Feeding my box turtle

Question
My son found two box turtles and wanted to keep them. I searched the internet and I have them in a large cage with a UVB bulb. They have a shallow dish that they can crawl into, a water bowl, a food bowl and wood chips for bedding.  I fed them carrots, romaine lettuce and hamburger because that is what I read to feed them.  We have had them for 3 days and they haven't eaten.  What am I doing wrong?

Answer
Shauna,

It is very difficult to take an animal out of the wild and raise it as a pet, especially box turtles.

A vet once told me that a box turtle is the only animal that will let itself starve to death if it doesn't like something.  I don't know if that's true or not, but it is difficult enough to get a captive-raised turtle to eat... let alone a wild one.

Basically by keeping them captive you are causing them stress.  There is nothing you can do but release them.  I'd do it soon (during the day) before the stress causes them to be less likely to survive in the wild.

They don't make good pets since they are exotic animals.  You might want to think about researching what kind of pet would be best for your son, and then adopting an animal instead.

Thanks for your question,
Amanda