My Baby Box Turtle is friends with worms.

[BoxTurtleWhisperer]

So I just got a baby 3 toed box turtle a couple weeks ago and at first I setup a realistic enclosure with dirt, hides, leaf litter and all that good stuff but the box turtle completely stopped eating and was just burying himself. So I changed him into a water setup with some sphagnum moss and threw a couple night crawlers in there with him. Yesterday when I went to check on him and I lifted up his coconut and he was cuddled up with 3 night crawlers 😂. Has anyone ever seen this behavior?

I was able to get him to eat some cat food and some reptomin this morning. Any other food recommendations for a picky box turtle?

I just ordered some black soldier fly larvae in hopes them being smaller will entice him.

He ate 2 worms when I first got him home but now he seems to be friends with them.

Any food advice would be great! Thanks!

 

[Ink]

He might be scared. I have a desert box turtle, he is a little over 1 years old. He loved to eat mostly crickets and mealworms when he was litte. He does eat worms. Please post pictures of your turtle. 😊

 

[TammyJ]

@Yvonne G @jeff kushner

 

[jeff kushner]

I'm the wrong guy....I'm just a hack but with temps so important to their lifecycle, I would check temps where he is, on the ground.....if it's not in the 80's, we likely won't eat much, he won't need to. He will slow himself down and dig in, at least that's what Matilda does.

Y is the real deal though! She and her sis have saved me a couple of times in 3.5 yrs.

Good luck and welcome BTE!!

jeff

 

[BoxTurtleWhisperer]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I think he’s coming around now. Hours after I posted this I walked by the cage and he’s eating a chunk of worm so obviously he turned on one of his friends lol. He’s been way more active in the smaller setup with water and the moss. I’m starting to notice he’s eating and doing the most at like 5:30 AM and 7 PM.

 

[jeff kushner]

Sounds like you both are doing better.....cool for you to look for the little guy!

A box turtle being "friends with worms" reminds me of one of the old fables, the Scorpion and the Frog or the Fox and the Crow......

If it's still warm enough where you are in SC, see if you can find any of those gooey slugs, the white ones with slime......Matilda had never even seen one yet she climbed over a PILE of freshly dropped worms to get to one!

 

[lord hesho]

So I just got a baby 3 toed box turtle a couple weeks ago and at first I setup a realistic enclosure with dirt, hides, leaf litter and all that good stuff but the box turtle completely stopped eating and was just burying himself. So I changed him into a water setup with some sphagnum moss and threw a couple night crawlers in there with him. Yesterday when I went to check on him and I lifted up his coconut and he was cuddled up with 3 night crawlers 😂. Has anyone ever seen this behavior?

I was able to get him to eat some cat food and some reptomin this morning. Any other food recommendations for a picky box turtle?

I just ordered some black soldier fly larvae in hopes them being smaller will entice him.

He ate 2 worms when I first got him home but now he seems to be friends with them.

Any food advice would be great! Thanks!

cat food i have heard is never good for any kind of tortoise as per my research the cat food will have to be low fat for this species i will let the experts explain @wellington @Tom

 

[wellington]

cat food i have heard is never good for any kind of tortoise as per my research the cat food will have to be low fat for this species i will let the experts explain @wellington @Tom

I don't know anything about box turtles. @ZEROPILOT can probably answer the cat food question. I believe many feed it to RedFoot, as long as it's not a big part of the diet.
@Yvonne G might be able to help here too.

 

[Maggie3fan]

My box turtles eat berries mostly, then I just throw a handful of nightcrawlers and they go for them too...I guess my guys eat anything...tuff luv starts a good diet...mine eat snails too box turtles are easy keepers as well...

 

[BoxTurtleWhisperer]

This is just my first time raising box turtles this young I’ve had box turtles my whole life though! I have 2 adult easterns that live outside year around. One I’ve had for 17 years and he was already an adult when I got him so I have no idea how old he actually is. Sadly he was probably wild caught cause if I recall he was at a local petstore in a Tupperware container with like 10 other ones. I think he was only $25-$40 but this was in 2006. I was only 12 at the time.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Dog and cat food make up a very small part of my tortoise diet. In my case
Redfoot.
Redfoot and Box turtles have a similar diet. Both can eat fruit. Both need protein.
I'd feed it. But not as a daily staple food.
My protein feeding is probably 5%. I understand that Boxies need more. Just use a variety of items for that need

 

[Tom]

cat food i have heard is never good for any kind of tortoise as per my research the cat food will have to be low fat for this species i will let the experts explain @wellington @Tom

Except for forest tortoise species, I wouldn't use it for a tortoise. I did feed cat food, and lots of other stuff to my box turtles occasionally. Variety is good.

 

[BoxTurtleWhisperer]

Here’s a picture! I picked him out because his carapace was patternless and just tan. I’m hoping it stays that way cause I love the look of adult 3toes with a patternless tan shell.

 

[Bear2023]

I have a picky box turtle, but she likes bananas and sandwich meet, any would work, but mine likes roast beef and turkey. :} Hope that helps! -Emma and Bear