New baby box turtles

[Jenn]

Arrival of 6 baby easterns. Very picky eaters. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[tee66]

Arrival of 6 baby easterns. Very picky eaters. Anyone have any suggestions?

Try very ripe banana, soaked dog food, small feeder fish or small earth worms

 

[Edna]

Smallish meal worms and roly-poly bugs.

 

[Yvonne G]

I start my baby box turtles off eating in the soaking water. I put them all in warmish water in the same little plastic shoe box, then I put a small pinch of black worms in front of each baby. The black worms are those tiny water worms you buy for your aquarium fish. While the babies are soaking (and eating) I'll chop up some fruits and veggies in tiny, tiny pieces and place a little mound of it on a feeding tile in their habitat. The when I get them out of the water I'll add a pinch of the worms to the pile of food.

Another thing about baby box turtles. If you stand there and watch them, they won't eat. You have to put them in front of the food and quickly move out of their sight.

 

[terryo]

Put them in a small tub with a little warm water and add some blood worms. They are very tiny and if you get them frozen they will defrost in the warm water and look like they are wiggling around. I start off hatchlings with these, and go on to pill bugs. Also you can add some small water turtle pellets to the warm water. I usually put the tub in their vivarium and leave them there for a while with the food.

 

[Jenn]

Thank you all very much. I am going to try all of your suggestions.

 

[Michael in MO]

Arrival of 6 baby easterns. Very picky eaters. Anyone have any suggestions?

ask the breeder, I always start with what they WILL eat then wean them slowly off of it onto a more varied diet, also feed them what they would find in this time of year... mainly protein in spring since produce hasn't had time to grow.. then small dandelion leaves for calcium when they come up... then flowers.. berries... some cooked and cooled sweet potato....

 

[Jenn]

They are actually my babies. I've had the eggs for awhile and they finally hatched. I've never had box turtle babies before. I bought my breeders when they were about a year old.

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They seem to like the blood worms mixed with mashes berries and calcium

 

[Michael in MO]

They are actually my babies. I've had the eggs for awhile and they finally hatched. I've never had box turtle babies before. I bought my breeders when they were about a year old.

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They seem to like the blood worms mixed with mashes berries and calcium

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definately stick with what they'd find in nature then. Congrats.. heads up for any future incubation.. females are always easier to house and raise than males so incubate for females.. I had to give my males away once they started fighting and getting randy!!

 

[Jenn]

Thanks for the warning. I keep my males in separate housing so shouldn't be too bad. They don't see each other at all.