How to take care of a turtle that won’t eat

You will be very worried when your pet turtle stops eating. If you do not eat for a long time, the turtle may starve to death or fall ill. This article will guide you on how to feed your turtle and how to handle it when the turtle refuses to eat. Turtles not eating is a common problem for many turtle owners, this condition can be due to environmental effects or it can also be due to disease of the turtle. You can fix this by adjusting the turtle’s habitat, recognizing the signs of illness, and being more creative in how you feed the turtle.

Table of Contents

Determine the cause of the turtle’s refusal to eat

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/b5/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-1-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-1-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/b/b5/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-1-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-1-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Check temperature. Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles and will not eat if the ambient temperature is too cold. ^{[1] X Source of Research} If you keep box turtles indoors, you need to designate a warm and cool place for the turtle. The temperature in a cool place should be between 20 – 22°C; It warms up to about 29.5°C during the day and can drop to about 15.5 – 24°C at night. ^{[2] X Research Source}

For water turtles, the water temperature should be around 25.5°C; The temperature of the sunbathing area is about 26.5 – 29.5°C.
If you keep your box turtle outdoors, the turtle will get too cold if the temperature drops below 5.5°C. You may need to install a ceramic heater to keep the turtle habitat at the right temperature.
Use a thermometer to check and adjust the temperature of your turtle’s habitat as needed.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/31/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-2-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-2-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/3/31/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-2-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-2-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Provide more light. Turtles also need the right amount of light to eat well. Water turtles need both UVA and UVB rays in the tank. Light the turtle for about 12-14 hours and then darken for about 10-12 hours. ^{[3] X Research Source} Box turtles need at least 12 hours of light per day, which can be direct sunlight or light from UVB bulbs combined with incandescent bulbs. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

If the tortoise receives less than 12 hours of light per day, the turtle will probably stop eating.
If you keep box turtles outdoors, you’ll need to adjust the light source for your turtles according to the season. For example, turtles need more artificial light in the fall and winter when the days are short, but not in the summer.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/ad/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-3-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-3-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/a/ad/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-3-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-3-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Check for signs of sick turtles. If the habitat doesn’t matter and the turtle won’t eat it, it could be because it’s sick. Turtles can be stressed or suffer from a number of diseases such as: vitamin A deficiency, ^{[5] X Research Source} , constipation, respiratory infections, eye pain or pregnancy. ^{[6] X Research Source} If your turtle stops eating, watch for other signs to see if the turtle is sick and needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

Not eating and having white patches on the shell can be a sign of vitamin A deficiency in turtles ^{. [7] X Research Source} Vitamin A deficiency also causes respiratory diseases in turtles. ^{[8] X Research Sources}
Other symptoms of a respiratory infection include: wheezing, shortness of breath, sneezing, runny nose, swollen eyes, and lethargy.
If the turtle doesn’t eat and doesn’t go to the bathroom, it may be constipated.
If you have eye problems and can’t see, the turtle will not eat. Check to make sure your turtle’s eyes are clear, bright, and free of foreign objects.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/ab/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-4-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-4-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/a/ab/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-4-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-4-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Identify hibernating turtles. Some species of turtles such as Asian, European and North American turtles will hibernate during winter. Although farmed turtles have a favorable habitat and abundant food sources, it is likely that they will still choose to hibernate. If you’ve checked your turtle’s habitat and physical condition and still can’t figure out why your turtle isn’t eating, you should have it checked by your veterinarian to see if it’s hibernating. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Hibernation puts a lot of pressure on the turtle’s body. You should only hibernate your tortoise when it is healthy.
If your veterinarian determines that your tortoise can hibernate, reduce the temperature in your turtle’s habitat by about 2-3 degrees per day to help slow its metabolism.
Do not let the temperature drop below 10°C. After about 10 weeks, you will begin to gradually increase your temperature by a few degrees each day.
Continue feeding the turtle until it stops eating completely.

Stimulate turtles to eat

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/3d/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-5-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-5-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/3/3d/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-5-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-5-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Feed the turtle fresh food. Turtles are often attracted to movement and prefer live foods such as crickets, mealworms, waxworms, earthworms, snails, slugs or stomach rats. ^{[10] X Research Sources} Live foods are attractive to turtles because they have a strong odor. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Use caution when digging earthworms for turtles. You should not feed your turtles earthworms from contaminated soil, it’s best to buy them from a worm or bait store.
Turtles also love to eat larvae, beetles, crustaceans, shrimp, flies, grasshoppers, bloodworms, and spiders.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/2/2a/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-6-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-6-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/2/2a/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-6-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-6-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Combine bran pellets with other feeds. Bran pellets or dry feed are often staples in the turtle’s diet. You can crush bran pellets and mix with live food for turtles to eat or soak bran pellets in canned tuna water to make the taste more intense and attractive. ^{[12] X Research Source}

You can also soak the bran pellets in juice or a caffeine-free energy drink to stimulate the turtle to eat.
If you have a box turtle, put the food in the water because the turtle will probably prefer to eat in the water rather than on land. ^{[13] X Research Source}

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/f/fe/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-7-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-7-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/f/fe/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-7-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-7-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Give your turtle brightly colored food. Turtles are also attracted to the bright colors of their food. You can feed your turtle strawberries, potatoes, papaya, mango, watermelon, rose petals, or other brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Fruits shouldn’t be a major part of your turtle’s diet, but you can use them to encourage your turtle to eat.

