4 yr old box turtle named Tate! Only a few questions.

[crissyshine]

So, I've had my turtle for about 4 years now.
I rescued him from a guy that had no idea what he was doing and was not caring for him properly ( he had him, as a baby, in a shoe box with a empty toilet paper roll and a grape!)
Although I was not expert in tortoises, I knew well enough that Tate needed better care than that.
I did a lot of research.

His shell has some deformity from improper UV exposure during his first year (it's bit flatter at the top).
He has a very good set up and has been properly cared for for a long time now.

He is a very picky eater. Im trying (have been) to get him to eat a wider variety of leafy greens and veggies. He loves watermelon, strawberry, and blackberries. He usually noses the other stuff to the side to eat his mealworms/crickets/grasshoppers and other tortoise food. I put calcium powder on his food and provide him with a wide variety of tortoise delicacies but he just won't eat anything but the bugs and turtle pellets.

How do I get him to eat?

Also, currently in the process of a major upgrade of a larger turtle table! It's going to be awesome. Will post pics

 

[the_newzie]

Welcome!

 

[Ciri]

welcome. What kind of box turtle is Tate? I would love to see pictures of him.

Since he's a box turtle, he's doing what's natural when he prefers to eat crickets, grasshoppers, worms etc. I have several box turtles and they generally don't eat green things very much. It's easier to feed the greens to bugs and worms first, and then let the box turtles eat the gut loaded bugs and worms. Turtles will eat berries, but some of them want too much in way of fruit, which would not be healthy. One thing I have found recently which my box Turtles really love are the caterpillars called Horn worms which I've been able to buy online. Of course any caterpillar will do, but in Arizona it's hard to find enough in my garden.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[dmmj]

Salutations.
Seriously, a shoe box and a toilet paper roll? Oh man. It can be hard to get them (box turtles) to eat greens, when they like only certain foods. You can either gut load the prey food, or jut keep offering the greens, as he gets older it's tastes may change.
Excelsior!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[lisa127]

Welcome. I would love to see pics! I have a box turtle just a bit younger than yours. Mine seems to be more willing to veggies/greens/fruit in the spring and summer. At this time of year all she wants is live food. Anything that moves!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . My RES , painted turtles , Ornate box turtles , and my 3toe box turtles all eat greens , fruit . Insects in that order . But it took time to get them to eat what's good for them. But it took along time to get my son to eat his Veggys also ! Have great tort day !

 

[crissyshine]

Tate is very stubborn and has been since he was a tiny thing. Hopefully he will start eating his veggies in the summer.

 

[crissyshine]

Welcome. I would love to see pics! I have a box turtle just a bit younger than yours. Mine seems to be more willing to veggies/greens/fruit in the spring and summer. At this time of year all she wants is live food. Anything that moves!

I have some pics in my album and a video of him being crazy!

 

[crissyshine]

welcome. What kind of box turtle is Tate? I would love to see pictures of him.

Since he's a box turtle, he's doing what's natural when he prefers to eat crickets, grasshoppers, worms etc. I have several box turtles and they generally don't eat green things very much. It's easier to feed the greens to bugs and worms first, and then let the box turtles eat the gut loaded bugs and worms. Turtles will eat berries, but some of them want too much in way of fruit, which would not be healthy. One thing I have found recently which my box Turtles really love are the caterpillars called Horn worms which I've been able to buy online. Of course any caterpillar will do, but in Arizona it's hard to find enough in my garden.

He is an eastern box turtle. I have some pics of him in my albums.
And horn worms? Never heard of them. Probably not native to NC. But I'll look them up, thank you!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Crissyshine
Thank you for your saport. Give them their veggys wait a 1/2 hour then give them 1 insect to eat don't starve them . Everyday for a week . 2nd week give them veggys every day but give them 1insect every other day . This may take a month or two maybe 3 but they learn . Just like kids .

 

[lisa127]

He is an eastern box turtle. I have some pics of him in my albums.
And horn worms? Never heard of them. Probably not native to NC. But I'll look them up, thank you!

You have to order hornworms from an insect supplier. Like Mulberry Farms.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

There is so much variety you can feed a box turtle. They are omnivores. Share your veggies.

