Are greens really necessary?

GreenFire719

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Hi guys, a bit of a controversy I’m about to ask, but a greens like collards really necessary in a box turtle’s diet? I know in the wild they get a naturally diverse diet with being scavengers who eat anything that smells edible, but in captivity if they are getting a diverse enough diet do greens have to be offered?

The reason why I ask is cause I never have a problem feeding my box turtle fruits, veggies, mushrooms, different buggies, but whenever it comes down to greens, she refuses everything and it has to be chopped into tiny pieces and mixed into a mush with her other food. I just don’t know if they would naturally eat greens like that, which could be why she turns her nose up at them. I know in captivity giving greens with other veggies let’s them get all the nutrients they need, but if enough variety is provided can greens be skipped altogether? Let me know your thoughts!
 

jaizei

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If you're providing all the nutrition thru other means, then nothing is necessary.

What kind of greens have you tried? Collards, mustard, kale can be kinda "spicy"; have you tried some of the milder "salad greens".
 

GreenFire719

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If you're providing all the nutrition thru other means, then nothing is necessary.

What kind of greens have you tried? Collards, mustard, kale can be kinda "spicy"; have you tried some of the milder "salad greens".

We have done collards, mustard, kale, turnip, dandelion, escarole, endive, green and red leaf, even romaine. She just hates them lol. I give them to her anyways by chopping into tiny pieces (smaller than bite size otherwise she spits it out) and mush berries and veggies with it into turtle slop. She’ll eat them no problem that way cause she can’t pick them out but will not eat it whole.
 

jeff kushner

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As a "mature" guy, I notice things....like lots of views, few responses...generally means people don't know(not likely here) or, they are avoiding. I understand...we call them "oil threads" in other forums which I belong...b/c there's typically a LOT of debate. Nothing wrong with that.
I'm new so I have no ego to protect or friends yet to pi** off<lol>...and am an extrovert(sry guys).....

If there were only "One Way", there would be 1 book. We see this in human child rearing as well. There are thousands of ideas.....yet some very basic truths about nourishment requirements & results when they are not met. Most remember reading about Vit C deficiency in people--Scurvy. A good diet would have precluded that condition.

I read the article.......and yes, you will never have a malnourished or undernourished turtle following those guidelines....

I suppose many might think that as long as your tort or turtle gets what he/she needs, does it really matter whether it gets it from greens or a miracle shot from Dr McCoy while Spock watches??

The key part of that is knowing what your guy needs.....and all here are appearing to be in possession of a human brain, so it's pretty intuitive.....most of us wouldn't feed our guys spaghetti or a hostess twinkie.....but fruits, ground based vegs, insects, worms are all things we know are encountered by our guys.....they also roam a bit....my Clemson(Suc) had the run of my home & rear fenced yard for years....it wasn't like you were going to trip over him, he was nearly 20" long measured straight, not over the top! I owned an acre.....many folks told me he needed more room. I disagreed based on the sheer variety of landscapes, environmental enrichments and the close personal contact of my kids. Was I wrong? To some yes....I'm sure, but that isn't what my gut told me. My gut told me he was happy, healthy and thriving.


My kids all made adulthood based on that thinking.....and yes they got run of the home too<lol>....

All in fun folks......

jeff
 

JoesMum

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My two penn’orth.

Greens are the natural diet and, in my view, preferable to a purely artificial diet. They’re also cheaper, especially if you pick weeds!

Comparison with humans... purely refined food isn great for us. We do best when we our diet is balanced whole foods cooked from scratch.

This isn’t a perfect world and few of us manage without using pelleted foods as a supplement on occasion.

Tortoises are stubborn and picky eaters. They know what they like and they like what they know. Mazuri in particular is as addictive as crack cocaine to tortoises. If yours won’t eat what you know to be good for it and refuses new foods a bit of cunning and tough love is required.

You are the one in charge here and you have to be the one standing firm like a parent whose child only wants chips and chocolate.

If trying to introduce new foods then chop them up small with scissors and wet them. Mix a tiny amount of chopped new food with things your tort will eat. The water sticks everything together so your tort cannot pick the bits out it likes best.

If everything is eaten then, at the next feed, increase the quantity of new food very slightly and decrease the amount of ‘junk food’ by the same amount.

If the food is untouched, leave the dish in place for 24 hours (it doesn’t matter if greens go a bit limp) and replace with frsh in the same quantity next day.

Your tort may sulk if new foods are introduced. They can go many days without food, but not water so daily soaks are essential if your tort is behaving like a terrible two year old. You have to be strong. Your tort will get hungry and will give in and eat.

Take it slowly; the increase must be very gradual. This will take weeks not days. And finally we are here to support you. Be strong! We have all been through it... often more than once. I definitely have!
 

ColleenT

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Joe'sMum- Just saying, Box turtles are no tortoises. Their care is different. Some people think boxies are torts and treat them as such.
 

JoesMum

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Joe'sMum- Just saying, Box turtles are no tortoises. Their care is different. Some people think boxies are torts and treat them as such.
My answer remains the same. An artificial diet is no substitute for a fresh diet. And the method of introducing new foods stands too
 

GreenFire719

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No need to worry about io’s diets for those who were worried she wasn’t getting veggies. She’s fed a very healthy mush ever other day (she’s a lazy turtle) and gets a lot of variation in her diet by swapping veggies, fruits, and greens in the mush. I was just more curious than anything if greens like that need to be a big in their diet since they have different nutritional needs and the fact I’ve never seen a box turtle around my area chomping down on some collard greens or other leafy things.

I’m going to continue to provide them to her in itty bitty pieces in the mush since she doesn’t have a best health record from being neglected before I got her. Just goes to show how important diet is in upbringing and health of your animals (and kids lol) to keep health issues at bay.
 

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