enclosure?

[Ally]

For my eastern box turtle I just have a Rubbermaid tote, I am using repti bark for the substrate, I have a hide, water dish, food dish, sticks. I have the heat lamp and UVB light. It's an indoor enclosure right now.

Does this sound ok? What else I should put in there?
What kind of rocks can I put in there? pea gravel, the red rock some people use for landscaping or just big rocks for it to climb on? I was thinking about putting the rocks around the water bowl and then adding a few bigger ones for it to climb on.
Should I put some bark off of a tree in there?

 

[wellington]

No on the red stone and pea gravel or any small rocks he could swallow. No sand either. Make it as natural as possible. Large stones/rocks, logs, branches, bark, leaf litter, basically what you would find on the woods floor

 

[lismar79]

Yard waste such as fallen leaves are great to add

 

[Ally]

Since it's an indoor enclosure, should I put live food in there for it to hunt or just put it in there at the same time every day for feeding time?

 

[lismar79]

I would put worms in, give them something to hunt for.

 

[terryo]

Lots of leaf litter, a flat piece of slate to eat on, helps with the beak, some cuttle bone, large water dish to soak in. Here's a great site with lots of pictures for indoor and outdoor set ups. My favorite site. this is just one page, and he has so many pictures.
http://turtle_tails.tripod.com/raisingbabyturtles/tour5.htm

 

[leigti]

You can also put in crickets. Don't get the large ones unless you want to hear them chirping all night I usually buy medium ones, but one night one started chirping so I turned on the light, picked up my turtle and put her in the general area of the chirp. 10 minutes later no more chirp

 

[lynnedit]

You might mix in some topsoil or untreated garden dirt with the reptibark to hold moisture. You can get some sphagnum moss and spread it around, even in a pile in one corner for burrowing. You can find this in garden/home supply stores.

 

[Ally]

What kind of UVB light is best for the box turtles and also what kind of heat lamp/light?

 

[leigti]

What kind of UVB light is best for the box turtles and also what kind of heat lamp/light?

There are varying opinions on that, but basically it comes down to two options. One is a MVB bulb which provides heat and UVB together in one bulb. if you do this I would suggest a large ceramic socket aluminum dome from the hardware store. you could also use a long fluorescent UVB tube in a fixture that you can set on top of the tote. One example is a T8 5.0 or 10.0 bulb. with this you would also need a heat source, a regular lightbulb or flood bulb, or a ceramic heat emitifier. Research these options, and other people will be along soon with their suggestions also.

 

[Ally]

I can use a regular lightbulb for heat instead of having to buy a bulb at the pet store?

And Would either one of these work for UVB?

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B00A8RHTYU

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun%C2%AE-Fluorescent-24-Inch/dp/B0009YHSWK

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings, many advise folks to stay away from the CFL-type bulbs for turtles/torts since there is some evidence that this type of bulb reportedly causes eye damage.

As far as what to put in your enclosure, keep it as natural as you can. Here are some pix of our boxies in their indoor enclosure. I have many inches of hardwood forest leaf litter, soil, decaying leaves, an underground cavern system, logs, all kinds of weeds, grasses, some basking areas and a few watering holes set up. Yesterday, I added in three large handfulls of red wrigglers (worms) for the boxies to hunt down.

 

[leigti]

I can use a regular lightbulb for heat instead of having to buy a bulb at the pet store?

And Would either one of these work for UVB?

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B00A8RHTYU

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun%C2%AE-Fluorescent-24-Inch/dp/B0009YHSWK

I would stay away from the CFL type lamp. And MVB will give you light and UVB together.The rep to son 10.0 hi output tube light will work fine but it does require a high output fixture also. I did a thread recently on my Boxee enclosure, I'm sorry but I don't know how to link to it but it is in the box turtle section. Here is a picture to give you an idea. This is just one way to do it there are many others.in this enclosure the bulb is about 15 inches away from the top of my turtle so I got the 10.0 hi output. The two lamps on top are just 65 W flood lamps, Just from the hardware store not the expensive ones from the pet store. I hope this gives you some ideas.

 

[leigti]

Greetings, many advise folks to stay away from the CFL-type bulbs for turtles/torts since there is some evidence that this type of bulb reportedly causes eye damage.

As far as what to put in your enclosure, keep it as natural as you can. Here are some pix of our boxies in their indoor enclosure. I have many inches of hardwood forest leaf litter, soil, decaying leaves, an underground cavern system, logs, all kinds of weeds, grasses, some basking areas and a few watering holes set up. Yesterday, I added in three large handfulls of red wrigglers (worms) for the boxies to hunt down.

I love your enclosures

 

[Maro2Bear]

I love your enclosures

Thanks!

 

[turtleowner4]

My turtle is still little. Is this ok to put on my turtles food or do i need something else? http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptivite-Vitamin-2-Ounce/dp/B0002AQB6A

Are fiddle sticks ok for turtles to have something they can climb or hide under?

What else could I put in there for the turtle? More of a natural look or just to make it more comfortable?

 

[leigti]

I don't know what to fiddlestick is. But you can put little branches and things in there so if they are like that then I would say go for it. Just make sure they are chewing on them.

 

[turtleowner4]

This is the fiddlesticks http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHO26E/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[leigti]

This is the fiddlesticks http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HHO26E/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Oh, I think those would work fine. I have something that looks like that a little bit. It's like a little flexible bridge, I got it at Petco. Looks like it's pretty much the same thing is those only not as colorful.