Around the animal department, everyone has little things that they get strange satisfaction from doing. Cassidy enjoys scrubbing really dirty walls and then rinsing them clean. Larry finds satisfaction in the battle of wills involved when picking donkey hooves. Kent enjoys feeding snakes and injecting air into dead mice so that they float for the alligators to eat. Katy always insists on being the one to scoop poop in the wolf yard, and Marilyn always likes to be the one to mow it. I have several little things that I get odd enjoyment from on my day to day, and one of them is watching box turtles eat.

Maybe it’s the way these slow, prehistoric looking creatures suddenly light up and come alive when a plate of squirming crickets is put in front of them. Maybe it’s the way some turtles run up to their plates, while others slowly meander up to it, and some just sit and stare at you. Maybe it’s the way their neck extends and hovers over their food, like they are purposefully and carefully planning out each bite. Maybe it’s the way they get food all over their faces. In any case, I think it’s an adorable thing to watch, and I hope you enjoy the video I put together below of several of our box turtles being fed. You can also check out the box turtle munch cam here.