Hello all,
I take care of soon to be 10 box turtles, it is currently 6 (I work at a zoological facility). They are all currently kept inside with no plans to change, but I do not believe this is the best care for them due to UV needs. I am potentially going to be creating an outdoor space in which a couple a day can hang out outside, and each should get about 2 full days of the week outside. My issue is I am located near Tampa, Florida, and the box turtles I care for are all Eastern box turtles, and one Ornate box turtle.
Would the Florida summer/spring/and honestly fall, be too hot for them? I plan on creating a lot of shade for the space via plants, and I'd also like to include a shallow pond. I just feel like the option of basking outside is much better for them. We have been sunning them 3x a week for 15 min each, but I don't think this is benefitting them much, and it's not in the hours of the day that they would normally bask because of time constraints on my end.
Any info is helpful! Thanks everyone!
I take care of soon to be 10 box turtles, it is currently 6 (I work at a zoological facility). They are all currently kept inside with no plans to change, but I do not believe this is the best care for them due to UV needs. I am potentially going to be creating an outdoor space in which a couple a day can hang out outside, and each should get about 2 full days of the week outside. My issue is I am located near Tampa, Florida, and the box turtles I care for are all Eastern box turtles, and one Ornate box turtle.
Would the Florida summer/spring/and honestly fall, be too hot for them? I plan on creating a lot of shade for the space via plants, and I'd also like to include a shallow pond. I just feel like the option of basking outside is much better for them. We have been sunning them 3x a week for 15 min each, but I don't think this is benefitting them much, and it's not in the hours of the day that they would normally bask because of time constraints on my end.
Any info is helpful! Thanks everyone!