My year old eastern box turtle stopped eating

[Leavy]

I’m in a panic! The vet said she was too cold and for me to make her enclosure smaller and warmer. It’s been nearly 3 weeks since she’s eaten. Her enclosure is 2x7 ft. I have 3 heat sources and 2 uvb lights. Substrate is coconut fiber and pitting soil. I keep heat snd lights on for 12 hours. Temp is 85 at one end and 70 at the other end of enclosure. I give her a 30 min soak every morning and have tried every fruit and worm there is. She just tramples the good and burrows . I live in CT. She is indoors full time Please help.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I’m in a panic! The vet said she was too cold and for me to make her enclosure smaller and warmer. It’s been nearly 3 weeks since she’s eaten. Her enclosure is 2x7 ft. I have 3 heat sources and 2 uvb lights. Substrate is coconut fiber and pitting soil. I keep heat snd lights on for 12 hours. Temp is 85 at one end and 70 at the other end of enclosure. I give her a 30 min soak every morning and have tried every fruit and worm there is. She just tramples the good and burrows . I live in CT. She is indoors full time Please help.View attachment 310220

This is the time of year where in the wild they're winding down for brumation and that includes not eating. Even turtles and Tortoises indoors can sense the season changing sometimes. That would be my guess as to what's going on.

 

[Relic]

How old is she? Has she spent the majority of her life outside? This is the time of year that a box turtle's internal clock is telling her to stop eating and prepare to take a 4-5 month nap. Unless she has spent many years housed inside 24/7/365, the internal clock is still a powerful dictator of ingrained behavior...

 

[Leavy]

How old is she? Has she spent the majority of her life outside? This is the time of year that a box turtle's internal clock is telling her to stop eating and prepare to take a 4-5 month nap. Unless she has spent many years housed inside 24/7/365, the internal clock is still a powerful dictator of ingrained behavior...

She is 55 grams and around a year old. I rescued her in June from a neighbor who thought she was a water turtle! She has been indoors with me since June. I’m so fearful she is starving.

 

[Leavy]

This is the time of year where in the wild they're winding down for brumation and that includes not eating. Even turtles and Tortoises indoors can sense the season changing sometimes. That would be my guess as to what's going on.

How do I handle her not eating? What about temp in her enclosure?

 

[MichaelL]

She is 55 grams and around a year old. I rescued her in June from a neighbor who thought she was a water turtle! She has been indoors with me since June. I’m so fearful she is starving.

It's okay. Don't stress, these turtles go months without eating at all, buried deep below the snow. It is following the natural schedule. I would look into controlled hibernation.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

How do I handle her not eating? What about temp in her enclosure?

Your tort should snap out of it in a couple weeks. I wouldn't worry to much. They can go a LONG time without eating. I'd keep up the daily warm soaks and then offer food immediately after.

 

[Relic]

Back in the day when I dug-up box turtle nests in my pen, incubated the eggs, and reared hatchlings indoors for the first 6 months, I used to feed this ReptoMin food heavily. They ate it readily after I had soaked it in water to soften it. Adding some live insects would be nice - young ones seemed programmed to eat crawling creatures...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DI16A/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Maggie3fan]

Your tort should snap out of it in a couple weeks. I wouldn't worry to much. They can go a LONG time without eating. I'd keep up the daily warm soaks and then offer food immediately after.

Recently my animals were cared for by my neighbor who had never had pets. So I have a female eastern and a 3-toed who have swollen closed eyes. They are in a 3'x5' open tort table. So while I 'thought' the temps were right, they weren't. So now I have 2 sick box turtles. URTI. Right now I have the tort table covered over with a blanket while I try to figure out what I can do to close off the top somehow. I have gone in my garden and dug up red wigglers and nightcrawlers and after their soak I'm gonna see if I can entice them with live worms. Sounds like your problem is sorta the same. Up the humidity and temp and try live food. I am also gonna try the sticks. I never even thought of that. I have water turtle. ha

 

