Box turtles are omnivorous, meaning that they eat both plants and animal based food. Young box turtles eat mostly animal based foods or insects. Older box turtles eat mostly plants or plant based foods.
The died of a full grown box turtle should consist out of both plant- and animal-based materials. Different breeds of box turtles have different nutritional needs.
What do box turtles eat and how often should i feed them?
Most young turtles eat every day, while older turtles can be fed daily or every other day. It depends on the overall health, age and weigth.
Older turtles will eat less than younger turtles.
What do box turtles eat, plants?
Most of the plant material fed to box turtles should be vegetables and flowers. You can also add a bit of fruit to their diet. Dark leafy greens should make up the largest part of the diet. Avoid light green vegetables, including iceberg or head lettuce and celery, because they don’t have a good nutritional value. They mostly contain out of water.
Youcan feed them collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, broccoli, turnip greens, alfalfa hay, bok choy, kale, parsley, Swiss chard, watercress, clover, red or green cabbage, savory, cilantro, kohlrabi, bell peppers, green beans, escarole, and dandelion. These are the most important greens that you should feed to your box turtle.
Fruit can also be given. You can give your box turtles apples, pears, bananas, mango, grapes, star fruit, raisins, peaches, tomato, guava, kiwis, and melons. Fruits shouldn’t be given as much as vegetables and other greens like said before.
When you offer your box turtles greens, it is best to feed them raw. Most nutrients will be contained when the greens are raw. It is advisable to wash the greens as they can contain pesticide for instance.
What do box turtles eat, animal-based food?
Depending on the age, breed, and health status of your box turtle, you can feedanimal-based protein sources to your box turtle. You can feed them rasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, silkworms, moths, slugs, earthworms, and hard-boiled eggs. Commercially available reptile pellets is also a good option to give your box turtles animal-based protein
Live prey such as crickets and worms should either be raised inside by the owner or purchased from a pet store. Feeding wild prey isn’t recommended, because they can contain diseases and pesticides. So it is better when you know where the insects are coming from.
The best thing to do is to give your box turtles a wide variety of diet. Feed them lots of greens, especially dark leafed greens and supplement their diet with animal based proteins.
Should you feed vitamins and minerals to your box turtles?
Box turtles require more dietary calcium than phosphorus. Veterinarians recommend sprinkling the vegetable matter offered to the box turtle with a calcium powder 2-3 times per week. Sprinkling of a multivitamin-vitamin mineral powder made for reptiles is also recommended on a weekly bais. Don’t overdos these vitamines, especially if it contains vitamin D3 which can be toxic to turtles. You should sprinkle a little bit of theses supplements on the vegetables that they will eat first.
A common problem seen in pet box turtles is over-supplementation with vitamins and minerals. Always do your research or ask your veterinarian for advice on supplementing with vitamins and minerals.
Should you provide water to your box turtles?
Clean water should be available to box turtles at all times. Box turtles not only drink from the water bowl but they will also take a bathe in it. Provide water in a shallow dish that cannot be easily tipped over. It is important that the box turtle can easily climb in and out for soaking and drinking.
The water level should reach up to its chin when the turtles head comes out of its shell. Change the water daily and clean the water bowl frequently. Box turtles will defecate or eliminate in their water bowls.
If you want to know which box turtles make great pets, click here.
