Box Turtle Question!!!!!!????

Question

I just received a 6 year old box turtle about 7 months ago, (my cousin raised him from a baby), and I found that he only wants to eat vegetables. I offer him meals like fresh corn on the cob, boiled, and bananas and earthworms. He only eats the vegetables and fruits though. Can he be vegetarian?

Answer 1

That is probably what he has always been fed before you got him and he doesn't know that the other stuff is for him to eat. Its fine, I dont think it means he is a vegetarian just that he prefers it to all the other stuff because thats what he was raised on. But you can call him a vegetarian though. keep offering other foods though. He might learn to like them.

Answer 2

He is a junk food junkie.

Bananas are sugar-bombs that Box Turtles should only get very, very rarely. Corn in any form is also not a good turtle food (it is a grain, and reptiles generally cannot digest grains- but because corn is so sweet, it tricks the turtle into eating it. It is another junk food.)

Box Turtles in the wild eat about 75% bugs, worms, etc. with a little grass, berries, mushrooms, leaves, flowers, etc.

In captivity, I like a 3-part diet
- 1/3rd live worms, insects, snails, etc.
- 1/3rd other meats like organ meat, cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs, oily fish with bones, weight maintenance cat food, canned carnivore diet, etc.
- 1/3rd 'salad'- a mix of dark leafy greens, squash and other colorful veggies, mushrooms, berries, etc.

Avoid offering the same item twice in a row- aim for lots of variety. I try to offer about 4-6 different items a day, from two of the groups.

Answer 3

Try feeding it berries, box turtles love berries. I saw one devour a whole cicada once......just try to find out what it likes.

Answer 4

he's probably used to that diet, just continue to feed him what he likes.