Please Help with rescue

Last week while getting the garden ready I found a baby 3 toed box turtle plastered upside down in the side of a mound I had made. Apparently I tilled him up the week before, raked him into a dirt mound and then he became stuck into the side upside down exposed to the elements for a week. Temps were in the high 30's to low 50's while he was stuck there. I am not new to reptiles but have never had a box turtle. At first I wasn't even sure he was alive. I sat him inside overnight and the only way I knew he was alive is that if I touched his nose he would retract a fraction. Every day since then I have seen progress with him including him eating. I have him set up in a 20g with 4" of bed a beast, a walk in water dish, 3 hides, and a basking spot of 87 degrees. The issue I am having with him (wife named him Gregory) is that he REFUSES TO MOVE. I have seen him use each limb so I know he is perfectly capable of moving all of his legs, however he has not moved an inch in the several days he has been coherent. He moves his head around, scratches his face when he has dirt on it, at a worm and some cat food when placed directly in front of food, but just will not move. I left him in one place for two days before giving up and giving him a soak. Any advice? I know he has been through a lot and it is kind of a small miracle that he survived being tilled and raked and exposed. But would really like to see him take a step or two..... BTW Greg is about the size of a half dollar.

Keep it warm and soak every day for 30 mins in warm water. Be sure to change the water out when it gets cold. Good luck. Find any more?

Just the one so far. I will definitely do the soak. I am a little apprehensive about leaving him under the spot light since he refuses to move. Will he bake or will he eventually go? Is it normal for him to not move? He has not taken a step in over a week.

Phiber_optikx2 said:

Just the one so far. I will definitely do the soak. I am a little apprehensive about leaving him under the spot light since he refuses to move. Will he bake or will he eventually go? Is it normal for him to not move? He has not taken a step in over a week.

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If he's not moving then don't don't leave it under the light so you don't dehydrate it. Put some leaves in there for it to hide under and see if it moves. Are you sure it can walk?

Drop the temps down a little too. 75-80 degrees with plenty of things to hide under. Babies will spend the majority of its time hidden. Not worried when you say it hides all the time, it's the not moving part that's not normal.

He doesn't hide all the time, he doesn't go anywhere though. I could set him in one spot, come back a week later and he wouldn't have moved from that spot. Even when picked up he doesn't try to walk in the air. So no, I am not sure if he can "walk" I am sure that he can definitely move all of his legs though.

Try putting a live worm a little bit away from him, maybe a few of them and see if he tries to go after them.

Hi and welcome. I'm glad you found him.

What lights are you using?

Doesn't move to food. He does eat if placed right in front of him. He is enjoying his bath atm though.

Does he move in the bath?

Heather H said:

Does he move in the bath?

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Also try putting him in deeper water, hold him so his head can stay above and see if he will try to swim. The fact that he is not trying to actually walk is definitely worrisome. But if he can move his legs then maybe you can "rehab him" in the water. Just a thought.

He didn't try to swim in the deep water. I tried that yesterday. However he does seem to be scooting around a bit in his soak so maybe we are well on our way. I will continue to give him soaks and keep him well fed. I will report back with anything new that pops up. Thank you all for your help!

Hi 'Phiber', and welcome to the Forum!

Baby box turtles dehydrate very quickly because they are so small. So keep up the daily soaks. Moisten his substrate. I keep the substrate for my baby box turtles actually wet. Give him plenty of hiding places. Be patient.

Any updates? Is the little guy doing any better?

Please do not feed cat food, it will make them pee out the free floating calcium in their blood which will cause major issues and leads to Metabolic Bone Disease. Everything else everyone said here is good info.