klack95
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2014
- Messages
- 10
I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I have read a lot of the wonderful information and I love to see the pictures. But I am still confused on one item regarding the height of tanks/rubbermaid containers etc for the UVB light to be effective. I am looking to upgrade their environment since after a long journey they are now both very healthy little babies.
I have two baby ornate box turtles that I got for my 8 year daughter this past July. I was told they are 1 year old but the vet was not convinced they are that old. I was keeping them in an outside enclosure but they are so cute we kept on bringing them inside to watch them eat. They stayed a few days inside to long and although they had fresh water, the rest of the enclosure was not set up correctly and got dehydrated and cold with puffy eyes. Since this time, Oct. 31 to be exact, I have learned so much more about keeping box turtles. Please note that I said I have learned. My daughters obsession has already passed but I have fallen in love with these cute guys. I took both the turtles to the vet, got some eye drops, wormed them and the vet help me set a hospital/hatchling tank. A 28Q Sterlite container with a 2.0 UVB tube. My vet recommended this over the 5.0 due to Boxies are covered with tree filtered light in the wild. I also have a 35W Quartz Halogen and a CHE. I keep the CHE on 24 hours since they were recovering and the others 12 hours on and off. One turtle recovered within days but the other took a very long time. Back to the vet, I learned how to give shots everyother day and I purchased terramycin for his eyes with recommendations through this forum. Still no luck, back to the vet yet again. Long story short and $450 later, after another week at the vet, the shot antibiotic they gave me was supposed to be kept frozen, which I did not know. Completed a round with fresh antibiotic and Now after two months of not opening his eyes or eating he is healthy again!!! They both are eating a lot and trying new foods. Neither like kale and it is funny to watch them wipe it off of their tongues. Spagetti squash has been a huge hit and of course mealworms are their favorite.
With all of this being said, I am proud I got them healthy again. I want to make their enclosure more like nature. I will be getting the ecco earth/potting soil, leaf litter, little plants etc. I see people use a 50 gallon rubbermaid but the height seems to high for the UVB to be effective. My vet said anything over 14in and the light is useless. Since my guys are so little right now, can I keep the same container and light set up and just add the appropriate substrait? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Oogway is doing his daily soak while his buddy, Squirt is eating.
Squirt enjoying his favorite mealyworms!!!
Current hopsital like set up. It is tilted on the left and water is also available.
So excited he is willing to try new food. Spagetti squash is a hit.
Peaking out of the hydration box with spanish moss.
I have two baby ornate box turtles that I got for my 8 year daughter this past July. I was told they are 1 year old but the vet was not convinced they are that old. I was keeping them in an outside enclosure but they are so cute we kept on bringing them inside to watch them eat. They stayed a few days inside to long and although they had fresh water, the rest of the enclosure was not set up correctly and got dehydrated and cold with puffy eyes. Since this time, Oct. 31 to be exact, I have learned so much more about keeping box turtles. Please note that I said I have learned. My daughters obsession has already passed but I have fallen in love with these cute guys. I took both the turtles to the vet, got some eye drops, wormed them and the vet help me set a hospital/hatchling tank. A 28Q Sterlite container with a 2.0 UVB tube. My vet recommended this over the 5.0 due to Boxies are covered with tree filtered light in the wild. I also have a 35W Quartz Halogen and a CHE. I keep the CHE on 24 hours since they were recovering and the others 12 hours on and off. One turtle recovered within days but the other took a very long time. Back to the vet, I learned how to give shots everyother day and I purchased terramycin for his eyes with recommendations through this forum. Still no luck, back to the vet yet again. Long story short and $450 later, after another week at the vet, the shot antibiotic they gave me was supposed to be kept frozen, which I did not know. Completed a round with fresh antibiotic and Now after two months of not opening his eyes or eating he is healthy again!!! They both are eating a lot and trying new foods. Neither like kale and it is funny to watch them wipe it off of their tongues. Spagetti squash has been a huge hit and of course mealworms are their favorite.
With all of this being said, I am proud I got them healthy again. I want to make their enclosure more like nature. I will be getting the ecco earth/potting soil, leaf litter, little plants etc. I see people use a 50 gallon rubbermaid but the height seems to high for the UVB to be effective. My vet said anything over 14in and the light is useless. Since my guys are so little right now, can I keep the same container and light set up and just add the appropriate substrait? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Oogway is doing his daily soak while his buddy, Squirt is eating.
Squirt enjoying his favorite mealyworms!!!
Current hopsital like set up. It is tilted on the left and water is also available.
So excited he is willing to try new food. Spagetti squash is a hit.
Peaking out of the hydration box with spanish moss.