Recent content by Dean Wirth

I would suggest building a wooden enclosure, make windows if you like, and a wire mesh cover with a latch. Don't feel it has to be an aquarium or terrarium. I use potted plants as they tend to uproot planted plants, also I use plant saucers for pools, they are not deep are easy to remove to...

Great set ups, put a few holes in the kiddie pool, and for indoor set up you don't really need a terrarium, when it grows a good idea would be to use an old bookshelf to set up a larger enclosure. Looks great though, I feed mine every day and they are adults, small ones mainly eat meat, high...

Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that you found this turtle. Contact wildlife officials but i think its a safe bet that housing it with your female is a good plan.

try cuttle bone for birds, he might ignore it for a month or so but evenntually he will nip at it, good for the beak too. also protein is in a lot of foods, i hardly use the powder myself like turtle pellets my turtles ignore it.

They are big, i was amazed when i saw one, when soaking they extend them to lubricate i think.

Good one Cowboy Ken

Box turtles and Tortoises can't hybridize, that would be like a dog and a cat having a litter, and yes box turtles can store sperm up to 5 years.. Nice looking ornate box turtle, congratulations!

Oh I was thinking north American box turtle, well box turtles are semi aquatic and from the pictures the central american wood turtle looks semi terrestrial, google the species and their habitats, I suspect the central American turtle likes heat.

the top one is a sliderby the looks of it what made you think of wood turtle? I don't know much about water turtles , but i do know that the aquatic environment is totally different, and wood turtles are terrestrial turtles. i could see it being mistaken for a box turtle, but i bet its hind...

Keep an eye on your 3 year old, I used to put turtles in my mouth when little, it sounds dumb I know but kids will be kids.

try putting cuttlebone in the enclosure and giving it superworms to eat, snails will help too if available. It may ignore the cuttlebone for a while but mine eat trim on cuttlebone, also feed out of a hard dish. the beak doesn't look that bad to me but you have to be the judge on that one.

Female

If she stays buried she probably is not ready to lay, frankly I'm not sure if she's old enough, but be aware box turtles often lay eggs up to 5 years after the mating. If she lays she will dig a hole and tamp it down and you wont even know it. the babies dig themselves out. i would do some...

i use high quality dog cereal my turtles just love it. A large variety is best. Judging by shell length you have a 4-5 year old turtle, fully grown they are 5- inches in length. if her eyes are brown she probably is a female,which would make sense as they tend to roam more looking for nest...

It is unfortunate that with new construction projects animals get displaced. it could b a female looking to lay eggs, the most roadkills are females looking for nesting sites. It looks like an eastern box turtle from what I can tell. if so it is a digger and will try to escape, the walls...