After a long day of climbing, swimming, basking, digging and burrowing, a box turtle can work up quite an appetite!
And while your typical catered dinner is reliably delicious and always well-timed, there is no substitute for the thrill of the hunt.
Plus, this is the best way to guarantee your prey will be super-fresh (if it is still wriggling, even better!).
You can just sneak right up on it, tracking it with your keen whirling red eyes, getting closer and closer until….CHOMP.
NOTE: As a long-time vegetarian (who now just eats fish every so often), it was hard for me to wrap my mind around Bruce’s biological need for meat protein. When he was first rescued to me, I couldn’t get him to eat anything at all! Finally in desperation, I went to the pet store and purchased a little tub of live mealworms. The moment Bruce saw them, his red eyes lit up and started to whirl….suffice it to say he ate. Boy did he. It is what he needs. As a responsible rescue mommy, it is my job to make sure Bruce has what he needs to stay happy and healthy in a long-term captive setting.
Yup! If we are going to have pets, we have to give them what they need, even when it contradicts our our needs or beliefs. My husband and I are vegans, but our dogs and cats eat meat. I feel pretty weird in line at Costco to pay for fresh meat, but we use it to make their. Homemade dog food. Yet when others look at me or my cart, they do not question the meat purchase, but my sanity at making homemade dog food! Go figure. They just don’t understand what wonderful beings we are custodians for. They deserve food that nourishes them so that they can continue their lives of awesomeness. Your turtles, likewise awesome, right?
We are so lucky – you are so right! And it feels like the right and loving and responsible thing to do to feed them what their bodies need, even if our own bodies have different requirements. <3