Photo credit: “Potato leaves” by Namskar – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
There are very few foods that box turtles should never eat. They can tolerate almost anything in moderation and have even been known to eat poisonous mushrooms without any ill effects. The problem is, we don’t really know how much of these things they can eat or why they can tolerate them.
To be on the safe side, it’s best to keep known poisonous plants away from your box turtles. This includes things like:
- The leaves of rhubarb, potato and tobacco plants
- Avocado peel, seeds and leaves
- Tomato leaves and vines
- Poison ivy
You can find more information on the California Turtle & Tortoise Club website. It has a Poisonous Plant List that you can refer to both for choosing plants to feed and choosing plants to grow in your turtles’ habitat. The list is old, but since plant toxicity doesn’t really change, it’s still a useful resource.
In addition to toxic plants, there are a few other foods and food products that we eat but shouldn’t share with our turtle friends.
- Dairy: Turtles in the wild do not eat dairy. In fact, reptiles are lactose intolerant (can’t break down lactose). So milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products are not good food choices for box turtles.
- Processed foods: This includes things like lunch meat, sausage and canned foods. Basically anything high in salt or other preservatives. These things are not good for humans either, but we can make the choice to eat them or not. Your box turtles rely on you for their food, and they would never find these things in the wild, so don’t feed them to captive turtles.
- Non-food foods: This means things like candy, chocolate or anything else made with refined sugars. They’re technically edible but for the most part not exactly nutritious. Again, your turtle won’t find them in his natural habitat and probably can’t metabolize them well.
So there you go. A very short list of things your pet box turtle shouldn’t eat. Since most of them are also things you also shouldn’t eat much of, it shouldn’t be too hard to avoid them!
can they eat chicken?
Hi Ronda,
Sorry for taking so long to reply. Yes! They can eat cooked chicken.
You can also find more information on good foods for your boxie on these pages:
Hope this helps!
They can eat canned cat food, mine has done very well on it. (I got him in ’96) I try to get fishy flavors, but chicken is just as good. Of course the Purists want a varied diet, but if you don’t have all that great stuff and Turtle is hungry…
Can turtles have potatoes?
Hi Damon,
Yes, turtles can eat potatoes. But never the potato leaves!
Sweet potatoes are also good for them.
Can they eat oranges?
Good question! Unfortunately, I don’t have a definitive answer for you. As far as I know, they can, but they shouldn’t get it too often. As you know, fruits in general should be only a small part of the diet. And oranges don’t really have much of the nutrients they need. They also have a lot of acid, which may also not be good for turtles in high amounts.
Personally I’ve never fed oranges (and don’t think I ever will). There are many better options.
My turtle loves oranges!
My red eared slider loves eating curd. He refuses to eat any food other than curd. Can you please suggest me how do i divert him to another food? I am scared if his health gets into risk
Hi Joey,
I’m less familiar with red eared sliders, but what I’d do for a box turtle is mix small amounts of new foods with the preferred food (in your case curd). Slowly increase the amount of new foods and decrease the amount of curd until he’s eating a better balanced diet. You might want to try using a commercial aquatic turtle food. Those will have a good blend of nutrients to hopefully avoid health problems. Once he’s eating better, add some fresh vegetables.
I’m not too sure how well this mixing of food will work with a turtle that needs to eat in water. That might make it too easy for him to pick out only his favorite curd. I did find a page with tricks to encourage a RES to eat. It looks more focused on a turtle that refuses to eat at all, rather than one that’s picky. But it might still help you.
Good luck!
Can they eat beef?
Yep, they sure can.
It’s best to feed it cooked and sprinkled with some calcium.
We have more information on feeding meat/protein to your boxies here.
You can also find lots of good information on food choices on the Box Turtle Site.
Can they eat cat food? I heard that they could, but couldn’t find a valid source and didn’t want to risk it.
Hi Makayla,
Can and should are two very different things. They can eat both dog and cat food (low-fat). But it shouldn’t be their main foods. Neither pet food has the right amount of protein for them. The wet foods tend to have too much protein (especially the cat food). Dry foods often don’t have enough.
