I just took in an ornate box turtle who was brought into the local shelter as a stray ( whatever that means is anyone's guess) ... They assessed him ( gender a guess ) and thought him in rough shape... thin, overgrown beak, overgrown nails, soft shell. Vet stated that they did not have the equipment to trim the beak and that they would humanely euthanize him if he would not eat ( they provided him with kale and some type of pellets which ... he seemed to ignore ). I decided he would be better off with me than dead ... I set him up in a large, 2.5 ft plastic tote with moistened coconut fiber and sphagnum , a hiding place, a water dish and some bricks for basking and feeding as well as appropriate lighting ... I got him mealworms and red wigglers as well as some freeze dried bug mix and made him a chop with dandelion, tomatoes, carrots and whatever else I could find that looked yummy for a tort ...he started eating right away, ate veggies, live and freeze dried insects and worms sprinkled with calcium powder and he loves his bathing dish... I trimmed his beak with a Dremel ( I used to have to trim bird beaks - it sure isn't perfect but believe me ... better than it was ... his beak was enormous !), clipped his nails and my kids secured an outside pen inside of one of my abandoned planter beds. He seems active, eats well, hunts his own bugs outside ( ants, spiders ..) and seems amazingly un-phased by people. For a tortoise in rough shape he he very active and spent the day outside digging and hunting and exploring and soaking in the sun.
I am a bit unsure what is next ... We live in Colorado and it will be winter soon ... not sure if we can provide him enough space during the long winter. Is there anything else he needs? And how much does the average box turtle eat a day? He seems to have a rather large appetite ... How many insects/worms should he eat? I am not sure how I trust the vets assessment at the shelter maybe I will take him to my exotic vet that also sees my birds. I'll definitely make sure he gets as much outside time as possible before the winter, his supplements and a variety of foods - anything else I can do for his shell? Pictures are in his current outside pen ( secured against birds and dogs ).
I am a bit unsure what is next ... We live in Colorado and it will be winter soon ... not sure if we can provide him enough space during the long winter. Is there anything else he needs? And how much does the average box turtle eat a day? He seems to have a rather large appetite ... How many insects/worms should he eat? I am not sure how I trust the vets assessment at the shelter maybe I will take him to my exotic vet that also sees my birds. I'll definitely make sure he gets as much outside time as possible before the winter, his supplements and a variety of foods - anything else I can do for his shell? Pictures are in his current outside pen ( secured against birds and dogs ).