Long-time Box Turtle Owner Decides to Become a Tortoise Foodie

[shumster]

Hi there! I'm Victoria from Central Texas.

I've had my two box turtles for quite a long time (Patricia, 22 years+ and Oscar, 6 years+) but recently after a period where Oscar was feeling under the weather, I decided to get my tortoises on a better diet with less of the foods I had spoiled them on over the years. I did a lot of my research on live food and medical care here on Tortoise forum and got some really great information. I'm glad to now be a part of the community!

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome Victoria! Nice looking box turtles ya have there! Glad you decided to become a more "official" member rather then just a reader.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Victoria:

Welcome to the Forum!!

 

[pdrobber]

welcome

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi and welcome, but I am not sure what you mean tortoise foodie? Your box turtles are turtles not tortoises, are you going to get a tortoise? Or did you want us to help you get your box turtles on a better diet? Oscar is beautiful. I am sorry Oscar was recently sick, do you know what was wrong with him? Can we help you get them on a better diet? Have you scanned this site? Melissa's is kind of old and hasn't been updated in a while but there might be info there for you...


http://aboxturtle.com/

http://www.anapsid.org/box.html

 

[AnthonyC]

...and we're happy to have you! Welcome to the forum! Beautiful turtles you have there!

 

[Redstrike]

Nice boxies, we're glad to have you

 

[Yash Raj]

Welcome.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Yes, Maggie has a good point. Gorgeous little box turtles you have there! But remember, unlike tortoises, which are herbivorous, box turtles are omnivorous. About half the diet should prey (worms, slugs, insects, maybe the occasional meat, etc) and half should be plants and mushrooms (lettuce, endive, dandelion, kale, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, and mushrooms, etc). As with tortoises, it is generally a good idea to sprinkle some vitamin and mineral supplement over their food. And like tortoises, they need to be able to bask to digest their meal.

 

[shumster]

Sorry! I meant turtle foodie!

Patricia was my first turtle and I got her when I was 7 years old or so many many years ago. Not knowing any better, my family and I fed her mostly fruits and the pill bugs. Recently, I'm trying to get my turtles on a more balanced and healthy diet with more protein and calcium. Unfortunately it's not working out so well. Aside from the European nightcrawlers I recently started raising for them, they won't touch anything new. No greens, no vegetables (except sweet potato), and not anything with TNT sprinkled on top.

I'm having an especially frustrating time with Oscar, who I'm pretty sure, was wild caught. The person who gave it to me didn't tell me and it was apparent when we realized how skittish he was. He pretty much exclusively eats sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, since he visited the vet and was given 7 days of antibiotic injections that I had to administer, he's become even more skittish. I now have to leave food in front of him and run off, it's a big problem with worms because they usually escape by the time he decides to come out of his shell.

~Victoria

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I'm having an especially frustrating time with Oscar, who I'm pretty sure, was wild caught. The person who gave it to me didn't tell me and it was apparent when we realized how skittish he was. He pretty much exclusively eats sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, since he visited the vet and was given 7 days of antibiotic injections that I had to administer, he's become even more skittish. I now have to leave food in front of him and run off, it's a big problem with worms because they usually escape by the time he decides to come out of his shell.

Hmmm ... sounds a bit challenging, but you do have some options. For one thing, I never met a box turtle who didn't like live, moving prey. Aside from the worms and pillbugs you've been giving them, you could also offer crickets and meal worms (beetle larvae), both of which are available at pet stores. For added nutritional value, you could house the crickets on oats that have been sprinkled with supplement, or else just sprinkle the crickets and meal worms with supplement directly before feeding to your turtles. Many box turtles also enjoy feeding in shallow water (which most species of tortoise won't do), so you could give them snails or even feeder fish (guppies, goldfish) in a dish of shallow water. The fish's movement will probably stimulate predation. And again, the occasional cooked chicken would probably be welcomed, too. These guys scavenge deer carcasses in nature, so if you're feeling particularly generous, you could cook some venison and let them have some of it. I would avoid beef, though, because of it's higher fat content. One more word on meat: box turtles can obviously eat raw meat, but that could make them carriers of bacteria that would not be harmful to them, but could be harmful to you. So, if you're gonna give them meat, cook it first for your own sake.

As for fruits and vegetables, I also never met a box turtle that didn't love red food, i.e. tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, etc. Try that. I bet they'll love it. As for greens, some greens in the diet is good for boxies, too. Again, moistened lettuce, escarole, mustard greens, dandelion greens, etc. may be accepted as part of the diet. And mushrooms (a fungus) are a favorite of boxies, too.

You can also try commercially available box turtle food in a can, which is basically apples and other fruits and vegetables. I wouldn't rely on this as their sole food (partly because nothing should be offered to the exclusion of everything else, and partly because it can get a bit expensive), but I think it will stimulate their appetite and give them some good variety.

 

[shumster]

Thanks, I will give those options a try. I realize also that South Texas weather has begun to cool down some (lows in the 60s, highs in the 70s - yeah yeah, I know the rest of you are laughing at me) so that might be a reason why both my turtles have not had the appetite that I'm normally used to.

You're right though about live, wriggly things - Patricia goes absolutely bananas when I give her a nightcrawler, cold weather or not. Since I started my worm farm, Patricia hasn't even taken one look at the usual plate of fruit and veggies I give her.

~Victoria

 

[Tortoise Buddy]

Nice boxies i got two Res

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "Tortoise Buddy":

Won't you please take a few moments to start a new thread in the "introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?