New box turtle owner habitat help

[beasy910]

So I have recently adopted a box turtle , I had to have her but didn't know how far over my head I was ! I immediately started reading books and everything I could find online about box turtles . I have set up three different indoor habitats before I felt like I had a big enough set up. It's 57in long and 30 in wide . It's plenty deep in the middle for digging. I used organic soil and a organic Pete moss , mixed them up real good and wet it all to make it damp. Now that I have more room , I wondering If I need a bigger water dish . She sure likes to get in the water . She gets it dirty almost every day , so I know she likes it . I feel like maybe she would like to swim a little , I'm not sure. I also did a lot of research of plants . I planted palms , grass, mimosa,ferns, and dracaenas to the inside and I feel safe about those. I read the ficus tree sap was bad for their skin and eyes. So I didn't plant and inside the enclosesure . But I put some around the outside of it , but one big one hangs over one side and will drop dry or almost dry green leaves in the enclosesure, will that be a problem? I know she won't eat the leaves , she is a picky eater and likes only moving live bugs so far. I hope this is big enough for a long time . I could build something bigger but I want it to look okay too . My building skills may not be up to par . What do you guys think? Is this set up okay ? She seems happier since I put her is the bigger space .

 

[dmmj]

seems pretty good to me. You're right about one thing though box turtles are consid.ered to be semi-aquatic they love to swim.

 

[dmmj]

@Yvonne G. what do you think?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[beasy910]

Thanks grandpa!

 

[lisa127]

It looks great. Is the basking lamp a mvb? If not you need to get a separate uvb bulb.

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a very eye-pleasing habitat for a box turtle. You might try a clay plant saucer for a waterer...one big enough for the turtle to fit inside of. I wonder if it's warm enough. The light seems to be a bit high to me.

 

[Jacqui]

My phone is too slow this am to get to enlarge those pictures so I can see them. What kind of box turtle? An adult?

 

[Yvonne G]

@Yvonne G. what do you think?

I answered on his other thread.

 

[beasy910]

Thanks dmmj ,how deep would be okay though , I read that the water should be deep enough for her to stand up in , how could she swim but also be able to stand ?

 

[beasy910]

Thanks lisa127 , it's supposed to take care of uva, uvb, and heat . I have to turn a heater on in the same room at night to provide extra heat when the light cuts off

 

[beasy910]

Thank you very much Yvonne! Well I'm not sure what temperature the water is supposed to be but its around 72 most of the time . I have the water beside the basking rock , and it heats up to about 90. That's if my thermometer is accurate. I question it sometimes. I do have some clay pot saucers but they are not as deep as the Rubbermaid container I'm using now . I can Lower the light and move it back and forth but if it gets to close to the rocks it seems to get to hot. I think I need to get another thermometer just to be able to check the one I'm currently using .

 

[beasy910]

Well it may be this post jacqui I can't open the photos here either . But the same post ended up in the American box turtle section also and I can open the photos on that post. I think she's a juvenile somewhere in between. But I really have no idea on her age . She seems small to me still but I can tell she's got a few years on her . If I was to just guess , I'd about three but I really don't know. I got her from someone one that didn't know here age either .

 

[Yvonne G]

No, I'm sorry...I meant the whole habitat's temperature.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well it may be this post jacqui I can't open the photos here either . But the same post ended up in the American box turtle section also and I can open the photos on that post. I think she's a juvenile somewhere in between. But I really have no idea on her age . She seems small to me still but I can tell she's got a few years on her . If I was to just guess , I'd about three but I really don't know. I got her from someone one that didn't know here age either .

THIS one is in the box turtle section. The other thread you made is in the "Introductions" section. This thread is more appropriate to help you with your questions. That other one is really just to introduce you and for us to welcome you.

 

[beasy910]

I see ,should I remove the other post ? I didn't mean to make two , I just didn't think the first one posted ,and made a whole new one and ended up with two .

 

[Yvonne G]

I see ,should I remove the other post ? I didn't mean to make two , I just didn't think the first one posted ,and made a whole new one and ended up with two .

View attachment 156559

No. I normally merge them when two identical threads are made, however, if I merged your two, then the "Introduction" thread would be gone. I think it's ok as is.

I like the way you've fixed the enclosure. Have you seen the turtle get in and out of the new waterer?

 

[beasy910]

No, I'm sorry...I meant the whole habitat's temperature.

Oh okay , yeah I think that's okay, I have a infrared thermomerter that I check everything with but like I said I wonder if that's the best method. I have a humidity and thermomerter recorder set up with a probe in the area she is mostly in and has a different reading than the infrared thermomerter. I have been stressed over the temperatures. What do you think the best way to monitor these conditions?

 

[beasy910]

I see ,should I remove the other post ? I didn't mean to make two , I just didn't think the first one posted ,and made a whole new one and ended up with two .

View attachment 156559

This was how I had the pond liner set up before outside, but once it got cold I couldn't use it anymore and her inside habitat was smaller so I moved it inside and changed everything . The water was in a much bigger container outside but it didn't seem practical to take up that much room for the water. Should I consider using the bigger water bowl ? The one I'm using now is smaller ,but it's what she had in her smaller habitat and I figured she was used to it so I just used it instead .

 

[beasy910]

No. I normally merge them when two identical threads are made, however, if I merged your two, then the "Introduction" thread would be gone. I think it's ok as is.

I like the way you've fixed the enclosure. Have you seen the turtle get in and out of the new waterer?

Thank you ! Yes she uses the water bowl a lot in the set up now . I'm scared if I put the bigger one in she may not like it and it may be harder to keep the water warm