my cricket addicted eastern box.

[Dirtydmc]

She refuses to eat anything but crickets and if she is out will only eat snails. We gutload the crickets but I'm concerned that she isn't getting enough other nutrients. Also, she will eat 25 in a day and still want more. She's 1. Is this a problem? And if so, what can we do. Tried no food for a Few days but it didn't help.

 

[laurarfl]

She can get a vitamin A deficiency which is common in box turtles. What other foods have you tried? Mushrooms are a big hit, and strawberries. Also cactus pad. Earthworms and mealworms and good, too. I've heard that you can mix the favored food with other foods. Like placing dead crickets on top of or mixed in with a small bit of other foods. Then gradually decrease the amount of crickets and increase the amount of other food.

 

[Dirtydmc]

Tried all sorts of vege's. She won't touch em. Havnt tried shrooms.

 

[got10]

roaches. roaches and slugs I gut load my roaches ( i raise them myself ) with fruit veggies an occasional thawed mouse or chick thrown in .Either as gut load for the roaches or directly fed to the turtles.

 

[chr0nus]

my easter box was the same way, he loved chasing around crickets. he also really loved melon and cantelope

 

[seahawkchick22]

I tried more fruit the other day. She just hates it. I've even tried being sneaky and covering the snail she was eating the veggies and she looked at me and walked off. We got her the good turtle food won't touch it. The crickets LOVE it though. They eat what she won't.

 

[JohnMatthew]

I have yet to see a box turtle that can resist a wiggling earthworm. Other than that mine goes crazy for most berries(blue, black, rasp), roaches, cantaloupe, snails and slugs. The only way I can get mine to eat green stuff is if i mince it up well and throw some cut up worms in the mix. Best of luck to ya.

 

[Dirtydmc]

I have yet to see a box turtle that can resist a wiggling earthworm. Other than that mine goes crazy for most berries(blue, black, rasp), roaches, cantaloupe, snails and slugs. The only way I can get mine to eat green stuff is if i mince it up well and throw some cut up worms in the mix. Best of luck to ya.

If he would eat out of a dish or eat something that didn't move. Lol!

 

[dragonmetalhead]

My box turtle Bernie really loves cherry tomatoes. Night crawlers are great, as are horn worms. Grasshoppers are good as long as they're not too large. Food items that are brightly colored and/or have a strong smell will be the most stimulating to your turtle and may encourage it to try something new. Bernie is also a cricket fan, but he always prefers meat to veggies, lol.

 

[JohnMatthew]

If he would eat out of a dish or eat something that didn't move. Lol!

That's the beauty of the worms, they'll keep moving for some time after you cut them up - just do that bit last and give them a quick toss in your salad/mix to add some movement to that boring greenery and hopefully catch your boxies attention.

 

[laurarfl]

I have to admit, my boxie hates earthworms! But she does like supers and crickets. I completely gutloaded a dozen crickets on carrots for 2 days to give her a vit A boost (I don't do it all the time), and she ate those. She loves little white mushrooms from the produce section . I also have a cuttlebone for calcium that she nibbles and she has outside sunshine. I picked some prickly pear and she eats some of that, too.