Box turtle diet question?

Question

I know what to feed my 3 toed box turtle. I have every care sheet available bookmarked and consult them regularly. He seems very healthy and gets plenty of UVB per day. I have him on this diet:

One to two superworms every other day
Rep-Cal box turtle food available for an hour or so every other day.
Fresh strawberries, romaine lettuce and grated carrots available in a dish every day.

He normally eats a strawberry slice or two, and always takes the worms I give him. My question is.. is this diet schedule appropriate? Should I feed him more or less? Also, he only eats when I sit the food in front of him or entice him with it. He doesn't seem to eat off of the plate very often. So I worry that if I don't hand feed him, he won't eat.

Anybody know if the diet schedule I have him on is okay?

Answer 1

Box turtles in the wild eat mostly (75%) meat- insects, worms, snails, carrion, arthropods, other invertebrates, etc. The rest of the diet is a mix of available plant life- hays, greens, leaves, berries, mushrooms, etc.

In captivity, too many published diets are too veggie-heavy, which causes a lot of problems, including Vit. A deficiency.

A diet I like is this:
- Offer something every day for baby Boxies, and skip a couple days a week for young guys, and only feed about 3 times a week for adults.
- A serving is a portion about the size of their head (finely chopped and squished up).
- Offering some nutritious dark greens as 'snacks' outside of the above rules
- Offer 1/3rd 'bugs'- live, frozen/thawed, or properly preserved worms, crickets, snails, etc.
- Offer 1/3rd other meats- well-soaked weight control brand-name cat food, cooked chicken, canned mackerel or sardines, hard-boiled eggs (and shells), beef heart, liver, canned carnivore diet, etc.
- Offer 1/3rd 'salad'- dark leafy greens, Timothy hay, mushrooms, sprouts, etc. Some shredded yellow orange veggies are good- but not too much. The only fruits would be occasional strawberries or maybe a little tomato.
- In any one meal, try to combine at least 4 different foods, from at least two of the above groups. Then, try to not repeat meals within a given week. This helps ensure variety.
- At least once a week, add a dash of calcium carbonate powder, and twice a week a small dash of reptile multi-vitamins- JUST a small dash! A small drop of cod-liver oil or Vitamin A is also helpful about once a week.

Answer 2

To start, I would consult a vet to make sure there aren't any underlying problems due to poor nutrition. Flaky skin can sometimes be reversed by rubbing their skin and shell with Cod Liver Oil, which you can get in any drugstore. As far as diet, they will eat pretty much any veggies. It really depends on what type of box turtle you have. Some will eat worms and other insects, some only eat veggies and fruits. The vet will also clip their nails if necessary. It is kinda dangerous to do at home..if you cut too far, you could hurt them.

Answer 3

You need a lot more variety in his diet. Don't forget to chop it up into small pieces and mix it together well--this will help avoid picking out just one item. I know you've seen a lot of care sheets, but have you seen this one? It is the very best box turtle diet and feeding info I've ever seen! Please look!
http://boxturtlesite.info/diet.html

Answer 4

i have a red eraedslider and my school owns many reptiles and othe ranimals. we have boxie at school and our teacher feeds him fresh veggies(many different kinds, i reccommend you look up different ones to add a little variety) powdered with calcium or vitamins once or three times a week at least whenever i go into the classroom theres calcium powder on his food. i hope this helps good luck with ur box turtle

Answer 5

go to turtletimes.com and look up diet