[mark1]

i'd agree with your vet , smaller container ........ i bring small box turtles in the house early winter pretty often , and other small turtles i feel need to be brought in for whatever reason ....... i really don't ever have a problem getting them to eat ...... perhaps it's because i let them actually begin to hibernate before i bring them in , i've never brought them in prior to really cold weather , below freezing , but soon enough they don't get buried ......... i'd put them in a plastic bin 20-24"x 12-15" at most , i've raised numerous hatchlings to one year turtles in plastic containers that were no bigger than 10"x18" ....... substrate would be soaking wet sphagnum moss , wet to the point of standing water ...... one half is covered with aluminum foil with a che at a height where it's 87-93 directly under , the temp is taken in the standing water directly under the che ........ in the day the che is replaced by lights , bright lights , of appropriate size and distance , to maintain the same temps . i've used mvb's , led's , fluorescents , incandescents , anything for spectrum and BRIGHT , and maintain proper temps ...... keep offering him food , dig him out and show it to him a couple times a day , not too many times , stressing little turtles is easily done ...... sphagnum moss can be cleaned like a sponge , replace what you lose with new ...... jmo

there are 6-7 year old turtles in this container for the winter .....

 

[Maggie3fan]

OMG! I love love the last couple of faces.

 

[Duckster RT]

I live in Ct also. New Haven. I hope her eyes get better.

 

[Duckster RT]

Idk if you live close because I’m good at tube feeding. If you need anything let me know. I have a soft spot for the poor little guys that were neglected and not properly cared for.

 

[Leavy]

It's okay. Don't stress, these turtles go months without eating at all, buried deep below the snow. It is following the natural schedule. I would look into controlled hibernation.

L m

Idk if you live close because I’m good at tube feeding. If you need anything let me know. I have a soft spot for the poor little guys that were neglected and not properly cared for.

You live in Connecticut!! Oh my word. I’m so alone here, no one seems to know anything about turtles! Sammy is the sweetest thing but I’m so fearful that something is wrong. This is week three with no eating. She has been in her water and drinking during her morning soak. But little moving around today.

 

[Duckster RT]

The best thing for sick ones is proper housing and nutrition. Oxbow Critical Care fine cut is awesome. It is mixed with warm water and can be fed with a soft rubber tube. One level teaspoon about 10 ml. Morning and supper. Sick bird feeding kits on Amazon work well.

 

[Leavy]

Thank you!

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Box turtles are notorious for driving their keepers crazy with worry the first winter. Mine sure did. I recorded her weight before and after soaks, along with notations for input (if she ate anything) and output (turtle poop).

 

[Pastel Tortie]

@Leavy Do you have a kitchen scale, or other scale that weighs in grams? Start weighing your turtle on a regular basis (once every week or two), and write it down so you can see the change through time. It's a real sanity saver. It's the one piece of data that will help you figure out what's really going on when you're worrying about whether your boxie is starving, or getting enough to eat, or whatever. If the turtle's weight is not dropping significantly, you probably don't have to worry much about nutrition over the winter.

 

[Leavy]

Back in the day when I dug-up box turtle nests in my pen, incubated the eggs, and reared hatchlings indoors for the first 6 months, I used to feed this ReptoMin food heavily. They ate it readily after I had soaked it in water to soften it. Adding some live insects would be nice - young ones seemed programmed to eat crawling creatures...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DI16A/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you. I’m so appreciative of everyone taking time to help little Sammy!

 

[pcrealty]

I’m in a panic! The vet said she was too cold and for me to make her enclosure smaller and warmer. It’s been nearly 3 weeks since she’s eaten. Her enclosure is 2x7 ft. I have 3 heat sources and 2 uvb lights. Substrate is coconut fiber and pitting soil. I keep heat snd lights on for 12 hours. Temp is 85 at one end and 70 at the other end of enclosure. I give her a 30 min soak every morning and have tried every fruit and worm there is. She just tramples the good and burrows . I live in CT. She is indoors full time Please help.View attachment 310220

Try one cooler side and hotter side.