Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an 11 year old three-toed boxey who stopped eating two weeks ago. He appears normal and does drink water several times a day. He LOVED meal worms but they wont even interest him now. He has a lot of food choices out for him. He's spent his whole life in an indoor terrarium. I have soaking dishes and variable humidity, plus a basking lamp and a hidey cave. He shares the terrarium with a blind three-toed who is 9 yrs and has a good appetite.

This is still a very, very young turtle. Please try to keep him at summer like temps and conditions-that means 12 to 14 hours of sunlight a day, high humidty, 80 degrees in the day, 70 at night. You did not mention a UVB light-a new one should be provided every winter. The fact the 9 year old will eat does not necessarily mean the conditions are optimum since each turtle is different and one may be more cold tolerant then the other.

If the conditions and live foods are used, a turtle will usually eat all winter long. Please check out my website for more info on housing and diet. If all you do seems correct per your readings, then please take the turtle to a vet because he may be ill.
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

Thanks for your help, Tess. I read the piece you recommended. I increased the daytime temp in the terrarium. Nite was already OK. I had recently put in fresh UVA and UVB lamps. I dug up some earthworms (his favorite food which is difficult to find in winter) and he went at them like a hunter. So far so good. BTW, since he started eating earthworms six months ago, he doesnt want to eat much of anything else. I'm concerned about him getting a balanced diet.

Box turtles can be picky eaters and will quickly acquire bad habits, such as eating only one type of food that it favors. Our job is to either not let them get into this habit, or breaking them of the habit. It is very important to feed turtles a variety of foods because that is what they get in the wild. There is no way they have a constant supply of earthworms, or fallen fruits, or even the same kind of mushrooms. They eat a variety of foods because they must.

That is what I try to do when feeding my turtles. I do not give them so much of their preferred food (unless it is a special treat-which they would find in the wild from time to time as a windfall) that they won't eat the other foods I put on their plate or feeding rock.

Take a look at the diet chapter on my online book and you can get some ideas about how to get your turtle eating a better diet.
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info