Soaking in baby food?

[turtleowner4]

I heard that you could soak your box turtle in baby food, but how would I do that? Just add the baby food to water?

 

[Tom]

This is only needed for sick ones that are not eating.

You would add a jar of baby food to the soaking water. Carrots or yams seem to work best.

 

[Yvonne G]

Why are you asking? Is your box turtle sick?

We use strained sweet potatoes, carrots or squash because it has a high vitamin A content. And the only reason we use it at all is because a turtle/tortoise's eyes are swollen shut.

Baby food is for humans, not turtles and tortoises. It should not be used willy nilly. It is like giving a sick person his medicine. It is medicine for a vitamin A deficiency. And that's all.

Do not use human baby food for turtles and tortoises that are not sick.

 

[turtleowner4]

I have a little box turtle that is not eating that well and looks like he is losing some weight. He seems to still be a little active and I don't see any runny nose or anything. Any idea what I can do to get him to eat or gain some weight back? It's concerning me. Someone else told me soaking him in baby food might help but I haven't done that cause I wasn't sure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Little box turtles need to be soaked in warm water every day because they dehydrate very easily. They also prefer to eat live food - worms, pin head crickets, etc. I chop up fruits and veggies/greens into very small pieces, make a bed of it on a plastic lid, then I put worms or pin head crickets on top of the pile. The baby box turtles will get a taste of the food when he bites at the worm, and eventually they'll eat the fruits and veggies as well as the live foods.

The most common cause of a turtle/tortoise not eating is that he isn't warm enough. So re-check your temperatures and make sure he's in a warm (at least 80F) habitat, soak him daily, and offer him live food.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Little box turtles need to be soaked in warm water every day because they dehydrate very easily. They also prefer to eat live food - worms, pin head crickets, etc. I chop up fruits and veggies/greens into very small pieces, make a bed of it on a plastic lid, then I put worms or pin head crickets on top of the pile. The baby box turtles will get a taste of the food when he bites at the worm, and eventually they'll eat the fruits and veggies as well as the live foods.

The most common cause of a turtle/tortoise not eating is that he isn't warm enough. So re-check your temperatures and make sure he's in a warm (at least 80F) habitat, soak him daily, and offer him live food.

you give such good advice...

 

[Yvonne G]

*** blush, blush***