Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an adult male ornate in my group that doesn't want to eat, its been going on 2 months since Ive seen him eat anything. He has been to the vet and there is nothing wrong with him we could find, no runny nose/eyes, no respiratory problems, etc, etc. He was put on antibiotics just to be sure about 2 weeks ago and they seem to have made no difference at all. Ive offered him every kind of food I can think of, several different kinds of live food, fruits, vegetables, dog food, canned box turtle food, etc, etc and hes not interested in any of it. I keep him warm, around 90 degrees and soak him regularly, which obviously hasn't helped either. I'm about out of ideas other than force feeding him and I can't find any syringes with tubes on them that would work on a box turtle. Anyone have any ideas?

Antibiotics can actually cause anorexia, so they really shouldn't be used unless there is a clear infection process that requires treatment.

I'm assuming that this is a recently wild caught turtle? It may take a while for him to acclimate to captivity. Try leaving him alone in a tub with live crickets, live pinkie mice, live superworms, live roaches, etc.. My males of all box turtle species, especially ornates, tend to eat mostly live prey items and meat. Some ornates won't eat earthworms.

If intestinal parasites have been ruled out, and the turtle is active and healthy otherwise, I suspect stress. Ornates can be VERY nervous and jumpy turtles. I sure hope that this works out.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Just a couple more things. 90 degrees is very hot. Ornates will bask, but mine always seek shelter when temperatures get above 85 degrees F. It is good to provide a hot spot around 90 degrees F, but the overall temperature should be closer to 80 F.

Is the turtle defecating? Impactions can cause anorexia. You may need to find a Vet. that can both take and read a box turtle x-ray. I'd continue with daily warm water soaks.

He wasn't recently wild caught, he is an LTC. He use be the most outgoing male out of the whole group, he would always follow me around and beg for food, he was actually the first of my ornates that I ever saw stand up completely on his back legs and beg, lol. Then one day he just stopped eating, it could be impaction, I hadn't really thought about that yet. He was also panacured last month so parasites shouldn't be an issue. As far as defecation goes, I don't really know, I haven't noticed any while hes soaking or anything but I do leave him outside in the enclosure most of the time when the weathers nice. I guess I'll stop giving him the antibiotics, its been a little over 2 weeks and they haven't done anything for him. If anything, he looks like hes lost a little weight since he started taking them.

"He wasn't recently wild caught, he is an LTC."

I am sorry about the misunderstanding. That does throw a wrench in the stress theory. It is still possible if something drastic has changed lately, but it doesn't sound likely based on what you're saying.

Panacur is a great dewormer, but its power is limited. I'd hope that your Veterinarian would know what to look for, but there are other possible parasites that Panacur does not treat.

I hope this helps. Good luck.