Critique my indoor box turtle enclosure?

SiouxsieQ

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
TX
674F0223-6672-4DA3-835B-6245982F6433.jpeg 7F46A259-FED1-4177-8620-E01605B23ADB.jpeg 86CAB4A1-120D-4BF5-AC46-681DFD77C475.jpeg 552D4D75-7810-42E1-8889-39559DD3A69B.jpeg 4109EAEF-31D8-4824-A8C3-65F31A285962.jpeg Hi, I'd just like to say I really appreciate the information I've gotten from reading this forum! I've read more detailed and experienced tips here than almost anymore else on the internet. It's helped out a lot in setting up an indoor enclosure for my Ornate box turtle, Poppy. I estimate she may be around 20 years old...I originally found her abandoned in a backyard of a rental property but she's been with me ever since :)

I kept her for 12 years in a backyard in West Texas but recently moved to an area more towards Central. She has always hibernated on her own outside in a pile of leaves and loose dirt but I decided it was best to overwinter her indoors this year. This will be her first winter awake or even indoors for that matter. She's been inside since the beginning of December, I'll try to list relevant info and a few pics:

Enclosure:
54 gallon heavy duty storage tote
dimensions 42.5"x21.5"x18.6"
Lights:
24" long Reptisun T5 5.0 HO fixture mounted at 14" height
100 watt Zilla basking bulb set at 12" height
2 separate light timers, UV is set to 12 hrs and basking bulb to 13 hrs
Temps:
Basking spot: 95F
Warm side: 80-85F
Cool side:70-75F
Overnight: Doesn't seem to drop much below 70F
Humidity: I try to maintain 50-60% by misting the warm side of the enclosure with a spray bottle
Substrate: (I wasn't sure which one to get so it's a combination...4-6" deep throughout)
Half organic garden soil by Nature's Care Miracle-Gro
One corner coconut coir on the cool side
One corner fir bark also on cool side
Scattered top layer of leaf litter and dried sphagnum moss
Food/Water/Decor: (I'm thinking of maybe buying a few live plants from an organic gardening center)
One ceramic tile for food
A terra cotta saucer for water
2 overhanging fake plants that serve as a canopy for shade on cool side
2 small fake plant placed in soil in center area
Diet: (I plan to try the diet outlined on a site called boxturtlefacts.org)
Protein: Her favorites are grubs, crickets, and junebugs. She doesn't seem to care for worms but I let a few nightcrawlers loose in the soil anyway. I also bought Omega One Adult Turtle Sticks
Vegetables: She likes Cucumbetrs, zucchini, and baby cactus buds...otherwise she's very picky. She'd only eat bugs and fruit if I let her.
Fruit: Favorites are strawberries, mango, and banana. I read that fruit should only be at 10% of their diet so I've been trying to cut back on feeding her too much of this.
Vitamins: (First time trying vitamins since I've had her)
Rep-Cal calcium with D3
Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene
And there's a single cuttlebone left in there in case she wants to try it

I plan to try to build an 8'x4' covered enclosure in the spring and release her during warmer outside temps...before she use to have the whole run of a fenced in backyard but it was heavily planted with lots of hiding places for her. I think so far I've seen evidence of raccoons, foxes, and saw some vultures(!) flying boldly around in this new neighborhood. Also some roaming cats.

That's about it, but please let me know if there's anything I should correct in my enclosure settings or that I can change to do a better job. I'm very attached to my little box turtle, she has so much charisma and such a pretty little thing, with a unique spotted shell design! I recently lost 2 cats that I kept for 20yrs so I'm hyper focused on keeping Poppy happy and healthy. Once again thanks for all the helpful info from the members here, I look forward to any and all critiques on this indoor set-up I've created.
 

Tattoosher

New Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2019
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Peoria, AZ
Hello.... I’m kinda new too. I have 2 sulcata tortoises... they pretty much try to eat ANYTHING. My concern is.... the artificial plants? And them eating them.... Just a concerned question... I KNOW how much I love my lil tortoise!
 

SiouxsieQ

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
Messages
3
Location (City and/or State)
TX
Thank you all for the welcome!

Tattoosher- From what I’ve seen she hardly ever tries to eat leafy plants of any kind, so I think she’s safe from that for the time being...plus she’s an ornate box turtle so mainly likes her wriggly bug type meals.

I’d like to add an organic succulent or wheat grass maybe? I’m terrible at keeping plants alive tbh. There is a dandelion in there for her though, on the off chance she’d actually try it!

Right now I’m sort of concerned bc I can hear her making a wheezing sound at times. Her eyes seem to be clear and there’s no mucus but I think I might have issues balancing the humidity for her. It’s usually open top but I made a partial cover out of leftover wood flooring pieces...I try to put that on at night.

So far the humidity ranges from 60-70% according to a remote probe hygrometer I have...Is it too wet, too dry? Not evenly distributed enough...if anyone has thoughts on this feel free to weigh in!
 
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