Critique my box turtle

[Budbud62808]

Ok I know we have lots of things to fix. Here's a picture of his tank. He has a heat rock ( no idea the temp) and a water dish. He only gets produce (mostly iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, melon, strawberry). We use reptile bark for his bedding.. He has a mirror on his tank (after reading I think he hates it) we take him out inside a lot but almost ever take him outside. These have been his living conditions for 25years! Wish I knew all this info sooner!!!

 

[Budbud62808]

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hi Bud, welcome to the Forum and i think from your intro you realize a few things should change. Hard to believe that he's been like this for 25 years, really? Id say first go to the tab for box turtles, and read all the care sheets. Then id start planning for a much larger opaque enclosure, no mirror, a better sunken water bowl, better substrate, a nice hide for him to hide away, no heat rock, add an overhead light to your new enclosure to make one area warmer, and one cooler, better diet, and some turtle friendly plants, rocks, etc to make his enclosure more natural. And, id start soaking him and getting him outside in the sun for a bit, even outside in semi sunny/shady areas. Id also get a large bale of peat moss from your garden center and use that as a nice thick substrate in the new enclosure, and sink thevwater bowl level with the surface.

I'm sure others will chime in here, but thought id start things off.

 

[Budbud62808]

wow thank you!! He is really that old. My husband was given him by his 2nd grade teacher.. My husband will be 32 this year.

 

[Eric Phillips]

Figure I would put my pictures of my 45 gallon tank on here that houses my Eastern Boxie (Chloe) hatchling, due to it being similar to your tank. First off I would get more cover. Just with this tank, I have at least 4 different hides if you count the hosta and fern for cover. Your water dish needs to probably be bigger, really you should have a bigger tank for your boxie there. I mixed my substrate with zoomed eco earth bricks $8.00, Organic peat moss in bag from lowes I use it for my red worm farm, brown snail habitat(feed), and gardens($10), and some Organic soil and dried leaves from my compost pile from last year(washed and dried). I keep red wigglers in the tank along with crickets and pill bugs. All of which I gut fed or powdered with calcium supplement. When Chloe gets bigger then will move her into a homemade indoor enclosure 4' x 6'. Whatever you do just make sure you get a UVB light if kept indoors regularly and keep the humidity between 60-80% (I use a cheep garden spray bottled filled with filtered water and mist regularly. This is what I did for mine, doesn't mean its how you would do it. Be creative and have fun doing it. Then ask yourself, mmm....if I was a box turtle, would I mind living here? Good Luck!

 

[KevinGG]

Get rid of that heat rock!

 

[Budbud62808]

Get rid of that heat rock!

Ok can I ask why? He spends a lot of his day on it.

 

[lisa127]

Ok can I ask why? He spends a lot of his day on it.

He spends a lot of his day on it because he is not provided with any other heat source right now. But it is far from ideal. Actually, heat rocks should not be used for any reptile. Use an overhead incandescent bulb for heat. Preferably a black moonglo type one for heat without brightness. Your UVB tube should supply all the light that is needed.

 

[Budbud62808]

He spends a lot of his day on it because he is not provided with any other heat source right now. But it is far from ideal. Actually, heat rocks should not be used for any reptile. Use an overhead incandescent bulb for heat. Preferably a black moonglo type one for heat without brightness. Your UVB tube should supply all the light that is needed.

Ok thank you for the answer

 

[wiccan_chicken]

Ok can I ask why? He spends a lot of his day on it.

Heat rocks have no control over temp, so they can get so hot that they can burn the reptile. A good idea for now would be a nice 50 gal tubaware from lowes, home depot, any home improvement store. Mix topsoil with the blocks of echo earth (One would be fine for the 50 gal) A nice glazed terra cotta dish large enough for him to stretch out in, a few non toxic plants, a uvb bulb (Not the spiral kinds they can cause blindness) and a ceramic heat emitter (wattage depends on the heat your turtle needs) would just about do it.

