Only wants Meal worms

[Dunskis13]

I have a box turtle who I’m trying to ensure has a varied diet. Mama (his name) used to eat earth worms and sometimes meal worms. I’ve since expanded his diet to tobacco hornworms (only occasionally) and crickets. But now Mama only wants meal worms and sometimes crickets. He’s about 2 years old so he’s got a little boy mouth so I know that he needs little food and the hornworms get big quickly but he doesn’t even try to tear them up anymore. Is this okay?

I’m going to separate some adult meal worms and try feeding him some pupae bc I know the exoskeleton of the meal worms isnt too good for them. Is there anything else I should try?

edit: I also give him mustard greens but he personally couldn’t care less about them :/

 

[ZenHerper]

Even wee boxies in the wild will catch, wrestle, rip, and eat big night crawlers. Size does not matter. Either direction. =))

But captive boxies are not motivated by the same hunger that drives wild ones to try anything that passes by. They get picky fast and can be hard to turn around.

More specific dietary suggestions can be made if you know what kind of BT you have? Or a clear photo...
How old is Mama? (How long you've had them?)
Are you in the northern hemisphere?
Does Mama live indoors?
What are the specific temperatures in the enclosure?
What is the humidity level in the enclosure?
When exactly did this picky eating behavior begin?

 

[Dunskis13]

Even wee boxies in the wild will catch, wrestle, rip, and eat big night crawlers. Size does not matter. Either direction. =))

But captive boxies are not motivated by the same hunger that drives wild ones to try anything that passes by. They get picky fast and can be hard to turn around.

More specific dietary suggestions can be made if you know what kind of BT you have? Or a clear photo...
How old is Mama? (How long you've had them?)
Are you in the northern hemisphere?
Does Mama live indoors?
What are the specific temperatures in the enclosure?
What is the humidity level in the enclosure?
When exactly did this picky eating behavior begin?

-Mama is an eastern, about 2 years old, had for 7-8 months
-She was given to me by a local pet store that someone surrended her to (I’m guessing someone got it for their kids who grew bored and I work in a local Vivarium so they know me),
-She’s indoors with a 91 basking spot, humidity is at 45 (little low I know), in a tortoise table I built, during summer she has an outdoor enclosure I built
-Began about a week ago.

 

[ZenHerper]

Winter can account for picky/slow down issues. They cue from the ambient conditions indoors, but will also cue from how the planet feels to their brains.

91*F is a bit high, but as long as the rest of the enclosure is more like 80*, for a narrow spot that is OK. Open tables are an issue for humidity. If this wee one eats better after a soak, then do what you can to close things off a bit and up that humidity. Or create a warm humid hide that has substrate wet enough to burrow in to protect against dehydration.

Mealworms without any fibrous vegetation can cause some digestive issues...try superworms, large species of isopods, Dubia roaches. The large hormworms are fine...swallowing whole is not a problem since you have reliable heat for digestion.

Scrambled egg (cooked on veg oil not butter) makes a great pudding to mix in small bits of micro-chopped fruit and veg. Nothing wrong with soaking the major brands of turtle pellets, though they may not smell Just Right to a choosy individual. If you can find earthworms or slugs in a pile of leaves, great. A good-quality all-meat, minimal-additive cat food if all else fails.