Sadly, my baby GC box turtle died yesterday. I live in Florida where the Gulf Coast box turtles are a protected specie. One day in late September, I saw a baby box turtle come out of the grass and was on the concrete where I almost stepped on him. It looks like he was headed to the street where I was afraid that it would be crushed by a car. So, I decided to take it home even though I had no experience with boxies. I have an aquatic turtle that's 25 years old now, and I have three sulcatas (2 at 1 1/2 years old, and a 3 yr. old rescue).
I began to read up on first identifying what kind of turtle I found, and then how to care for it. I discovered it was a protected specie here in Florida, and I read up on its care and diet. I read where some would say to use a heating pad for babies especially if it were cold out, and the room temp was cold. Fortunately, I live in the Panhandle of Florida where the winter temps can get real cold but only for a few days at a time.
The first 4 months of his life I did not feel the need to use a heating pad. However, last week we had some rather cold weather and there was no heating source other than the ubv lighting I was using. I didn't use a CHE because I didn't think it was needed since these little guys live without that in their natural habitat. But, I had an extra heading pad, and since this baby was so cold feeling in the mornings, I decided to use it a few days ago.
I noticed that when I would try to look for her every morning to feed her and put her in a warm soak, I'd find her burrowed deep into the heading pad. I didn't think much of it because all was fine. I would check on her periodically, and sometimes she'd be in the shallow water tray I had for her, other times she'd be burrowed elsewhere.
Yesterday morning, I got up earlier than usual, and when I tried to look for her, she was laying in the small log near the heating pad. She seemed asleep which I felt was unusual since she'd always be awake no matter what time it was if I were there looking for her. When I picked her up, she was so warm...too warm. Then, I noticed that she was dead. I screamed...why, why, why...over and over again. I cried so hard that my husband had to come home from work. I tried to think over and over again, what did I do wrong. Then it hit me...the heating pad. It burrowed deep onto pad which was too hot for this specie. The under the tank heating pad likewise is too hot on the surface where an unsuspecting baby would want to burrow. The first few days, I didn't notice any change in the baby's behavior or eating, or drinking patterns. The only thing I recalled thinking was how she survived 4 months without the heating pad, and that I found her in the water pan late at night where she remained for several hours. It was only the next day that I found her dead. The saddest part of this is that I was about to return her back in the wild, which was my plan all along, because the dangers of frost is over here, and temps are climbing up.
Afterward, I went back to some of the posts where I read some would recommend using a heating pad for babies when it's cold. There was no one on any site to say DON'T EVER DO THAT!! There are other ways to heat up the room, and if you got a CHE (which I wish I had done) make sure its heat reaches only 60-70 degrees max. Never use a heating pad for babies because there's no way to set the temps, and they will burrow down to it, get dehydrated, and die of the heat. I wish I had learned about this before. Now, I only carry guilt for not knowing better. And the sting of death is oh, so painful! In a few days, she would have been free!
I began to read up on first identifying what kind of turtle I found, and then how to care for it. I discovered it was a protected specie here in Florida, and I read up on its care and diet. I read where some would say to use a heating pad for babies especially if it were cold out, and the room temp was cold. Fortunately, I live in the Panhandle of Florida where the winter temps can get real cold but only for a few days at a time.
The first 4 months of his life I did not feel the need to use a heating pad. However, last week we had some rather cold weather and there was no heating source other than the ubv lighting I was using. I didn't use a CHE because I didn't think it was needed since these little guys live without that in their natural habitat. But, I had an extra heading pad, and since this baby was so cold feeling in the mornings, I decided to use it a few days ago.
I noticed that when I would try to look for her every morning to feed her and put her in a warm soak, I'd find her burrowed deep into the heading pad. I didn't think much of it because all was fine. I would check on her periodically, and sometimes she'd be in the shallow water tray I had for her, other times she'd be burrowed elsewhere.
Yesterday morning, I got up earlier than usual, and when I tried to look for her, she was laying in the small log near the heating pad. She seemed asleep which I felt was unusual since she'd always be awake no matter what time it was if I were there looking for her. When I picked her up, she was so warm...too warm. Then, I noticed that she was dead. I screamed...why, why, why...over and over again. I cried so hard that my husband had to come home from work. I tried to think over and over again, what did I do wrong. Then it hit me...the heating pad. It burrowed deep onto pad which was too hot for this specie. The under the tank heating pad likewise is too hot on the surface where an unsuspecting baby would want to burrow. The first few days, I didn't notice any change in the baby's behavior or eating, or drinking patterns. The only thing I recalled thinking was how she survived 4 months without the heating pad, and that I found her in the water pan late at night where she remained for several hours. It was only the next day that I found her dead. The saddest part of this is that I was about to return her back in the wild, which was my plan all along, because the dangers of frost is over here, and temps are climbing up.
Afterward, I went back to some of the posts where I read some would recommend using a heating pad for babies when it's cold. There was no one on any site to say DON'T EVER DO THAT!! There are other ways to heat up the room, and if you got a CHE (which I wish I had done) make sure its heat reaches only 60-70 degrees max. Never use a heating pad for babies because there's no way to set the temps, and they will burrow down to it, get dehydrated, and die of the heat. I wish I had learned about this before. Now, I only carry guilt for not knowing better. And the sting of death is oh, so painful! In a few days, she would have been free!