It’s ok as an occasional treat, but there are better choices than dog food for your box turtle.

If you read older books about keeping box turtles, you may be wondering about buying dog food for your box turtle. These books often mention it as one of the options for the meat portion of their meals. While that’s not horrible advice, it’s also not the best advice.

Box turtles are omnivores, which means they eat (and need) both plants and meat. But there are better meat/protein sources for your boxie.

Newer books and websites are less likely to suggest feeding dog food to your turtle. That’s because today we understand a lot more about these animals and the kinds of foods they need.

In fact, you can find food just for box turtles at most pet supply stores and websites.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use dog food at all. But it should be a once in a while treat.

Stick With Wet Dog Food for Your Box Turtle

In a pinch, low-fat canned dog food can supply the protein your boxie needs. And if your pet really likes the stuff (many do), it’s ok to use it as an occasional treat.

But it shouldn’t be your pet’s only food.

Believe it or not, it actually contains too much protein for your turtle. And usually too much fat, too (even lower-fat versions). Cat food is even worse. Too much protein is just as bad in its own way as not enough.

Even so, wet food is generally much better than dry. The dry foods may not contain enough protein. Especially those that are mostly corn meal and meat flavoring.

Even Better, Buy Box Turtle Food Instead

Yes, canned and pelleted foods can be very convenient. Especially on busy days. Or when you’re not home and someone else is looking after your pets.

But you have a lot more options than you used to. Most major reptile suppliers have at least one food specifically for box turtles/land tortoises. So instead of dog or cat food, get your boxie food made just for him.

You’ll find canned foods, dry pellets and even canned insects.

Just a few of your choices include:

Wet Foods (includes food you reconstitute with water):

• Zoo Med Canned Box Turtle Food (read our Canned Box Turtle Food review, too)
• San Francisco Bay Box Turtle Mix Instant Meal
• R-Zilla Reptile Munchies

Pellets:

• Zoo Med Natural Box Turtle Food (check out our review of this box turtle food)
• Rep-Cal Box Turtle Food (we have a Rep-Cal BT food review here)
• T-Rex Box Turtle Dry Formula
• Fluker Land Turtle Tortoise Diet

Canned Insects/Fruits/etc:

• Zoo Med Can O’ Products (includes grasshoppers, crickets & more) – (We have a Can O’ Crickets review you can read, too)
• Fluker Gourmet Grasshoppers (see our review of these grasshoppers)
• Zoo Med Fruit Mixins (read our Fruit Mixins review)

As you can see, you have plenty of choices other than dog food.

Feed Real, Whole Foods Whenever Possible

The pellets and canned turtle foods are usually billed as complete foods that can be your turtle’s main food source. While this may technically be true, processed foods are rarely quite as good for you or for your turtle as whole foods.

Most box turtles adore live insects of all sorts. Catch them in your back yard or buy them.

Commonly sold live insects include:

• Meal worms (our boxies’ favorite!)
• Superworms (don’t feed too many of these)
• Crickets (you may need to pull the legs off these to prevent them from escaping into the house)

Live insects aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re not that expensive, either. And one tub can last quite a while. A box turtle only needs a few (3-5 at one feeding) a couple times a week. Just make sure you feed the insects and keep them in the refrigerator. This is especially important for mealworms. The cold will slow down their growth so they don’t turn into beetles before your pet can eat them all.

Another option, if you’re not too squeamish, is to breed your own. Not so much earthworms (which can be hard to do), but mealworms aren’t too hard to breed.

So that’s the (really) long answer to the question of whether you should use dog food for your box turtles (and why).

The short answer? No, it’s not really good for them. But it’s not likely to hurt in small amounts once in a while. Just use other foods as their main protein source.

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