like snakes do.
 

Berkeley

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I fed mice over the weekend and got a big surprise. The store didn't have pinkies so I bought small fuzzies and expected the turtles to use their beak and claws to rip off bite sized pieces. Nope! They swallowed them down whole, head first, like snakes do.

That's awesome!

I actually feed my boxes all my leftover rodents from feeding snakes. They eat things all the way up to the size of adult rats with no problem. Box turtles eat carrion of all types in the wild regularly, so size is no issue. I generally just recommend pinkies to people a) because it is not as gross as seeing an adult mouse or rat get consumed, and b) because of a slightly higher fat content.

--Berkeley
 

AJK Aquaria

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That's awesome!

I actually feed my boxes all my leftover rodents from feeding snakes. They eat things all the way up to the size of adult rats with no problem. Box turtles eat carrion of all types in the wild regularly, so size is no issue. I generally just recommend pinkies to people a) because it is not as gross as seeing an adult mouse or rat get consumed, and b) because of a slightly higher fat content.

--Berkeley

Do you skin the larger rodents, such as the rats?
 

MichaelaW

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It is actually dangerous to"fatten up" a turtle for brumation. Brumation is stressful enough as it is, and further stressing their bodies with excess fat mass is a risky endeavor. This places strain on the internal organs and could cause death during the brumation period. A turtle should be a normal healthy weight before winter. They do not rely on fast mass to survive brumation. Remember, turtles are cold blooded, unlike mammals.
 

dmmj

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Wax worms, very fattening
 

ColleenT

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It is actually dangerous to"fatten up" a turtle for brumation. Brumation is stressful enough as it is, and further stressing their bodies with excess fat mass is a risky endeavor. This places strain on the internal organs and could cause death during the brumation period. A turtle should be a normal healthy weight before winter. They do not rely on fast mass to survive brumation. Remember, turtles are cold blooded, unlike mammals.

Yes i understand. My turtles look a little on the thinner side. i am not trying to make them fat, i am trying to bring them up to a healthy weight. i dont have much time to do this bc we get winter early. otherwise i need to keep them inside all winter which would not be fun for them or for me, since my dogs are always hunting them.
 

MichaelaW

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Yes i understand. My turtles look a little on the thinner side. i am not trying to make them fat, i am trying to bring them up to a healthy weight. i dont have much time to do this bc we get winter early. otherwise i need to keep them inside all winter which would not be fun for them or for me, since my dogs are always hunting them.
I would suggest not pushing the food items which are high in fat, but rather encourage extra intake of more balanced and healthy food. Too much high fat food is bad for their liver and other organs.
 

Berkeley

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Agreed with Michaela. Wax worms are pretty much just fat and need to fed sparingly in general.

--Berkeley
 

Eric Phillips

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Yes i understand. My turtles look a little on the thinner side. i am not trying to make them fat, i am trying to bring them up to a healthy weight. i dont have much time to do this bc we get winter early. otherwise i need to keep them inside all winter which would not be fun for them or for me, since my dogs are always hunting them.

Hello Colleen, the one of the important parts of preparing your box turtles for hibernation is understanding your turtles weight. I weigh mine consistently in the spring/summer then weigh them 2 or more times per month on the waning months. During the process if there was a 10% or more drop off in weight from spring/early summer then I determine if they are under weight. Some of the weight gain and loss can be also due to the females being gravid. Keeping track of the weights can be very helpful in determining whether they "look" thin or not. I also wouldn't necessary concentrate on more fatty foods. If they are thin, I would just increase the feeding times. Maintaining a balance diet will help the process later in unloading the food in their digestive tract. Your about 2 weeks or alittle more away from stop giving them food all together. Don't worry, you will do great!
 

ColleenT

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i have been feeding them a lot more, feeding them daily, but to me, they look a bit on the thin side. i have weighed them all about a month ago and again about a week ago. Only one had gained weight, one was exactly the same and the toher 2 had dropped a few grams.
 
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