I really like Tess Cook’s website and her Box Turtles book for good box turtle info. They’re both a bit old now, but the information is still solid. She says dog and cat foods should only be occasional foods.
And there are so many choices in box turtle foods these days, if you’re going to be buying pet food, you might as well buy some specifically for turtles!
Hope this helps!
my box turtle won’t eat mustard green or turnip greens collard greens so what type of greens should I give her?
Hi Michelle,
We have more information on greens & veggie choices on our Plant Foods page.
But basically, you’ll probably just need to keep trying different things. See if she’ll eat different kinds of lettuce. You also might eventually convince her to eat mustard, collard, etc. if you mix small amounts of them with foods she does like. Increase the amount slowly.
Like people, turtles have their quirky preferences! It just takes some trial and error to find the things they’ll eat. But they can also (usually!) be trained to eat a wider variety of foods with patience.
Good luck!
Can They Eat Green Inchworms From My Garden?
Well, I can’t say with 100% certainty, but I would think so. Inchworms are just some type of moth larvae, and boxies eat other larvae (mealworms, etc). I’ve never fed inchworms personally … we stick with earthworms & the occasional grub from the yard.
Also only feed your pet from your yard if you don’t use herbicides/pesticides in the area.
Can they eat watermelon
Hi Abbey,
Yep, they sure can eat watermelon. But it shouldn’t be a big part of their diet. It’s one of those things that’s better as an occasional treat rather than a regular food.
Check out our What Box Turtles Eat page for more information on the different things they eat & how much of veggies/fruits/meats they need.
Do you have any concerns feeding pomegranate to a box turtle? Other than it being a fruit (not too much fruit, I know) would the seeds be an issue? My turtle’s not particularly large, and it occured to me that the seeds might be a big bigger than he could easily process. Aside from physically digesting/passing the seeds, are there any toxin concerns there? I assume since we can eat them fine it shouldn’t be an issue, but I’m not sure. Needless to say I went to feed them to him today and then panicked a little thinking of all the reasons that might be bad 😛
Hi Michael,
Honestly I’ve never thought about pomegranate for boxies one way or the other. I only eat them once in a while & just never thought to share! (Thoughtless, I know 😉 ) I doubt there should be any concerns with them. Other than like you said, limit the amount of fruit. And given that the seeds are a bit hard I might worry a little about impaction, especially if your turtle’s on the small side. But again I doubt it. Fruit is more likely to act as a laxative, in humans and turtles. In the end it’s up to you of course, but I can’t think of any reason one or two seeds once in a while would be a problem.
i have an ornate box turtle and she is are class pet and i came back from a 3 day weekend and she was bleeding from her nose what do i do
Unless you can see a scratch or cut that may be bleeding, I would find a reptile vet or a wildlife rehabiliatator to take a look at her. The only way to know what might be going on is for someone who knows turtles to look at her.
We found a baby boxie in october and decided to keep it. But now my parents are saying that they don’t want him anymore and they want to release him. I have grown VERY attached to caring for him. He’s like my baby, but is it a good Idea to release him back after we have had him for 7 months now
Hi Kailyn,
I think 7 months may be too long for it to be safe to release him. Especially if he’s been treated like a pet for that whole time. He may not have the skills to survive. My best advice would be to talk to a wildlife rehabber who knows turtles. If your parents really want the turtle out of the house a rehabber may also be able to help you find a new home or sanctuary for it. There are several turtle/tortoise organizations willing to take in turtles their owners can’t care for any longer. We have a page on finding wildlife rehabbers here. Thanks for caring about your turtle’s safety before just letting him go!
MY desert box turtle has suddenly started spending a lot of time in his water bowl. I am worried that s/he is spending too much time there. I clean the water every day but I am worried that s/he is spending too much time there. S/he just does not want to leave. S/he seems OK and can leave and seems kind of insulted when I removed him/her but I am worried.
He/she lives in a 4×8 foot enclosure with fern plants and has lived there for five years. Nothing has changed. I am not sure what is going on with him/her.
