Meet Crush the Three toe boxie

lismar79 said:

Thanks! I'm in love with his looks, can't wait until he let's me see him more often

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I have a Leopard also call Crush. Also a cutie in our eyes. Looking forward to your update.

He is a gorgeous little box turtle! I love the coloring on his shell.

lismar79 said:

Yep, that's what I'm worried about. I have no proof he's eating since he is left alone to hunt for himself.

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I would just weigh him each week until spring. As long as he doesn't lose weight I wouldn't worry too much.

He lost 10g this week....down to 226..... @lisa127 when do you think I should worry? Plus he is digging in the cool end deep and is not coming up to warm up. Is this a problem too?

I would suggest taking him to a reptile specialist veterinarian, as losing weight this quickly could easily mean that he's sick.

I would also suggest hibernating him once you know he is well. I have two 3-toed box turtles who I hibernate each winter, and they do very well. It's hard to fight that natural inclination built into their DNA to hibernate. Good luck and I will be interested to hear how things go.

You know that I am very much a beginner with this. Has he ever actually hibernated or just slowed down? How cool is that cool and? How long do you have the lights on every day? was he used to being kept indoors or outdoors?

leigti said:

You know that I am very much a beginner with this. Has he ever actually hibernated or just slowed down? How cool is that cool and? How long do you have the lights on every day? was he used to being kept indoors or outdoors?

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He has never been hibernated before. He did slow down last winter though. He was kept indoors only so far.

I would suggest leaving lights on for 14 hours a day. What are the temps during the night?

Crush has never been ill at all so far in his life. The only issue we had at one time was fungus on the shell which was treated with antifungal cream.

lismar79 said:

He lost 10g this week....down to 226..... @lisa127 when do you think I should worry? Plus he is digging in the cool end deep and is not coming up to warm up. Is this a problem too?

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I think I had heard once that you should start to worry if they lose more than 10% of their body weight. I'm not sure how long it takes them to get used to a new enclosure. I wonder if an enclosure so much bigger than what he was in makes him feel insecure? He may just need more time to adjust.

Also, he was 334 when he left here so honestly I don't think it's time to panic yet....that's only 8 grams. And his weight would fluctuate a few grams with each weigh in. If he goes below 220 I would worry.

Let me look for the dates and weights I have recorded and I'll give them to you.

Maybe add even more plants and leaves etc. so he can hide more. I know it is very stressful when They don't eat, you seen my threads about it and how I am stressing out with all the little bugs in there I'm sure he is eating something. Did you try crickets? Mine likes to chase them around.Keep the lights on longer, and keep it warm in there. Hang in there, I wouldn't take him to the vet. It would just stress them out.all these issues with feeding my boxie makes me really appreciate my Russian but I still love my Boxee also.

Yes, keep the UVB light on 14 hours a day, keep it warm and humid, and even keep some heat on at night. I agree I wouldn't take him to the vet at this point. He has had enough stress. Are you trying to watch him eat? Don't do that. Leave him with his worms and leave the room. And a couple of soaks a week, but don't mess with him too too much. Here is the weight info. I have on him, starting with most recent going backwards. You'll see he steadily gained weight in spring and summer but the last couple of months has just fluctuated by a few grams either way so I wouldn't worry quite yet.

10/25 - 334 grams
9/16 - 328 grams
9/1 - 335 grams
8/28 - 328 grams
8/12 - 325 grams
7/29 - 316 grams
7/17 - 325 grams
7/5 - 293 grams
6/28 - 305 grams
6/14 - 273 grams
6/7 - 263 grams
5/18 - 245 grams (not many weights in May, death in family)
4/30 - 228 grams
4/16 - 207 grams
3/28 - 178 grams
3/20 - 169 grams
3/15 - 170 grams
3/8 - 160 grams
2/22 - 138 grams
2/12 - 130 grams
2/5 - 119 grams
2/1 - 112 grams
1/22 - 112 grams

My reptile specialist vet has said to bring in my box turtles when they lose 7% of their weight during hibernation. It sounds like he's trying to hibernate – buried deep in the cool end of his space.

lisa127 said:

He has never been hibernated before. He did slow down last winter though. He was kept indoors only so far.

I would suggest leaving lights on for 14 hours a day. What are the temps during the night?

Crush has never been ill at all so far in his life. The only issue we had at one time was fungus on the shell which was treated with antifungal cream.

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His lights on from 7a to 10p his che is always on. It does not dip below 70 in there at night but it has to be cooler dug in like he is. His warm area is 85-80 his bask is 87-90, I moved the che again today so its closer to the side he's been hiding but it took away temps from basking area....i my add another low watt che..As for me trying to feed him I've been putting him in a shoe size tote under his light with some moss, worms and other items....I walk away for 15 mins and by then he frantic trying to climb out. Eats nothing and goes back to hiding.

lismar79 said:

His lights on from 7a to 10p his che is always on. It does not dip below 70 in there at night but it has to be cooler dug in like he is. His warm area is 85-80 his bask is 87-90, I moved the che again today so its closer to the side he's been hiding but it took away temps from basking area....i my add another low watt che..As for me trying to feed him I've been putting him in a shoe size tote under his light with some moss, worms and other items....I walk away for 15 mins and by then he frantic trying to climb out. Eats nothing and goes back to hiding.

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Maybe try feeding him not in the tote. He has never been fed that way so maybe that's the problem? I always just fed him from a ceramic dish. All his non living food went in the dish and mealworms and superworms did too. Nightcrawlers were just let loose. Recently when he's been slowing down I have been digging him up and I will gently place him near the dish and then leave the room. But if I know Crush, being in a tote is stressful and when he is stressed he does not eat. Honestly, I would not be messing with him so much. Just let him be a little bit. I have never force soaked and I have never fed them anywhere but in their enclosure where they are comfortable.

I know it is very hard not to try to watch them to see if they are eating. some people have told me to leave the food in there for a couple days, but sometimes they like the fruit a little over right etc. After all in the wilder they eat dead things yuck. did you try adding some more plants for cover? I need to add more plants to my box turtle enclosure also.hang in there, I know it is stressful. He won't starve himself to death, at least that's what everybody tells me

I honestly think the biggest reason he is not eating is because he is in a tote under the light.

Also, boxies are not fans of bright light, so being under the light and trapped there may make him unhappy as well.

I first did that, placed a dish with worm and placed him near. He ran away and did not look at it at all. I think I should go back to that though. That was the first two days and he's still getting use to enclosure. I have only checked on him once a day and stpped soaks all together since you suggested it. I've done the feed in a tote thing twice now.

I have a lot in there for him to hide under. He's a digger for sure.

lismar79 said:

I first did that, placed a dish with worm and placed him near. He ran away and did not look at it at all. I think I should go back to that though. That was the first two days and he's still getting use to enclosure. I have only checked on him once a day and stpped soaks all together since you suggested it. I've done the feed in a tote thing twice now.

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ok, yeah. go back to the dish thing. if you have bugs/worms loose in there he may be eating those anyway. If so, he might not eat anything you put in the dish until spring when his appetite goes up. Did you see the list of his weights?

I will leave him alone tomorrow....its just so damn hard too......I'm a worry wort. I did see the weights, gives me a good idea of progress and fall backs to look for! Thanks!

Mine also runs away from her dish :-(and she were run away from the worms too :-( so I know how disheartening that is. I found out my box turtle actually did hibernate last year, in a shallow burrow in the park. I don't know how she survived.