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Watch as a box turtle enjoys a swim before lunch.

For lunch he eats a grub, snail, and a large beetle.

This cute turtle is actually a vicious hunter.  Watch the video to see…

My daughter found this box turtle on our property in Arkansas, USA.  We borrowed him from the wild for a week.  After a week, we released him back from where he came:  the woods behind our house.  We sent him on his way with a full belly.

Surprisingly, my first few attempts to feed this turtle failed.

What do box turtles eat anyway?

At first I offered him different kinds of fruit, like banana and  grapes.  I also offered him a carrot.  The turtle refused to eat these and I was afraid he was going to starve to death while visiting us.

I read online that box turtles also like to eat small bugs.  I put some bugs into the 18-gallon plastic container we were keeping him in.  The turtle immediately turned into a vicious predator.  He gulped down many bugs, including grubs, a worm, a snail, and rolie polies.

Where do you find food for box turtles?

I found the bugs in two places:  in my compost pile and around my garden.  The big beetles were found under logs that I use to border some garden beds.  I found a grub slithering across a garden bed right after a rain.  The rest of the bugs were found in my compost pile.  I simply took a shovel and dug into the pile, uncovering rolie polies and a worm.

My biggest surprise with this turtle was how much of a carnivore he was.  He refused to eat his fruits and veggies but loved to eat live prey.

The turtle was released yesterday and is again wandering around on our property where my daughter originally found him.  The way I convinced her to let him go was to tell her that if we let him go, we could have lots of baby turtles on our property later.  After our turtle finds another adult turtle, they will lay eggs and make baby turtles.  She was excited about that and was motivated to let him go without a fuss.

We enjoyed meeting this turtle, seeing how turtles swim, and learning more about what turtles eat.