Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our ornate male box turtle Rex just loves strawberries. Not only will he take them from your hand, but when he sees or smells them, he comes running. I caught a couple pics of him doing just that this morning. Take a look and let me know what you think of that wacky turtle! Also lets see some others turtles...
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Ahh, I see you put a pic of Jaz on your site! She will not only take ANY food from your hands, she will try to bite your toes if you're bare-foot and she is hungry!

ahh, those pics are so cute. And yes, I think what you are describing is quite normal. Box turtles have a lot of personality, almost like a dog in a shell!

Sounds like little Jasmine would be a good match for Rex then. He is also a ball of fire and not scared of people. Pretty amazing when you consider less than 2 years ago when we brought him home, he would hiss at us if we picked him up.

Yes Matt, you've joined an exclusive club with a well kept secret! Box turtles are really cool pets! I still laugh when I remember what I've read in some books on turtles by purported experts when they clinically explain that box turtles really
don't make good pets. It takes some effort, but give them the right environment and regular attention and they are very funny and personable. I still marvel at the personality differences, the individual likes and dislikes they have. The differences in body language. I have one male ornate who, when scared, sticks his head in his shell and backs up, with his hind legs kind of extended, so the rear of his shell is higher than the front of his shell. It may not sound like much but I've never seen any of the others do it, and it really looks funny!(ok so I'm easily amused)

I have mixed feelings about them being in the pet trade because I worry about the people who buy them, don't bother to research their care and they die a slow, miserable death. Hopefully internet access will increase the odds of people seeking out information. I know as a kid in the 60s I would find a box turtle in my backyard, I'd keep it in a cardboard box on the back patio and feed it what was probably iceberg lettuce and within a day or two it would have dug through the box. Having painted its name on the back of its shell with fingernail polish I do remember that I found the same turtle at least once more. Fortunately for the turtle, I didn't restrict his escape (my mom probably knew he would), but I did get to spend a little time with a turtle, not enough to know what I know now, but enough for then. No internet, probably very few books with inaccurate information.

Well, hope I didn't go to far OT, I do hand feed mine some, depends on what I'm feeding, how much time I have and the turtle. Some are consistantly gentle when taking food from my fingers, some are reckless, and I know who they are!

I have one box turtle(eastern) named george... well thats just one, i have several more... anyway, george seems to have a weird eye problem, if you move you finger next to his eye fast he jerks his head in the opposite direction! and if you try and feed him a strawberry he bits in the wrong direction, hes not blind.. i just think hes mental! Dont know why thought, george was a resque from a dog attach just outside my house!

heres my website http://community.webshots.com/user/eturtle162