Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I ended up with a very small (about 3.5 maybe 4 inches) box turtle...

He hasnt eaten in gods knows when....and was dehydrated. I have been soaking him daily but i can not get him to eat anything....i have offered everything under the sun to him... but no eating has occured. I keep him out doors in a protected enclosure during the day time and bring him in at nights... Any tips on feeding him maybe getting him to eat..im worried because he looks thin and is pretty lethargic.

thank you
Laura

have you offered live prey? earthworms are hands down the favorite food of all my boxies and other turts too. crickets give em exercise as they have to chase em. but hunting is something they seem to enjoy. just a thought.
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"If we are good only because we fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
-Albert Einstein

also, how long have you noticed this "fast"? others on this forum have talked about force feeding techniques of which i am NO expert at all.
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"If we are good only because we fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
-Albert Einstein

live red wrigglers have been something i have offered every day...Apparently the little guy hasnt eaten in 3 or 4 weeks...they said they thought he was dead and stopped checking for him......I swear some people should be...but thats a whole other topic. heres a list of foods i have offered:

Romain
Cantaloup
Honey dew
summer squash
grated carrots and baby carrots
bell pepper
molted meal worms
small crickets
live red wrigglers and chopped red wrigglers
flopping feeder guppies
cooked chicken
cat food
soaked dog kibble
sardine (off chance the smell may have tempted him)

Im at a loss...I figured with soaks and time out of doors he would perk up but; still not

Laura

sounds like you have been busy...all i can say is keep trying. you are obviously up to speed on turtle diet. hope you can coax him to eat. i believe that live prey is the best bet, but keep offering it all.
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"If we are good only because we fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."
-Albert Einstein

you are on the right track. Try adding a dash of gatoraide to the water you soak it in, to make sure it's getting well hydrated. Then keep offering the food. Get it on a schedule of going outside EARLY in the morning (before it's light out if possible) and stick to the schedule of setting it down right in front of fresh food each morning at that time. Eventually it may get used to the schedule and learn to live with it.

You might also try securing the pen and leaving it out a few nights. Sometimes mine are nocturnal, especially during the hottest part of the summer and during soft nighttime rain.

Try strawberries and boiled egg as well.

If you go another two weeks, I'd talk to a vet about learning to tube feed and getting the supplies. There are some posts about tubing a bit down on this forum.

My worry about setting him out at night is raccoons..we have a lot of them and i mean hes small plus we live in colorado so it gets a bit cool at nights (around 50) is this ok for a box turtle? So far i set him out about 7 am each morning and feed and water him....I may just call a vet today :| silly turtle not going to make it easy to save him LOL

Laura

well, you'll have to be the judge of predator risks. I could recommend using lids on the pens. My youngsters are in a pen with chainlink fence gates as lids. Works well for me. Perhaps there are some more boxie keepers around your parts who can give advice?

Hi,
I am sorry to hear you are having so much trouble. I do have some suggestions for you though

(1) maybe don't move te little guy around so much. He's probabaly freaked out as it is. Keep him inside i na a well-planted cage with lots of hiding spots for a while. He'll be easier to monitor that way and he won't have to deal with the stress of constant changes. Maybe after he's eating he can go outside permenantly or learn to deal with the in-out thing.

(2) You might try leaving a partly sunken dish of various food items in the cage (maybe use the cap from a large jar or a small bowl) The turtle may be more inclined to eat if it feels safe. If the people from whom you got it neglected it, perhaps they did worse than that and so maybe he is afraid of humans.m He might eat when you are not around.

(3) I don't know what species youhjve but i know that sometimes Western Box turtles and Ambos won't eat red wigglers ( i think its the acidic smell that also turns off soem frogs and lizards) . Many of these same turtle will however eat large earth worms and slugs. See if that works.

(4) Some other foods that boxies like that you missed: egg white (hard boiled) slugs/snails, strawberries (cut open to release more odor) blackberries, mulberries, beetles of any kind (especially Terrepene ornata)cucumber slices, cat food (not a great choice but good for inducing fussy eater, banana (same note as with cat food)

Also, is there access to a low humidity area as well as a a high humidityy area? This sometimes makes a difference. I have a three toed who will not eat until he has dried out pretty well though he spends all day in the wet part of his enclosure. I wish you the best of luck. I know a declining animal is cause for a very stressful situation. I hope (s)he comes around. BTW what species is it?

You beat me to it! I agree with the first point about not moving it around quite so much. I think that new situations can be stressful for any animal, and by moving it around alot you're creating new situations on a regular basis.
As for food: mine are easterns, and even the finicky eaters will go for slugs (moving food, but not fast moving), and berries(strawberries, blueberries, blackberries).
Did the prvious owners keep it outside? If they did, you may want to beef up security and do the same.I may take some flack for this, but I don't think 50 overnight is necessarily too cold,especially if it has good cover (leaf or mulch mound) to hide under in an area thats sunny (ie warmer) during the day. This also presumes that you're experiencing a warming trend for the summer...
What does it weigh, by the way.

Hi,
I am sorry to hear you are having so much trouble. I do have some suggestions for you though

(1) maybe don't move te little guy around so much. He's probabaly freaked out as it is. Keep him inside i na a well-planted cage with lots of hiding spots for a while. He'll be easier to monitor that way and he won't have to deal with the stress of constant changes. Maybe after he's eating he can go outside permenantly or learn to deal with the in-out thing.

(2) You might try leaving a partly sunken dish of various food items in the cage (maybe use the cap from a large jar or a small bowl) The turtle may be more inclined to eat if it feels safe. If the people from whom you got it neglected it, perhaps they did worse than that and so maybe he is afraid of humans.m He might eat when you are not around.

(3) I don't know what species youhjve but i know that sometimes Western Box turtles and Ambos won't eat red wigglers ( i think its the acidic smell that also turns off soem frogs and lizards) . Many of these same turtle will however eat large earth worms and slugs. See if that works.

(4) Some other foods that boxies like that you missed: egg white (hard boiled) slugs/snails, strawberries (cut open to release more odor) blackberries, mulberries, beetles of any kind (especially Terrepene ornata)cucumber slices, cat food (not a great choice but good for inducing fussy eater, banana (same note as with cat food)

Also, is there access to a low humidity area as well as a a high humidityy area? This sometimes makes a difference. I have a three toed who will not eat until he has dried out pretty well though he spends all day in the wet part of his enclosure. I wish you the best of luck. I know a declining animal is cause for a very stressful situation. I hope (s)he comes around. BTW what species is it?

http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?photo=85682
http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?photo=85683
http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?photo=85684

SOrry i have no clue how to post pics on the message board but here are the links to the pics of the turtle

I have no clue what he is im still learning lol

Laura

young three-toed box turtle (or possibly a gulf, but I doubt that).