Hides like half logs are useful, though my two year old boxie loves her glass jar burrow! It's settled in the dirt and filled with moss. My hatchling has hides which are the plastic planters that your plants come in when you buy them buried in the dirt like a burrow filled with moss, be creative! Some people use plywood propped up on bricks as hides.

For a diet, I'd feed him things like this
~Earth worms (Red wigglers from bait store is fine though try and make a worm box, with topsoil kept under leaf litter, and feed them up for a month or so to help the toxins pass through them and make them edible for your boxie. Some places sell worms ready to eat online)
~Slugs (make sure they arent poisonous to them, my boxie tears them up!)
~ I feed mine Pheonix worms while they are small, and they are good to use if you want to introduce them to something new.
~ Pill bugs

~ Kale
~Turnip greens
~ Spring mix salad blend
~ Dandelion
~HawkBit
~ Planton
~ Black berry leaves

~ Black berries
~Blue Berries
~ Squash

~ Mazuri tortoise diet
~ High quality wet cat food
~ Boiled chicken
~ Cooked eggs
~ Canned or boiled salmon, or tuna


Thats about all I can think about for now. Slowly introduce new foods, see what he likes and doesnt like, but this is the start to a healthier boxie I wish you guys many more happy years together.

 

[wiccan_chicken]

I need some more up to date pictures, but this is Spook's home, she lives in a Cement mixing tub outside for the summer, and below it is an old picture of her in her old water bowl. She's quite a small turtle, about three inches so she's grown quite a bit and her water bowl is quite large for her, which is great as boxies LOVE being in the water.

 

[Budbud62808]

Heat rocks have no control over temp, so they can get so hot that they can burn the reptile. A good idea for now would be a nice 50 gal tubaware from lowes, home depot, any home improvement store. Mix topsoil with the blocks of echo earth (One would be fine for the 50 gal) A nice glazed terra cotta dish large enough for him to stretch out in, a few non toxic plants, a uvb bulb (Not the spiral kinds they can cause blindness) and a ceramic heat emitter (wattage depends on the heat your turtle needs) would just about do it.

Hides like half logs are useful, though my two year old boxie loves her glass jar burrow! It's settled in the dirt and filled with moss. My hatchling has hides which are the plastic planters that your plants come in when you buy them buried in the dirt like a burrow filled with moss, be creative! Some people use plywood propped up on bricks as hides.

For a diet, I'd feed him things like this
~Earth worms (Red wigglers from bait store is fine though try and make a worm box, with topsoil kept under leaf litter, and feed them up for a month or so to help the toxins pass through them and make them edible for your boxie. Some places sell worms ready to eat online)
~Slugs (make sure they arent poisonous to them, my boxie tears them up!)
~ I feed mine Pheonix worms while they are small, and they are good to use if you want to introduce them to something new.
~ Pill bugs

~ Kale
~Turnip greens
~ Spring mix salad blend
~ Dandelion
~HawkBit
~ Planton
~ Black berry leaves

~ Black berries
~Blue Berries
~ Squash

~ Mazuri tortoise diet
~ High quality wet cat food
~ Boiled chicken
~ Cooked eggs
~ Canned or boiled salmon, or tuna


Thats about all I can think about for now. Slowly introduce new foods, see what he likes and doesnt like, but this is the start to a healthier boxie I wish you guys many more happy years together.

I already have another tank. It's much bigger. We've had plans to switch him for a while we've just needed a new stand for his new tank... A lot of people have suggested the plastic totes but I would think the bigger tank would work too??

 

[StarSapphire22]

For an adult box turtle, I wouldn't do another aquarium or tote. Unless you're getting like a 150 gallon aquarium or maybe an Xmas tree bin, neither are large enough for an adult turtle. You could maybe use a stock tank, or build/have a handy friend help you build a custom enclosure...which depending on how you do it, can be relatively easy and inexpensive. I'd say aim for about 4x6. You should also consider an outdoor enclosure for nice days...either a permanent garden for him, or a kiddie pool with some dirt, plants, hides, water, etc. that you can move around.

