So my St. Bernard has discovered yet another chew toy. I found a young box turtle in her mouth. Fortunately this fellow had just a small wound that I am treating with antibiotic ointment. He seems to be healing well. I know in the wild this guy would probably heal and go on his merry way. But this guy is missing an eye. It's hard to tell if he was born like that or an old injury. So I kind of hate to set him free, knowing he's handicapped and all. I've been feeding him meal worms and he loves them. Today I was able to actually hand feed him one. How exciting that was! So my question is this. What else should he be eating? I have tried wild strawberries, peach, zucchini, green beans (all fresh). He won't eat anything except the meal worms. Also How do I know if I'm feeding him enough?
I have a lead on a reptile center that I thought I would contact and see if he could go there to finish out his life.
Any advice???
Box Turtle
Here is a picture of his missing eye and wound (sorry about the hair on his wound) it was before his daily cleaning.
I seem to recall green leafy things (romaine/leaf lettuce etc) being a favorite....
"Box turtles are omnivores in the broadest sense of the word. They will eat almost anything, animal or plant, that they can fit in their mouth. Intriguingly, it is thought that young box turtles are primarily carnivorous and that as they grow their diet shifts more and more towards plant material. Favorite foods include almost any insect (although they seem to particularly relish worms and slugs), virtually any fruit or berry, mushrooms, a variety of vegetable matter, and even carrion. Interestingly, box turtles are even able to eat many mushrooms that are toxic to humans."
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/midorcas/research/Contribute/box%20turtle/boxinfo.htm#id
I'd say if it likes meal worms feed it meal worms. You could try regular garden worms. It won't eat more than it should (ever see a fat turtle?). Leave it some fresh vegetable material. It may be eating the worms because it sees them move.
Why do you think it's young? They only grow to about eight inches, which looks like what you have. How to age a box turtle:
"To determine the age of each turtle, we count the annular rings that are located on the scutes. The scutes are the body plates or armor on the shell. Each time a turtle grows, it leaves a ring to show the growth. In one year a turtle will grow several times; however, each year turtles in North Carolina go into hibernation and become dormant. This leaves a deeper ring on the shell and indicates that a year has gone by. "
You probably can't legally keep it, but I'd encourage you to keep it until it heals.
We have a serious problem with raccoons digging up box turtle eggs. Habitat fragmentation is another problem (they get hit by cars). You may help the local population of box turtles by letting it go, once it heals. It can get by with one eye and "he" may be a "she". Females lay hundreds of eggs over a lifetime, but few survive. Sexing a box turtle:
"To determine the sex of the animal we look at several characteristics. Males have a concave shape to the plastron (the plastron is the shell on the bottom of the turtle). They usually are brightly colored and have red eyes. If you look at the tail, it is longer than a female’s. Also, males have curved nails on their hind legs so that they can grab females during mating.
Females, on the other hand, have a flat plastron and are not as brightly colored. They usually are mostly brown with brown eyes. The nails on their hind legs are straighter to help digging for nest building."
They have a "homing instinct", so don't be tempted to let it go very far from where you found it. You really should return it to nature. That eye has been that way for a while now. He or she is doing fine with one eye and whatever time it has left would be better spent in the wild than in a cage, unless there is a local captive breeding program.
Mark
Hi Mark, Thank you so much for your informative post. First off, my turtle's shell is just shy of 4 inches, so that is why I say he is young. Also "he" does have the concave on his underside. I was able to speak with a rehabber this morning about his care. She seemed to think that he would be fine once healed, even though he has just the one eye. I could set him free back in the woods behind our house. She gave me some great tips on taking care of him until that time comes. Diet, water, light, etc. Suggested tomatoes which he gobbled up. I also dug through my compost pile (gag) and found a couple of earth worms which he also ate. The rehabber did tell me of some things to watch for, which would indicate an infection. If I do see any change I will be passing him over to her for care. He is not afraid of me at all which is fun. But I have no desire to keep him as a pet. I have way too many other animals to feed and take care of. I do feel obligated to make sure he is healed and not infected before I do set him free.
Ironically the website that you linked to is from Davidson College which is just a 20 min. drive down the road. I never even thought to contact someone there.
Thanks again,
Melanie
Good job Melanie! Looks like you have things under control and have a good plan. Knowing that it was a young male has to be "woman's intuition". :)