Benjamin Wey’s Box Turtles
These are my three-toed box turtles, Louie and Jemma. You can tell them apart in several easy ways. The first and most obvious difference between the two is that Louie’s scale coloring is a more pronounced and bright yellow than Jemma’s- a trait which serves the males well in the wild. Much like birds, the male turtle has brighter spots to attract mates while the female is muted in contrast, to blend in and better protect her eggs and hatchlings.
Another difference between the two is their size. Though they are the same sub-species, Jemma is bigger than Louie. They are both likely full grown at this point, so this should always hold true. Jemma’s shell is longer and has a taller “carapace” (the domed top of the shell).
The third difference, which I’ve found especially helpful in poor lighting, is that Jemma has a hole in her shell, about the diameter of a pencil eraser. She had it when I bought her which leads me to believe she was not born in captivity. This may also explain why she is a bit shyer than Louie, and usually retracts into her shell when I open the lid to the cage to feed them. She will also wait until the lid has closed again to investigate whatever treat has been left behind for her, and if she sees me through the glass she’ll usually stop what she’s doing and watch me, completely still, until I move.
Louie, on the other hand, is fearless. He will rarely tuck into his shell, and as soon as I open the lid to the cage he cranes his neck out as far as he can to see what’s coming in. He is also great when I take him out of the cage and let him walk around. Whoever started that myth about turtles being slow never met Louie- he’s the fastest turtle I’ve ever seen. The only thing slowing him down is his anatomy -if he could go faster, I’m certain he would.
Louie and Jemma’s Diet
I feed my turtles mostly dog food. Most box turtles are omnivorous, so this is fine. It doesn’t matter which brand, but I tend to get the higher quality stuff that has less salt than the supermarket-stocked brands. I don’t buy them their own food- I just usually give them whatever I’m feeding my dog at the moment. I try not to switch brands on the dog too often, but Louie and Jemma have never had a problem adapting to the new food, whatever the brand. Recently after that awful pet food recall scare, I switched to a brand that was not affected, called Avoderm, which is made with avocado. Louie and Jemma have regularly eaten all of it, so I’m guessing there’s no problem.
They also love berries- especially blackberries, and its recommended that you sprinkle some cricket powder on whatever food you give them, for an added boost of vitamins. That being said, different turtles will eat different things. I’ve seen turtles at pet stores eat cucumbers and lettuce, but Louie never had any interest in anything but raspberries and blackberries, so I don’t usually buy anything else for them. If I happen to have a fresh fruit or veggie they’ve never tried in the house I’ll occasionally let them try it, but typically it just gets ignored and goes bad. When I first got Louie he wouldn’t eat most of what the pet store suggested, which was really frustrating, but once I started trying new things it worked out pretty well. My best advice if you have a picky eater is don’t be afraid to experiment with different foods; eventually he’ll find something that clicks. In Jemma’s case, she just eats whatever Louie eats, so she’s been a lot easier to please in the long run.
The other important thing to remember about turtles is that they don’t need to eat too frequently. I’ve read that they’re often perfectly happy waiting up to 4 months before their next meal, so if your turtle doesn’t empty his dish every day, don’t panic! I have tried feeding daily, and the food always remains untouched and goes bad. My turtles typically only eat every 2 weeks to a month, but like their taste in food, how often a turtle actually wants food varies from turtle to turtle, so watch your turtles and try to figure out a good pattern based on their individual behavior. Don’t feed them if they’re not hungry- totting food in their cage is just asking for mold and bugs.