 

[Ciri]

I hadn't even thought about this before, but I had heard not long ago that actually healthier protein for humans would be insects:

Insects are an extremely healthy, delicious, and sustainable form of protein. Humans have evolved eating insects, and even today, 80% of countries around the world have them on the menu in some form.
from:
http://chapul.com/

Insects have no saturated fats, unlike beef and other meat that humans typically eat. check out this website on insect nutritional data:
http://www.planetscott.com/babes/nutrition.asp
(Never feed scorpions, or spiders to box turtles, as they could be poisonous – I know for sure scorpions are. And I'm skeptical about feeding bees to turtles, but I just don't know anything about that.)

My reptile veterinarian, when I expressed concern about my box turtles not wanting to eat much in the way of vegetables, said they wouldn't eat much vegetable matter in the wild, and that mostly what they would eat would be insects and worms. Since he has a degree in herpetology, I have pretty much done what he's told me to. I do put vegetables (usually zucchini and kale) into the dog food and fish mixture that I give to some of the turtles, but I do it to lessen the proportion of fat which is in the dog food. (Since dog food sometimes has less safe meat in it, I get a dog food which is not low-fat, but has meats in it which are graded for human consumption. They don't sell low-fat version.) Too much fat in their diet can lead to health problems.

I think it's important to think compassionately about what the turtle experiences when being forced to eat vegetables it doesn't want to eat. Its body is craving its normal diet. Of course, there are moments when a box turtle gets hooked on one food – I had one get hooked on fruit and try not to eat anything else. That was really unhealthy for her, and I had to work on getting her to eat healthier. But other than that, when they want insects and worms, which I feed more often than the dog food mixture, that's what I believe they should be eating. Of course, this is been my experience over the last 19 years, and may not be the same as other people's. My turtles have been very healthy over these years, rarely getting sick (other than the youngsters who do typically get sick sometimes as they are building their immune system).

We humans are the ones who should be eating more vegetables and more insects for health reasons. Those grasshoppers are looking yummier every day LOL!

 

[lisa127]

I hadn't even thought about this before, but I had heard not long ago that actually healthier protein for humans would be insects:

Insects are an extremely healthy, delicious, and sustainable form of protein. Humans have evolved eating insects, and even today, 80% of countries around the world have them on the menu in some form.
from:
http://chapul.com/

Insects have no saturated fats, unlike beef and other meat that humans typically eat. check out this website on insect nutritional data:
http://www.planetscott.com/babes/nutrition.asp

My reptile veterinarian, when I expressed concern about my box turtles not wanting to eat much in the way of vegetables, said they wouldn't eat much vegetable matter in the wild, and that mostly what they would eat would be insects and worms. Since he has a degree in herpetology, I have pretty much done what he's told me to. I do put vegetables (usually zucchini and kale) into the dog food and fish mixture that I give to some of the turtles, but I do it to lessen the proportion of fat which is in the dog food. (Since dog food sometimes has less safe meat in it, I get a dog food which is not low-fat, but has meats in it which are graded for human consumption. They don't sell low-fat version.) Too much fat in their diet can lead to health problems.

I think it's important to think compassionately about what the turtle experiences when being forced to eat vegetables it doesn't want to eat. Its body is craving its normal diet. Of course, there are moments when a box turtle gets hooked on one food – I had one get hooked on fruit and try not to eat anything else. That was really unhealthy for her, and I had to work on getting her to eat healthier. But other than that, when they want insects and worms, which I feed more often than the dog food mixture, that's what I believe they should be eating. Of course, this is been my experience over the last 19 years, and may not be the same as other people's. My turtles have been very healthy over these years, rarely getting sick (other than the youngsters who do typically get sick sometimes as they are building their immune system).

Those grasshoppers are looking yummier every day LOL!

Considering all other primates eat primarily insects for their protein requirements (10%, not the large percentages we like to eat), I again tend to agree with you. Humans are not meant to eat cows, pigs, chickens, etc. But that's another discussion.

Boxies are omnivores, but the vegetation side of their diet tends to be more berries and fungi, not greens and veggies!!!