Tortoise not eating??

[Seasonaleclipse]

recently a local pet store gave me a tortoise someone’s had brought in, they found it in their yard and the pet store couldn’t keep him. He is a box turtle, not sure on anything more specific, but we have had him for about a week now and he hasn’t eaten at all. He roams around our yard and I always make sure he has fresh water and plenty of food around but he doesn’t eat. I have dried and live mealworms, pellets, fruits and vegetables for him. I know they can go for several weeks without food but I don’t and hope he isn’t starving.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[daniellenc]

What are your temps outside and how do you know he’s not eating with being kept outdoors? Box turtles hibernate and it’s winter in my neck of the woods meaning our boxies are sleeping and not eating. He may also be eating wild plants and bugs without you realizing.

 

[Seasonaleclipse]

What are your temps outside and how do you know he’s not eating with being kept outdoors? Box turtles hibernate and it’s winter in my neck of the woods meaning our boxies are sleeping and not eating. He may also be eating wild plants and bugs without you realizing.

I live in Hawaii so temperatures right now is around 65 on average throughout the day. I doubt he’s eating anything because all I have in my yard is grass.

 

[Ben02]

Hi, can we see a pic of your box turtle

 

[Seasonaleclipse]

He’s not quite used to me yet, so it’s hard to get one of him fully out of his shell.

 

[Ben02]

There seems to be a bit of damage on the front of the shell. I think he wants to hibernate but is unable to. Before you even think about hibernation, make sure his weight is correct for his size or age if you know it, and do a overall physical exam.

 

[Seasonaleclipse]

It looks like he may have had previous owners or he fell that caused the crack, it was there when we got him. The pet store owner said he was a bit chubby, and I am not sure of his age.

 

[TammyJ]

Where is this turtle's natural habitat (what kind of box turtle is he?) Can anyone tell his scientific identity?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

You might want to start a new thread in the species specific section of the forum, under American box turtles. @Yvonne and others can give you a better identification on the turtle's species and subspecies.

One thing's for sure... This turtle has been around for quite a while. It may or may not be close to your age.

 

[TortoiseRacket]

Where is this turtle's natural habitat (what kind of box turtle is he?) Can anyone tell his scientific identity?

That looks to me like an old eastern box turtle that has a worn out shell. I’m no expert with box turtles, but it looks like the ones we see when we go out to greenport on LI.

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a three toe box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis), and she's probably eating bugs she finds in the yard. You can probably entice her to eat by adding animal protein to the foods you're offering.