You can combine brightly colored foods and raw foods for better results. Eye-catching colors and rich flavors will make food more attractive.
Vegetables are more important to turtles than fruit. Soak the vegetables in tuna water to stimulate the turtle to eat.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/c/c2/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-8-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-8-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/c/c2/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-8-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-8-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Change your diet. The turtle that won’t eat could simply be because it doesn’t like the type of food you give it. For example, today you can crush vegetables, bran pellets and mix with bloodworm juice to feed to turtles, the next day change to feeding turtles with mango and bran pellets mixed with tuna juice. Turtles also have their own hobbies that you need to observe and explore.

Keeping a diary of your turtle’s diet and reactions will help you learn about their preferences.
You can also try feeding your tortoise on land and in the water to see if this affects your turtle’s eating.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/d0/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-9-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-9-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/d/d0/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-9-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-9-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Feed the turtle early in the morning. Turtles are usually active in the early morning and like to eat at this time. Many times the turtle won’t eat if you feed it at a different time of day. ^{[14] X Research Source} Feed your turtle at 4:30 or 5:30 am ^{[15] X Research source} or as close to dawn as possible.

In addition to feeding your turtle at the right time of day, you also need to adjust the time according to the season. For example, if you keep your tortoise outdoors, during winter, the turtle won’t be able to eat early in the morning when it’s too cold, so you need to feed the turtle a little later.
Box turtles also like to eat on a rainy morning because it is easy to find earthworms and slugs. ^{[16] X Research Source}

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/3b/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-10-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-10-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/3/3b/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-10-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-10-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Take the turtle to the vet. If your tortoise doesn’t respond to all types of food and environmental changes, you should take it to the vet. It is possible that the tortoise is struggling with illness and its health is in danger when it stops eating. A professional examination will quickly find the problem and treat it so that the turtle’s condition does not get worse.

It’s a good idea to have your turtle checked out by a reptile veterinarian, because in addition to common animals, they also receive additional training in reptiles. ^{[17] X Research Source}
If you can’t find a reptile veterinarian, you can contact your local zoo, animal lover community or university (veterinary department, animal health science department, etc.) etc.). ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Provide a healthy diet

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/3b/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-11-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-11-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/3/3b/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-11-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-11-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Ensure a balanced diet. Turtles need a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and meat. The water turtle’s diet should contain 65% to 90% meat (such as earthworms, snails, mollusks, frozen stomach rats, dry tortoise food/pellets) and 10% to 35% vegetables (such as collard greens, grated carrots, grapes, mangoes, cantaloupe). The diet for box turtles should contain 50% meat (crickets, mealworms, slugs, snails) and 50% vegetables (berries, beans, pumpkin, petals)).

Young turtles need to eat more meat than adult turtles. ^{[19] X Research Source}
The above diets are general guidelines and may vary depending on the species of turtle.
Turtle food should always be fresh.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/bc/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-12-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-12-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/b/bc/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-12-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-12-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Add calcium to your diet. Turtles will get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from a varied diet, but they still need calcium. You can supplement calcium for turtles by feeding them mineral pellets, squid shell, ^{[20] X Research Source} or calcium powder ^{[21] X Research Source} once a week. ^{[22] X Research Source}

Put minerals or squid shells in the turtle’s habitat so that they can eat it gradually.
You can also mix calcium powder in your food before feeding it to your turtle.
You can also feed your turtle a turtle or reptile multivitamin twice a week.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/1/1e/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-13-Version-2. jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-13-Version-2.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/ images/thumb/1/1e/Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It-is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-13-Version-2.jpg/v4-728px-Feed-Your-Turtle-if-It- is-Refusing-to-Eat-Step-13-Version-2.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Know the foods to avoid. A varied and moderate diet will help turtles grow up healthy. However, turtles cannot eat certain foods. You should avoid feeding your turtle the following foods: ^{[23] X Research Source}^{[24] X Research Source}

All dairy products (such as cheese and yogurt)
Candy, chocolate, bread, refined sugar and flour
Canned and processed foods are high in salt and preservatives
Food of the onion and garlic family
Rhubarb tree
Avocado
Fruit seeds

Advice

Consult your veterinarian with questions about your turtle’s diet.
Feed your turtle a variety of foods, including seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Give your turtle a lot of love so it knows it has a good owner and a wonderful home.

Steps

Determine the cause of the turtle’s refusal to eat

Stimulate turtles to eat

Provide a healthy diet

Advice

Related Posts