What do you feed your Eastern box turtle?

[luvsulcatas]

I was given two Eastern box turtles about four months ago. I've been feediing them chopped kale, chopped lettuce, chopped carrots, chopped cauliflower and peas and corn. They really love earthworms, too.

What else can I feed them to give them variety? I would sure appreciate any ideas.

 

[chadk]

Mine get a lot of slugs and snails from the yard. I offer them other fruits, veggies, greens, etc, but they really like the meat... They also get fresh trout and salmon from time to time and really seem to like that.

 

[terryo]

Wow...we are all getting these double posts.
I feed mine worms, slugs, crickets, canned venison, and I also make a mix of mazuri, sweet potato, chopped greens (grape leaves, dandelion, hibiscus leaves, escarole, sometimes Spring mix) I add some chopped fruit..strawberries..(any kind of berries) melon (cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew) mango, and they all eat mushrooms.

 

[grogansilver]

terryo Hi, let me ask you something i just got these three 3 toed boxies there adults i tried giving them earth worms and strawberrys but they refused to eat is it because they need to adjust to there new home? what should i do? and what diet would you preferr for them?

 

[terryo]

I got two little Easters from a rescue this Summer, and when I got them all they would eat was worms, so I gave them only worms, crickets, pill bugs and any kind of moving bug for the first few days. Gradually they started eating what I gave my other boxies. Three Toed's love the water, so make sure they have a nice size soaking dish. You could try a little canned venison. Most finicky eaters love that. Mine love sweet potato. That's the first veggie I give my hatchlings.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

With what has already been mentioned I feed melons and berries and super worms...mine LOVE blueberries. We harvest them from up the street then I freeze them which makes them kinda squishy but the turtles don't seem to mind. That way I can feed them all thru the winter...Oh, and I feed mine softened trout chow...

 

[grogansilver]

I got two little Easters from a rescue this Summer, and when I got them all they would eat was worms, so I gave them only worms, crickets, pill bugs and any kind of moving bug for the first few days. Gradually they started eating what I gave my other boxies. Three Toed's love the water, so make sure they have a nice size soaking dish. You could try a little canned venison. Most finicky eaters love that. Mine love sweet potato. That's the first veggie I give my hatchlings.

what is canned venison?

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sorry posted in wrong place what is canned venison?

 

[terryo]

One of my dogs has allergies, and I have to buy only natural food for her, so I get this Wellness canned venison, which is one of the foods she eats. I usually give it to my boxies a week before they have to stop eating, right before they hibernate, to fatten them up, or if I get a finicky eater.

 

[cdmay]

I would consider terryo a real box turtle expert with decades of experience in keeping them so it is no surprise that I find her recommendations to be good ones.
In addition to her food items, I have found that offering super worms (which are some sort of oversized mealworm) to box turtles gets an immediate reaction. You can get them in places like Petco or Petsmart and they are easy to keep. You can even improve the nutritional value of them by 'gut loading' them before feeding them to the turtles. This involves feeding the worms things like pieces of sweet potato, regular potato or carrots (all raw). The worms ingest this and then when the turtles eat the worms, they benefit from what you fed the super worms.
I had a box turtle earlier this year that would literally run to me for a super worm after only two days. This dopey little turtle would run up to me, pluck the thing from my fingers and then run off to eat it. As soon as it had finished it would run back to me for another. The only thing you have to be careful of with food items like this is that if fed too often, or exclusively for a period of time, the turtle can become fixated on them and will refuse other foods.

 

[yagyujubei]

I have found favorites to be blueberries, black and raspberries, tomatoes, but they'll run after and fight over superworms. They love garden slugs, and can see them for quite a ways. I had a female run straight to one from about 10 feet away.

 

[terryo]

Have any of yours come up from hibernation, or do you keep them inside? It's in the 50's here today, and as usual I'm anxious to see some of mine.

 

[Saloli]

I have a list that I'vre been compiling on what I know EBT eat in the wild (personal observations I am a herpetologist and study ecology and behavior) and in captivity (the ones that live with me and ones who have lived with me over the years). Oh don't feed them kale or related plants (Brassica oleracea) or spinach (I don't think I spelled that correct). They are all individuals and are intelligent as a species so not all individuals will eat all things their species is known to eat. Though the list I have only applied to Easterns. The individuals in the wild were observered in central Md, N & S Va, E S.C., and W W.Va.

 

[Tccarolina]

I finally converted to a home-made bulk blend last summer. Previously, I fed tomatos, strawberries, occasional kitchen fruit scraps, and lots of snails. In addition I would supplement with turtle brittle and trout chow, but only a few of the turtles would eat the soaked turtle brittle and trout chow. Mine never showed any interest in vegetables, but I would occasionally find grass and leaf matter in their feces. They live in an outdoor pen.
I was skeptical that they would accept a blended pre-prepared mix, but was encouraged to try it by another EBT keeper.
They loved it, and it's been very convenient.
I food processed-
1 head of Collared Greens
1/2 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 green bell pepper
2 yellow crookneck squash
8 large strawberries

I microwaved til cooked, then mashed-
2 sweet potatoes
1 butternut squash

I mixed all this, then added-
1 22 ounce can of Alpo Beef Chunks in Gravy
2 tablespoons calcium carbonate
1 tablespoon Reptile Vitamins with beta carotene

This made almost a gallon of mix. I tasted it before I added the dogfood. It wasn't bad!

I made an equal quantity by volume to the above mix of:
50 % Koi Chow
50 % Nasco Turtle Brittle
This I soaked til moist, then mixed with the vegetable blend, and scooped into 1 quart deli cups. It made about 2 gallons total mix. I froze them and defrost one in the fridge, feeding some every other morning or so til its gone.
My next batch will be heavier on the veggies and lighter on the turtle brittle and koi chow.
This is very convenient, and reduces wasted material. Since starting this mid summer last year, all my turtles have gained weight, and I find far fewer runny stools in the pen.

 

[terryo]

When box turtles come out from hibernation, bugs, worms, snails, slugs..etc. are still buried too deep for them to find. This is when they eat the little green sprouts that are just coming up. It's hard for us to mimic everything that goes on in the wild, but I try to slow down with the protein for the one's that I have to keep indoors during the Winter. I try to give baby greens and veggies as they become more active. My Ornate hasn't eaten for a month now and I will start to give her some soaks and start with little green sprouts and light veggies.

 

[Saloli]

hey Steve. try using organix cat or dog turkey and chicken based foods instead of the alpo they are lower in fat a usda organic certified. but other then that sounds pretty good oh and you might want to sub the collard greens with mustard greens or maybe dandalion or alfalpha (don't think i spelled that right) or possibly grape leaves.