This all-natural box turtle food is a complete food for your box turtle. It has no added colors or preservatives. What it does have is all the fiber, protein and other nutrients your pet needs to stay healthy and maintain proper bone and shell strength. It also has fruits (papaya and mango) that boxies love. It’s a dry, pelleted food that should be mixed with water to feed.

Keep reading to learn more about Zoo Med’s Natural Box Turtle Food:

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.         Sizes & Ingredients                 Ease of Use              Pros & Cons
.                                                     Check Prices

Sizes and Ingredients

Zoo Med Natural Box Turtle food is a pelleted food available in two sizes:

• 10 ounces
• 20 ounces

According to Zoo Med, this food contains a little bit of fruit (papaya and mango) along with lots of plants and some protein. Some of the plants used are Escarole, Endive, dandelion greens and soybean hulls.
It also contains vitamins like:

• Vitamin E to maintain healthy muscles, liver, etc.
• Vitamin D3 for proper calcium metabolism
• Vitamin B-12 for nerve health

The complete list of ingredients is pretty boring, but if you want that info, see the Natural Box Turtle Food page on the Zoo Med website.

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Ease of Use/How to Feed Zoo Med’s Natural Box Turtle Food

Zoo Med recommends you moisten the food to create a mush that box turtles seem to enjoy. Of course, boxies can be just as picky as humans, and some may not like it as much as fresh food. If that describes your pet, try mixing it with some fresh fruits or vegetables. They can make it more desirable for a fussy eater. Some of Zoo Med’s other products, like Can O Papaya or Can O Worms can also be good mix-ins. So is unseasoned boiled chicken or other meats. Basically, whatever your box turtle likes best will help him encourage him to eat this food, too.

Mix-ins may also be necessary when introducing your box turtle to pelleted foods for the first time. If you slowly reduce the amount of mix-ins, she may eventually be more willing to eat it without them. Or not. Sometimes you just have to experiment to see what works best with your pet.

Since the food is dry, it’s very easy to store for as long as necessary. Just make sure it’s in a dry area. If it gets too damp it can mold just like wet foods.

It’s supposed to be a complete food, but it’s a bit lower in protein than what some experts recommend for a proper box turtle diet. You may want to supplement with some good protein sources, like mealworms or crickets. Of course, you probably do this anyway (insects are favorite treats!), so that shouldn’t be an issue. If you’re using it for juvenile (baby) box turtle, you’ll definitely want to give them extra protein. The young turtles need more meat than the adults.

Note: We noticed that a few reviewers apparently confused this food and aquatic turtle pellets and were disappointed. We don’t want you to be disappointed. We expect most of our visitors are here because they have box turtles, but some of you may have found us another way. So we want to be sure you’re getting the right food! This is a food for box turtles (land turtles). It’s not for aquatic (water) turtles. It does look similar to aquatic turtle pellets but it’s not designed to float. It will turn to mush and sink in water.

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Pros and Cons Summary

Natural Box Turtle Food

I WANT IT!

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

The majority of reviews we found for this product were overwhelmingly positive. Boxies and their keepers love it. The only real negative is that it needs a little preparation before feeding … and maybe a little more prep if your pet is picky.

Pros:

• A complete food (mostly)
• No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
• Contains extra vitamins and minerals for good health
• Doesn’t spoil when stored in a cool, dry place

Cons:

• Needs to be moistened before feeding
• Picky eaters may need it mixed with fruits or vegetables

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Check Prices and Availability

If you’d like to buy a bottle of Zoo Med Natural Box Turtle Food, check out the options below.

• As of this writing, PetSmart sells the 20-ounce size of Zoo Med’s Natural Box Turtle Food
• Amazon sells several sizes of Natural Box Turtle Food
• You can find an 8-oz. jar at Rakuten Shopping (Buy.com)

Reminder: This is not aquatic turtle food and cannot be substituted for it. We noticed a few reviewers were disappointed when this food sank in their turtles’ pond. So we want to be sure you’re buying this food for box turtles!

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