M
Maggie Cummings
Guest
A few weeks ago a woman brought me 5 box turtles because she lost her job and was having to down-size from a house to an apartment. She's a self supporting single mother and she needed to find a decent home for them so of course I took all 5. 3 are Ornates and one is a 3-toed and 1 is a 3-toed Ornate mix. It is obvious she kept them in too small of a habitat as they are violent and had bitten 1 female Ornate in her eyeball so that has scar tissue over half of the eyeball and they all will bite a person. I have never met a box turtle who would bite before. They are mean and feeding them was like a shark frenzy until I started feeding each separately.
But the heartbreak is a 4 yr old Ornate 3 toed mix who is about the size of a 50 cent piece and is missing half of his face. She admits to putting him in with the rest too soon and someone bit off half of his face and she didn't take him to a Vet. In the pictures you can see his sinus cavity is open and facing upwards. I am having a real hard time feeding him as he bites at a worm and then using his right hand he rakes the worm pulling it over to his right side where he can't see and then he loses interest in that worm and walks off. You all know the raking motion they use to straighten out the food, but as soon as anything is over on his right side he can't see it anymore and walks off. I have gone in my yard and collected rollie pollies as I saw him eat a couple when I first got him. But for some reason he doesn't like mine and won't eat them. I have offered him everything I can think of, and she has a good environment growing in the tank she brought me. I neglected to mention she brought his 150 gallon tank that Little Half-Face lives in. There are red wigglers, mealworms, sow bugs, wax worms and some nameless bugs living in the tank. I have him living in that tank alone, I also offer him all the fruit a box turtle should eat and trout chow. He won't attempt to eat anything that doesn't move. I am at my wits end and I am now afraid he is going to die. I sent an email to the woman asking how she fed him but she hasn't answered. It is obvious why he is so small at 4 years old. He must eat just enough to stay alive. He gets really excited and acts like he really wants to eat, but he's rejected everything I've offered him, except for the worms and like I said once he loses sight of them he gives up...Anybody have any advice for me? The others are healthy beautiful, mean animals. Here's Little Half-Face...
So there he is...anybody have any ideas for me?
But the heartbreak is a 4 yr old Ornate 3 toed mix who is about the size of a 50 cent piece and is missing half of his face. She admits to putting him in with the rest too soon and someone bit off half of his face and she didn't take him to a Vet. In the pictures you can see his sinus cavity is open and facing upwards. I am having a real hard time feeding him as he bites at a worm and then using his right hand he rakes the worm pulling it over to his right side where he can't see and then he loses interest in that worm and walks off. You all know the raking motion they use to straighten out the food, but as soon as anything is over on his right side he can't see it anymore and walks off. I have gone in my yard and collected rollie pollies as I saw him eat a couple when I first got him. But for some reason he doesn't like mine and won't eat them. I have offered him everything I can think of, and she has a good environment growing in the tank she brought me. I neglected to mention she brought his 150 gallon tank that Little Half-Face lives in. There are red wigglers, mealworms, sow bugs, wax worms and some nameless bugs living in the tank. I have him living in that tank alone, I also offer him all the fruit a box turtle should eat and trout chow. He won't attempt to eat anything that doesn't move. I am at my wits end and I am now afraid he is going to die. I sent an email to the woman asking how she fed him but she hasn't answered. It is obvious why he is so small at 4 years old. He must eat just enough to stay alive. He gets really excited and acts like he really wants to eat, but he's rejected everything I've offered him, except for the worms and like I said once he loses sight of them he gives up...Anybody have any advice for me? The others are healthy beautiful, mean animals. Here's Little Half-Face...
So there he is...anybody have any ideas for me?
Can you use tweezers and hold the food in his sight?
