6 month old Box Turtle wont eat red worms.

[gep0322]

Hello everyone, as some of you know I have a 6 month old three toe box turtle named Max. He eats real good and is really growing. When I first got him I thought I would be a good idea to raise red worms to feed him. I purchased 1000 and have tried to get him to eat one several times. He would bite it one time and that was all, he just does not like them. He loves worms I dig in the yard. If I hold one of the yard worms up and he sees it, he will come charging to get it. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? Thanks Gerry

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Hello everyone, as some of you know I have a 6 month old three toe box turtle named Max. He eats real good and is really growing. When I first got him I thought I would be a good idea to raise red worms to feed him. I purchased 1000 and have tried to get him to eat one several times. He would bite it one time and that was all, he just does not like them. He loves worms I dig in the yard. If I hold one of the yard worms up and he sees it, he will come charging to get it. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? Thanks Gerry

Can't be helped. They're just like us. I hate green beans with a fiery passion. I don't care if it's in soup, I'm picking it out. They're the same way and have a preference to certain foods. I have a picky box turtle that will spit liver out even if it's in a combined mush, while everyone else likes it.

 

[gep0322]

Can't be helped. They're just like us. I hate green beans with a fiery passion. I don't care if it's in soup, I'm picking it out. They're the same way and have a preference to certain foods. I have a picky box turtle that will spit liver out even if it's in a combined mush, while everyone else likes it.

Thanks, I spent a lot of money and time on those red worms. But, I’ll just look at the positive, I learned a lot about raising red worms. Just to dump them out.
Gerry

 

[Yvonne G]

First time I bought red worms I noticed they have a strong, pungent smell and I assumed they probably taste as bad as they smell. My turtles wouldn't eat them either. So I tossed them.

I've been buying replacement worms for my worm bed from chewy.com. They call them European night crawlers, but they look just like the earth worms I dig up outside. My turtles eat the worms in my worm bed faster than the worms can reproduce, so I buy replacements from Chewy quite often. Amazon sells them too.

 

[gep0322]

Can't be helped. They're just like us. I hate green beans with a fiery passion. I don't care if it's in soup, I'm picking it out. They're the same way and have a preference to certain foods. I have a picky box turtle that will spit liver out even if it's in a combined mush, while everyone else likes it.

What kind of liver do you feed them and how do you prepare it. I haven’t tried feeding Max liver before. Thanks Gerry

 

[DoubleD1996!]

What kind of liver do you feed them and how do you prepare it. I haven’t tried feeding Max liver before. Thanks Gerry

Chicken or fish liver. Sometimes I feed it as is or in a mash. Maybe some ground turkey, liver, blueberry and carrots, but I don't feed meat too often.

 

[gep0322]

Chicken or fish liver. Sometimes I feed it as is or in a mash. Maybe some ground turkey, liver, blueberry and carrots, but I don't feed meat too often.

Thanks, I’ll try that with Max. I’m trying to come up with a good variety diet for him.
Gerry

 

[jeff kushner]

Don't chuck those worms out yet Gerry. Switch food for them(the worms) to old fruit.....strawberries, lopes, melons,....just mush it up and get it under there, they will eat it and they won't smell like old toes........and likely taste as bad too!

fwiw; Matilda went thru a phase where she wouldn't eat worms ........it lasted a month or so.

 

[gep0322]

Don't chuck those worms out yet Gerry. Switch food for them(the worms) to old fruit.....strawberries, lopes, melons,....just mush it up and get it under there, they will eat it and they won't smell like old toes........and likely taste as bad too!

fwiw; Matilda went thru a phase where she wouldn't eat worms ........it lasted a month or so.

To late, red worms are history lol.
I thought the problem may have been what ever the worms had been feed before I got them. So I give them time to maybe change in taste from what I was feeding them. Like you suggested, ground it up in a food processor. It didn’t seem to change anything. Max hated the taste of them.
Gerry