Hi Peggy,
Sometimes animals develop habits/likes/dislikes that we don’t understand! It’s not always a problem, but sometimes it can mean something’s wrong. Unfortunately I can’t give you a definite answer to whether something is wrong with your boxie, but my first thought is if the humidity has gotten lower than usual? I know you haven’t changed anything, but if your home’s humidity is lower than normal that could be affecting the humidity in your pet’s habitat too. Or if the enclosure is outside has the weather been dry? If so your boxie may just be looking for moisture.
Or if the temperature is too hot he/she may be trying to cool down? Often they’ll burrow into their substrate to cool off, but if it’s not deep enough or it’s too hard maybe s/he prefers the water.
Since it is new behavior I’d definitely keep an eye on him/her. If you can’t figure it out & are still worried or you notice lethargy or anything else unusual take him/her to a vet. Hopefully your pet has just found a new “hobby” & I hope you’re able to figure it out soon.
My dog found a box turtle in the back yard. Since she kills any creature she finds I thought I should rescue the turtle. So I picked it and examined to make sure she had not injured it. It looked okay, no bite marks or cracks in it’s shell. I took it to the front yard and put it in my flower bed not knowing it would eat flowers. Oops. Guess I should have googled that before putting it there. A few minutes later, after googling what they eat, I went to move it somewhere else. It was nowhere to be found. Hhmm. So I guess if my flowers start disappearing I’ll know it’s living a happy, healthy life but I won’t be too happy with myself. lol
Sometimes google can be your best friend. Got to remember that.
Awww! Boxies can actually move pretty quick when they want to. Hopefully your visitor has indeed found a safe spot to hide/live. Thanks for saving it from your dog.
Hello I actually just got my eastern box turtle and to be honest I don’t know much about them other then the research I’ve done on them but my question is can they eat freeze dried crickets I haven’t gave them to him only because I’m scared something might happen
Hi Roman,
Yes, crickets, whether live, canned, or freeze-dried, are generally fine for boxies as part of a balanced diet. Take a look around this site for more information on feeding your new pet, along with info on light & humidity requirements & more. For food you might want to start with this overview on what box turtle eat.
Hi I found a box turtle in my back Yard it was a baby so I kept her and she is not eating what do I do
Hi Zailah,
I assume you’ve only had her for a few days? Then put her back right where you found her. Turtles hatch knowing what to do. Unless they’re in an unsafe spot, they don’t need our help. And when they are in an unsafe spot, the only help they need is to get to the closest safe spot, like across the street they were in, or to a field or wooded area next to the parking lot they were in. Unless there’s some reason your back yard is unsafe, it’s really the best place for her.
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Is it ok if I find a wild box turtle and keep it as a pet if it isn’t shy or aggressive towards me?
No. Please see here: https://www.boxturtleworld.com/box-turtle-care/can-i-keep-a-wild-box-turtle/
Does this list also apply to Red eared sliders?
This site is about box turtles. I can’t really comment on RES, but certainly things like candy, processed foods, and dairy should never be given to any turtles. And the poisonous plant list we link to appears to apply to any turtles/tortoises.
I also need to know this.
We have a dozen or so box turtles in our back yard. Recently, we found some small bugs like fleas or bedbugs on our dog. Pretty sure they weren’t ticks. We cleaned the house top to bottom and took all precautions to prevent infestation in our home. The yard was a great concern too. We gathered all of the turtles up and placed them in a kiddy pool away from the yard then sprayed everything. I’m wondering if I have made a huge mistake.
If my box turtles eat roaches killed by insecticide can thay get sick? I used Cutter backyard bug control
Lambda-Cyhalothrin0.16%
Other Ingredients99.84%
Total:100.0%
Hi Roger,
Unfortunately I don’t know anything specifically about that pesticide. But in general I’d say be very careful, because pesticides can be harmful to turtles. Some can even be lethal. And yes, if they’re eating an insect killed by the pesticide they’re eating the pesticide. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I personally wouldn’t put the turtles back into the sprayed area for a while unless I could find information saying that pesticide is safe for reptiles.
Can box turtles eat carrot greens?
Hi Amanda,
Carrot tops are ok in small amounts. They contain a compound that can make it harder for your turtle to absorb calcium, so you don’t want to feed too much of them.