Is This Old Enough?

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Behnad

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Hi Again,
I have had my 10 month old eastern box turtle for 4 months and haven't been able to get him to eat veggies. I've tried kale, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, squash, zucchini, carrots and many more several times a week with no luck. He does however eat his bugs, reptomin and fruits. I've tried cutting his veggies up and mixing them with his favorite foods but he either spits the veggies out or separates them. I'm wondering if he is old enough to eat veggies because I read somewhere that young box turtles are carnivorous. If he is in fact old enough, are there any other strategies to get him to eat his greens? I've included a picture comparing him to a toonie for size reference.
Thanks,
Ben :)
 
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yagyujubei

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You can try. None of mine really eat any vegetables or greens. Mine like berries, bananas, tomatoes and that's about all the plant material they eat.
 

Behnad

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yagyujubei said:
You can try. None of mine really eat any vegetables or greens. Mine like berries, bananas, tomatoes and that's about all the plant material they eat.
So would it be ok to feed him just bugs and fruits for until he becomes an adult? I've been following this care sheet: http://www.boxturtlesite.info/diet.html. It states that vegetables and leafy greens should make up 40% of their diet.
 

yagyujubei

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Personally, I think that that would be as complete a diet as they have in the wild. If you were add a pellet in your diet, it should then be perfect. Reptomin is tougher to feed as they get older (too mushy), but you could add turtle brittle, trout chow, soaked dry cat food, water turtle pellets (soaked).
 

Behnad

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Ok, thanks for the help :D. I'll just keep feeding him bugs, pellets and fruits. On a side note, do you feed your turtles everyday or every other day and how often should I feed fruits?
 

Centexsnakes

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My little guy is about that age and also doesn't like his veggies, so what I did is blended up the greens and other veggies into a mush, then bagged it and froze, I break off a price every few days and mix it up with blood worms, so he gets a little veggie with every bite of worms, been working for me so farImageUploadedByTortForum1377035120.426032.jpghope this helps!


1.1 ball pythons 0.0.1 RES
0.0.1 eastern box 2.1 cats
0.1 dog
 
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Saleama

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I read here that someone made a veggie omelette and that seems to work. Mine eat it but very sparingly. Waste of an egg really. They only seem to eat a very small portion of the veggies and fruits I give them. Try mango or bananna covered cucumber. They also love figs. Smear some fig on other veggies. I have NEVER seen mine eat any sort of lettuce or kale and I have bnever seen any evidence they have eaten it. OH! Try mung bean sprouts covered in repti-cal.
 

ShellyTurtlesCats

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I've never had one not eat veggies. Mine eat everything! Little pigs.

I'd suggest the omelet as well.
 

Behnad

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Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll definitely try all the suggested strategies. I was a surprised my turtle wouldn't eat greens because I had a three toed that would eat romaine lettuce readily. On a side note, how often do you guys feed your box turtles? I've been feeding him every other day as a care sheet instructed but should I increase his feeding frequency?
 

SANDRA_MEISSNEST

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what about if you would try mushed avocado?

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I feed mine 2 times a day

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I feed mine everyday 2 times with tomatos, cucumber lettuce, cantaloupe and any kind of berries
like strawberries blueberries blackberries
also avocado and mushrooms.
and every other day they getting worms plus all the fruit and veggies. or they getting scrambled eggs with all the veggies and fruits

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diamondbp

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Skip the veggies and fruits until they are two years old. First year feed only Reptomin and worms/bugs. Second year transition the Reptomin to moist catfish chow along with there insects.
I find once they are over two years old most will readily take berries, bananas, bread, boiled eggs, etc.
 

Behnad

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SANDRA_MEISSNEST said:
what about if you would try mushed avocado?

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I feed mine 2 times a day

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app


I feed mine everyday 2 times with tomatos, cucumber lettuce, cantaloupe and any kind of berries
like strawberries blueberries blackberries
also avocado and mushrooms.
and every other day they getting worms plus all the fruit and veggies. or they getting scrambled eggs with all the veggies and fruits

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app



I haven't tried avacado yet, I'll be sure to offer it to him. I'll also increase his feeding frequency.


diamondbp said:
Skip the veggies and fruits until they are two years old. First year feed only Reptomin and worms/bugs. Second year transition the Reptomin to moist catfish chow along with there insects.
I find once they are over two years old most will readily take berries, bananas, bread, boiled eggs, etc.
Thanks for the reply. Have you raised any box turtles like that? It would be a lot easier on me and the turtle to feed him just protein. Also, I didn't know box turtles can eat bread?
 

diamondbp

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Yes that has been my method for going on ten years. Ill try to get some pics of juvies to show you how perfect they grow.

Bread is a favorite treat for almost all my boxies! I give it twice a week and they go nuts over it. Preferably wheat bread.
 

Behnad

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I've seen some pics of your box turtles on previous threads. They are absolutely beautiful! So I guess I'll just keep giving him pellets and bugs and keep offering him greens and fruit from time to time to see if he develops and appetite for them. How many days a week do you feed?
 

diamondbp

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I feed mine 5 days a week. If the forecast gives alot of rain I skip feeding because they will get worms/bugs naturally from the heavy rain. I do two days of protein, 2days of fruits/veggies, one day of bread/mazuri. I alternate days of course.


I should clarify that earlier i shouldn't have said to skip the fruits and veggies for the first two years. Offering them occasionally is always good practice just don't expect it to be a staple item right away.
I have some adults that still refuse any fruits or veggies lol
 

terryo

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Baby box turtles in the wild stay under leaf litter, hiding, for the first two years of their life. They will eat any little buggie thing that they find under there. In the Spring, before the bugs come to the soil surface, they will eat tiny green sprouts. If you try to mimic the forest/woods floor, and throw in lots of pill bugs and small worms they will learn to forage for food. I only feed live protein to hatchlings and when they are almost two years, I make a mix of soaked turtle brittle, some greens, veggies, fruit and ground venison. If everything is chopped up very tiny they will start to eat very small amounts. Eventually as they get older, I don't chop the ingredients up that small, and change the mix each week so they get variety. In the late afternoon, I'll offer some worms or some kind of live protein. The adults in the turtle garden are only fed four or five times a week, and the other days they find their own food. They have a fig tree, wild strawberries, plenty of worms and other bugs...slugs, so they get plenty of food on their own. This is just how I do it and not written in stone.
 

lisa127

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I have a box turtle that turned 2 years old this month. She eats everything readily. Fruits, veggies, organic spring mix. No problem. The only thing she won't eat is bananas (strange I know). Why wait until after 2 years of age?
 

terryo

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I have a large planted vivarium in my house where I keep the younger Box Turtles who can't go outside yet. The hatchlings are kept in a smaller planted vivarium. I try to mimic what would be happening to them if they hatched in the wild to prepare them for when they are older and live outside permanently. I have a turtle garden that they go in when they are older, and I never took in any eggs, so this is just how I raised any babies that I found out there. I've seen them nibbling on a plant or a spring mix sprout in the vivariums, so I know they are following their natural instincts. I guess I do it this way, because it's what my Father did with his box turtles, and just how I've always done it. He always taught me to try and keep things as natural as possible. Like I said, not written in stone.....just how I do it.
 
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