Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay guys I'm still worried. He's still not eating his fruits or veggies. He won't even eat the worms if they aren't hand fed to him. Recently i've been feeding him every other day. i give him about 1/2 table spoon for fruits, dark greens, and vegetables. I mix in worms with it, but he still ignore's it. Someone told me I could mix in some turtle brittle, but I don't think i can get it. Could i mix in some reptomin? suggestions? Please Help!!!
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two oregon newts
one male eastern box turtle
ten gallon tropical fish tank

Reptomin is great food in my oppinion, just moisten it first to soften it up. To be honest reptomin and Wardley turtle food are the staple food for my turtles, frequently I chop up nightcrawlers, fruit, and veggie and mix them in with the pellets, but mostly when I have the time for that much prep, which is usually on the weekends, but during the weekday I don't have time and it's easier to just throw in some pellets and mist them. At least I don't have to worry about vitamin and mineral deficiency.
Jeff
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You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

I use Wardley's now and have used Reptomin in the past, although my main food is nightcrawlers and fruits/veggies, with the moistened pellets as a supplement. Have you tried feeding in water? My 3toe has a real "huntress" response in a basin of water and will pig out on 3-4 earthworms this way because they are so easy to catch and stuff down. It's funny because crawlers and crickets in the enclosure might be taken or might be ignored, but in water she goes crazy, very much a "predator overpowering prey" response.

It is true food slides down easier in water. Here's an interesting tid bit, most water turtles do not possess the ability to swallow food outside of water, box turtles are adapted to be able to eat both on land or in water. Your feeding fresh variety and instead only supplimenting with the pellets is definately the prefered way to go, I simply do not have the time with my schedule.
So have you found they prefer the Wadley, because that is what I found, I think it's because it has corn in it, which isn't a problem since it also contains calcium to balance that.
Take care,
Jeff
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You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

>>I use Wardley's now and have used Reptomin in the past, although my main food is nightcrawlers and fruits/veggies, with the moistened pellets as a supplement. Have you tried feeding in water? My 3toe has a real "huntress" response in a basin of water and will pig out on 3-4 earthworms this way because they are so easy to catch and stuff down. It's funny because crawlers and crickets in the enclosure might be taken or might be ignored, but in water she goes crazy, very much a "predator overpowering prey" response.
It's not that he won't eat; it's that he won't eat fruits or veggies.
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two oregon newts
one male eastern box turtle
ten gallon tropical fish tank

How old is he? because if he's young that's no surprise. And the point was that you feed him reptomin or wardley's (which you can easily buy at Malmart) weather or not he eats fruits and veggies is not as big of a concern because he will still be getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and sugars that would be derived from the fruits and veggies and lacking in a worm only diet.
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You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

He's full size, but I don't know his exact age. I got him from The Mid Atlantic tortoise and turtle society.
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two oregon newts
one male eastern box turtle
ten gallon tropical fish tank

If it's just food/veggie reluctance in the face of tastier meat and processed food, then your turtle sounds like mine (and most kids!). I feed in a cycle: Stage 1: some crawlers in the basin, along with occasional crickets and other bugs, then Stage 2: brightly colored fruits/veggies (she's getting strawberries Sunday, probably cantaloupe too), and now and then Wardleys (my girl barely sniffed at Reptomin, it's interesting to hear that corn might be why--she loves whole kernel corn too, which often makes its way into Stage 2 along with bright green broccoli, etc).

I've read alot that emphasizes box turtles are visual and are more likely to take fruit and veggies that are brightly colored. This has increased her f/v consumption, alhtough as a 3toe she is primarily a carnivore and I really just use f/v to make sure she gets variety. The trick for me is that I don't return the feeding cycle to Stage I until she's at least tried whatever fruit and veggie that's in there. After a couple of days of refusal I go to Wardleys, and if its clear she won't eat whatever I have offered I toss it (after 12 long years of this I have a pretty clear idea of what she likes and dislikes, although she has thrown me curveballs too). But usually she will eat Stage 2.

A couple of additional discoveries: 1) Refrigerator-cold fruits and veggies get rejected, so I let it get to room temperature BEFORE I give it to her. She'll get some broccoli Sunday too if I remember to deforst it in time. I don't know if turtles can smell a refirgerator odor on food or what. 2) Maybe in keeping with this, I've found she tends to be more amenable to seasonal eating. I don't know what kind of internal clock box turtles have, especially since my girl is a pet shop turtle who has never hibernated in her life, but she seems to like stuff in season even when it was bought at a big city supermarket and not a farmer's stand. She loves dandelions too but I actually need to buy those in the store because of all the pesticides used.

If your turtle will eat a quality box turtle chow you probably have nothing to worry about, because there are plenty of fruits and veggies in there. My problems were that my girl was rejecting turtle chow AND most fruits and veggies, and I knew she needed more than crawlers and crickets to survive.

How much do you pay per pound of dandelians, I have a whole truckload right now in my back yard and they are for sale
I've tried to feed dandies but my turtles just walk over them.
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You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

My male EBT is a fairly picky eater too. Worms are the only thing I know for sure he'll eat. Today I came home from work to find he was eating the turtle food I gave him last night. That is a rare sight indeed! I have had some luck with dipping part of the worm in fruit baby food before feeding it to him.

With my female ornate, all I have to do is put some beef baby food on something and she chows down, but my EBT is another matter. In the chat room we discussed an observation that the males tend to be more picky and eat less than females. Maybe you don't have anything to worry about. Just keep pushing the fruits etc. and as long as he's eathing turtle food and worms, and is healthy, don't worry about 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
1.11.0 chickens
1.0.0 Dutch(rabbit)
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

Yey! He ate.
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two oregon newts
one male eastern box turtle
ten gallon tropical fish tank

Wonderful! Out of curosity, what did the trick?
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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
1.11.0 chickens
1.0.0 Dutch(rabbit)
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

Glad to hear it!
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You'll get your regius's to the wall, man!
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

I did a number of new things. I gave him some reptomin. Offered his food on a flat rock. And gave him a little bit of parsely. Great now to tackle a new problem: curing my newts of their fungus.
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two oregon newts
one male eastern box turtle
ten gallon tropical fish tank