Acquired a female ornate box turtle and looking for pointers

[Marci Montoya]

Hello! I am a new turtle owner and I was looking for advice on what to do. My friend found an ornate box turtle in her yard and it has chew marks on her shell. She didn't want to keep her and knew I have been wanting a box turtle so she gave her to me. I put Neosporin on the worst spots and I am trying to find a vet that will care for turtles but until then what else can I do for her? Also looking for advice on what else I can add to her home. See pictures below. Thanks in advance for responded. I am pretty sure she is female.

 

[mark1]

i'd paint it with betadine , povidone , once or twice ....... chlorhexadine works well and you could use it more often .........

 

[Marci Montoya]

Thank you I will go pick some up today!

 

[PJay]

What a survivor! Something spent some time and energy trying to get into that box turtles shell. It has a lot of color on its head. Post some pictures of its tail and vent area for a more positive sex determination.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Marci and welcome!

It looks like the dog chew marks are old. I doubt you need to do anything about them. Also, I THINK, but am not sure, that the green headed ornata are the males, not females.

 

[Marci Montoya]

I will take more pictures this afternoon. What do you all think about the set up? Am I missing anything?

 

[Greta16]

I'm no expert, just wanted to tell you, I love the set up! If I was a turtle I'd want to live in it. If he's in it all the time maybe a cover of some sort?

 

[ColleenT]

try to show us a pic of the underside of it's tail. it looks male to me, but if we see the underside of the tail we can tell better.

 

[Marci Montoya]

 

[Marci Montoya]

 

[Marci Montoya]

 

[Marci Montoya]

 

[Marci Montoya]

Other than the chew marks does he look healthy? I have tried giving him green beans yesterday and grapes today I don't think he has ate. I'm going to try works tomorrow if I don't see any grapes gone.

 

[PJay]

It looks like a healthy turtle! It's in a new situation, its stressed and may not eat for a while. Earthworms, especially night crawlers, are a good bet to try with an Ornate. Like Yvonne, I was prepared to say it was a male based on the skin color but I'm beginning to agree with you; the eyes show no hint of red and the tail is a on the smaller side. We need a picture of the underside of the tail where it comes out from the shell. The vent, where the poop comes out, on a female will be closer to the edge of the shell, the males vent will be further out from the shell edge and the tail is larger than the females.

You should enter that last photo in the next TFO calendar contest!

 

[mark1]

Other than the chew marks does he look healthy? I have tried giving him green beans yesterday and grapes today I don't think he has ate. I'm going to try works tomorrow if I don't see any grapes gone.

try worms ........ might be a wild caught turtle , and it was chewed up by a dog recently , which can traumatize them for a period of time ............

 

[ColleenT]

yes, we need the UNDERSIDE of the tail.

 

[Nanchantress]

I vote female for sure. Tiny skinny tail, back foot inside claw not large and curved inward, and brown eyes. I have 3 male ornates myself, and that looks 100% female.

 

[Marci Montoya]

 

[PJay]

That's a nicely colored female, better than some male Ornates I've seen. Take good care of her!

 

[ColleenT]

tail looks female to me.