Ornate or Florida Box Turtle

Tony the tank

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As a Hobby I buy distressed properties and rehab..I find all sorts of animal people abandoned snakes , dogs , cats chickens even penned gopher tortoises... But this time they left a makeshift tortoise table.... Of the 3 box turtles on the table 2 were long since dead.. The last won Seemed fine.. I took him home and placed him in a vacant pen.. ( I usually either call ACO or I just release them..). I have soaked him a few times but can't get him to eat.. It's been about 5 days now... Anyone have any thoughts...should I just release him ? Will he survive? I have tried worms, fruit, spring mix, mushrooms..
 

Tony the tank

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No visible signs of illness .. Very active .. Even on the 50* days. .. Place was loaded with roaches He had to be eating something. House was vacant for almost 5 month.
 

ColleenT

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But if he had no UVB light and was only eating bugs (if that), he could be feeling the repurcussions of that. He may look fine to you, but to a vet he may be showing signs of stress or otherwise.

You may be close to other turtle owners who could evaluate him and maybe get him to eat and then either give him a good home or release him if he is ok.
 

Tony the tank

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I do believe he is stressed... I don't handle him ..I place food in his pen and watch from a distance.. He will smell it and walk right by... I'm having a few thousand night crawlers delivered tomorrow.. I might try placing him in a Rubbermaid container with them...
 

Yvonne G

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Whatever you do, don't release him. He may not be native to your area, and it would be against the law.

Soak him daily in something he can't climb out of. I'd leave him soaking for at least a half hour. If he was in with a couple dead turtles for that length of time, he's probably pretty darned dehydrated.

It takes them a long time to learn to trust once again. Be patient. Give him the largest container/habitat you can, add lots of plants to help him feel secure, and feed him live, wiggly food.
 
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