Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to try and plant some box turtle preferred mushroom species in my outdoor pens.

Does anyone know any mushroom species that they prefer to eat?

(I saw the info on Boletes from ~Nov 6)

Thanks,

-rhodostom

theyll eat almost any kind of mushroom, puffball, or even shelffungi. but they dont seem to like the kinds you can buy in stores. i think you can just gather some you find in the woods and try to get them growing in their habitat

The kind of mushrooms my box turtles eat only grow in the summer here in NJ. The kind they like the best grow only under oak trees. They are red to pink on the top and all white on the underside. I looked this type of mushroom up in a mushroom book. It said that they are eatible for peopel but we should not eat them because there are other mushrooms that look just like this one that are deadley. I have read that box turtles can eat mushrooms that would be deadly to peopele
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Jack

Just put some chunks of logs in the pens to rot: mushrooms will probably sprout from the bark as the log decays. Added bonuses would be the beetles and worms that would take part in the breakdown process.
I have chunks of logs in various stages of decay in our turtle enclosure: they are home to worms, beetles, crickets, & slugs, and have mushrooms sprouting out of them, too. The turtles seem to enjoy this, since they dig under them to keep cool in the heat of the summer, as well as feed on the various critters that have taken up residence there.
I don't think that you can really 'plant' mushrooms, but you sure can try to provide an environment that's conducive to sprouting them.
Good luck with your project.
Stephanie

Thanks for the info. Next spring I'll try collecting some wild mushrooms, harvesting their spores the seeding the spores in their pens.

I do have quite a few log piles in various stages of decay. They have a few oyster mushrooms coming from them, but as of yet, no standard variety looking mushrooms. I believe where I have the log piles gets too much sun.

Oh well. More projects for next year.