 

[lisa127]

For my adult box turtle, I took an older dresser and laid it on it's back to make an enclosure. I took out the drawers and ribs of the dresser and put wheels on the back turned bottom. I then used a tarp to line the bottom. Mine is nowhere near the 4x6 suggested above. It is about 10 square feet of floor space. Which works out well for us as my boxie was captive bred. A wild caught turtle might need more space to be happy. Though your turtle has been living in an aquarium and would probably appreciate any extra space you can give. Of course, give as much space as you can though!

 

[wiccan_chicken]

I already have another tank. It's much bigger. We've had plans to switch him for a while we've just needed a new stand for his new tank... A lot of people have suggested the plastic totes but I would think the bigger tank would work too??

We suggest the plastic totes because they're generally cheaper. 20 for 50 gal vs 100 for 50 gal. Plus the clear sides confuse torts and turts. An adult Boxie REALLY needs to be in a 5x5 ft MIN outside enclosure, but if you can't winter them outdoors or not comfortable hibernating etc etc the large tubs and tanks are a good compromise for a little while.

The main purpose of my post was to give ideas on hides and changing up the diet, as everyone else here has been super helpful on getting your boy into a larger home, I only thought to add how to enrich his home and help him feel safe and have a nice, yummy diet more fit for him. Could we see more pictures of him? I'd love to see him up close

 

[Eric Phillips]

Any updates on your enclosure and your 3 toed?

 

[Kait Ranae]

all facts, please follow them:

these turtles eat 60% protein, 30% veggies, 10% leafy greens, and 10% fruit at each feeding.
slugs, superworms, beetles, crickets, wax worms, earth worms, lean cooked chick or shrimp. 60% of their daily diet.
carrots, green beans, okra, sweet potato, winter and summer squash. 30% of their daily diet.
dandelion greens, mustard greens, collar greens fresh, tunip greens, red leaf lettuce, or romaine lettuce. 10% of their daily diet.
cut grapes, strawberries, black berries, raspberries, apricots, cantaloupe, kiwi, honeydew. 10% of their daily diet.
"mazuri tortoise food" is wonderful from amazon or petc if you don't want to do all of this.

substrate should be 6inches deep or more and they should be kept in 50 gallon storage containers, the opaque/clear ones are best as they can't see out and be upset but you can see in. organic dirt, bark, grasses, etc are great. also sphagnum moss.or coconut fibre. eco earth, etc.

they need a heat basking light in addition to the most important, uva/uvb light. (halogen spotlights for heat in reptile clamp ceramic lamps, and the uva/uvb reptisun 5.0 at petco or amazon.) without these and proper diet, turtles die from metabolic bone disease.

i just rescued the sickest one ive ever seen, doesn't even look like a turtle. so no, your turtle has been better cared for than what you said for 25 years.


no heat rock, that's not appropriate for turtles.and you need to know the temp of the container, one side is to have the lights and the other is not supposed to, so the turtle can control their temp. you can buy a humidity and temp Gage at petco or amazon. you must also spray the habitat 2x daily to keep the humidity up. these turtles live in moist dirt in the woods. having a paint tray full of water in the cage is also great, so they can fully submerge but get out with no issue. many people put the heat light and uva/uvb over the water so the water is warm.

also have many hiding spots like overturned flower pots and logs is great.

what others said is good. read any turtle care sheets and follow directions. good luck. and thanks for continuing to learn and want to do better for your friend.

 

[Kait Ranae]

I already have another tank. It's much bigger. We've had plans to switch him for a while we've just needed a new stand for his new tank... A lot of people have suggested the plastic totes but I would think the bigger tank would work too??

the plastic tote helps prevent burning from the glass creating wrong temperatures. totes are better and cheaper.

 

[Yvonne G]

This is a very old thread. The OP hasn't been on the forum for over a year.