This morning was turtle fest! I head outside to the box turtle pen around 8:00 am with super worms, supplements, and bananas. Gathering Bama, Big Turtle, Mama turtle and Brown Eyes around, I feed them supplemented super worms and bananas. This ritual has gone on for many years. I figured in Alabama that Turtle Fest would be several times a week since their pen here is smaller than the one in Oklahoma (which was the whole front and back yard). In Oklahoma, they had lots of grasshoppers, worms, snails and bugs to eat.
Our back yard is new. No grass, no weeds. Nothing yet grown in. But, Alabama being a bit more moist than Oklahoma, there are rolly-pollies, snails, snails in shells and other crawly bugs.
The box turtles don't eat as much during Turtle Fest as they used too. This bothers me somewhat because when I feed them I can be assured that they are getting enough calcium and supplements. In Oklahoma, I usually had eye problems. Supplementing helped a great deal. I haven't found a good balance here so right now I give them a vitamin a (beta carotene) pill every month. I have cuttlebone sitting in the pen so that they can eat it when they want.
Bad news is there are fire-ants in this area so I cannot leave any food around. No fruits or veggies can be left in the enclosure without attracting fire ants and risking the lives of the turtles.
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