Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been feeding my eastern box turtles cantaloupe. I grow my own and right now I have lots. In the morning before I go to work I would cut one up and leave a few pieces in the turtle pen. My turtles love their cantaloupe. They eat the rind along with the juicy meaty part. The next day I would remove what ever they did not eat. Last week when I would go out in the morning there was never any cantaloupe left. Yesterday my wife told me she saw the biggest ground hog she says she has ever seen. She told me it jumped over the side of the pen and eats the remaining cantaloupe. As far as I know ground hogs don’t eat any meat they just eat plants. I have also seen chipmunks, squirrels and lots of birds using the small pond that I made for the turtles. So far no one has tried attacking any of the turtles. As of now, I’m going to just let any one that wants to share the turtle pond or help them self to any left over food alone.
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Jack

I like your willingness to share, but first read the posts below, about chipmunks. Also be aware the raccoons, skunks and oppossums may also start helping themselfs to the left overs and the WILL eat a turtle along with it!
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
1.0.0 Yellow belly slider
0.1.0 Red belly cooter
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.12.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

While the best way to keep predators away from your turtle pens is to keep them clean and free of old food items, we all know that this is nearly impossible. Undoubtedly, there will be a smell that exudes from your pens and attracts critters. Tough hardware cloth covers are your best bet to keeping your turtles safe. Don't ever tempt fate by putting a young turtle 3" or less outdoors without a very sturdy cover. If aesthetics are a big concern, as they are with me, adults can benefit from an electric fence. That's right...many tractor supply stores sell electric fencing units used for horses and such. The small units can be as cheap as $9. Then, the supplies (a length of wire, brackets, and batteries) will hardly cost you more than $15. Attach the brackets to the top of your enclosure, and run the wire around the perimeter. You can disguise it so that it's barely noticeable. Obviously, this will not protect against birds, insects, and burrowing rodents. However, I've watched it foil raccoons, opossum, and even my neighbors' hundreds of outdoor cats. I still try to keep my pens very clean, though. Ants are thick and aggressive down here.