Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a box turtle who will only eat protiens and no veggies and over the winter she lost a lot of weight because she wouldn't hybernate right and would half hybernate inside which ment she would run around her tub which was in our closet so it was in an out of the way place, but wouldn't eat. Here lately she has been eating well again.. the first thing to really get her attention was a pinkie .. she loves them.. and she also gets mealies and crickets ( i don't breed crickets cause they get lose and chirp, but i do bread mealies)

I usually feed pinkies live ( and she's really good about breaking their necks asap when she goes after them ), but i am wondering if there is a way to stuff pinkies with veggies?

* sighs * you know you are despirate to get a turtle to eat their veggies when you are despitate enough to ask that weird sounding question

in my own defence though ( i know people out there that have turtles will be freaking at me ) i tried the starvation method for 2 months and she wouldn't touch veggies .. i tried veggies with tuna ( i know big no no ), cat food, fish oil.

I have even held a spoon to her mouth trying to get her to eat it *lol* Which she will get mad and bite the spoon and eat some veggies that way.

I would try a dish of veges, chopped pinks, or ground turkey or chopped fish and a live pink or two. Once she gets something else in her mouth she may accidentally eat more.

How old a boxie is it? Young ones tend to eat more meat and there isn't a lot you can do but keep offering other stuff. Personally I would not starve them to try to get veges in them. Try finding a fav food and mixing it finely into more and more of the foods she should eat but doesn't like.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

i tried mixing things in it .. i will have to try a pinkie on top .. she picks very well though .. amazing !!