Eco Earth issue with E. box hatchling.

[M249saw]

Hello all,

I have my Eastern Box turtle hatchling in a 20g long aquarium, currently with just Eco Earth as a substrate. I've soaked it down but the heat lamp seems to be drying it out to the point he can't get any traction. I have some Forest Floor (Cypress mulch) but I haven't added that in yet.

Now since then I have read a couple people that have had issues with the Eco Earth getting stuck in the turtles rear openings, so I'm wondering about just going to a top soil and mulch combo with leaves on top.

 

[tortdad]

The soil and mulch would be much better for a box turtle. Just remember that they are semi aquatic so keep it really wet but not floating. They love love love to hide under leaves.

 

[tortdad]

And they've to dig so make it a good 5" or 6" deep

 

[M249saw]

Thanks. Im going to redo it Saturday morning as soon as I get off duty. So just regular top soil, correct? No styrofoam balls, etc?

 

[Danny G]

I have eco earth and spaghnam moss kind of mixed in with the eco earth. I also have a big clump of it on top in a corner he loves to dig in there and hide. The spaghnam holds the moisture very well..

 

[tortadise]

The thing with top soil is that when it's sprayed down and drys out it tends to compact very tight. Box turtles love to bury especially young ones during this time of year. So you may need "churn it" regularly, and or mix the Eco earth, top soil and mulch all together to make a fantastic mixture of suitable substrate for your little guy. Mulches leaves are a favorite too.

 

[tortdad]

Thanks. Im going to redo it Saturday morning as soon as I get off duty. So just regular top soil, correct? No styrofoam balls, etc?

Correct. Find organic top soil (not potting soil). Here's a pic of my box turtle set up




I found miracle grow brand organic top soil (I like that brand because it has sphagnum moss mixed into the top soil to help hold moisture) at Home Depot for about $2.50 a bag. I put it about 4 or 5" deep then put an inch or two of long fibered sphagnum moss on top then added orchard bark to the top about an inch thick. Then I just loosely mixed it up and put some leaves on top. I have 3 yearling 3 toe box turtles in there and they thrive. I also mixed some worms and pill bugs directly into the soil for them to snack on as they find them. $10 should get you a bag of soil, a bag of mulch a bag of moss and maybe even a candy bar .

Just remember to get top soil not garden soil, you don't want the fertilizers mixed in it. If you don't use pesticides in your yard you can even use that dirt and save the $2.50. Also find the fine grade (smaller pieces) or orchid bark. They sell the orchid bard with or without the "fertilizer" in it so peek through the bag and make sure there's no little white chunks in it.

Plant lots and lots of plants (real or fake) your box turtle is going to want to hide a lot. Real plants help you hold high humidity since you have to water them. Just be sure to rinse all the soil it came with off so there's no fertilizer left and plant it in your enclosure.

What type of heat lamp are you using now and what temp are you maintaining with it?

 

[M249saw]

Im currently using a Zoo Med 100w Basking lamp in a domed enclosure. UVB is Reptisun 30" strip fixture with 24" UVB 5.0 bulb. Trying to stay 85 ish on the one side and 75ish on the other.

Thanks for the Home Depot tips. $10 for a small thing of Forest Floor is steep, lol.

 

[tortdad]

Im currently using a Zoo Med 100w Basking lamp in a domed enclosure. UVB is Reptisun 30" strip fixture with 24" UVB 5.0 bulb. Trying to stay 85 ish on the one side and 75ish on the other.

Thanks for the Home Depot tips. $10 for a small thing of Forest Floor is steep, lol.

Rule number 1 about owning a tort/turtle is that pet stores carry the wrong stuff at twice the price as compared to a hardware store.

What temps are you getting with that basking light? It sounds like your temps are really high of your drying out the coir like that. I suspect that basking bulb is overkill. So what temp do you show and what are you using to read them temps? If it's one of those pet store circle analog disc thingies you've got another item to swap out, they are extremely inaccurate.

While you are in the outside garden section of Home Depot go to the pool chemicals and find the outdoor weather stations. Accurite sells a "indoor home comfort meter" it is digital, measures both temps and humidity, and records daily highs and lows. It takes 2 AA batts (not included) and the best part is it's only $10. You can see it in my picture above, the little red box. You just put the batteries in it and drop the entire thing in there.

 

[tortdad]

Your UVB light is going to offer up all the light you need and all you need is gentle heat so you should be able to get that with a small blue or yellow party light bulb. You can also use a CHE, they offer heat with no light but in a 20 gallons tank a CHE would just dry it right out too. Just remember that boxies love to live in the shade so no matter how much light you have you need lots of hides and plants for them to feel safe.

 

[lisa127]

When mine were babies I used the Eco Earth but mixed it with long fibred sphagnum moss to give it some substance. I now use 100% organic peat moss by itself. But yes, if you're going to use Eco Earth it's best with something mixed into it IMO.

 

[M249saw]

Rule number 1 about owning a tort/turtle is that pet stores carry the wrong stuff at twice the price as compared to a hardware store.

What temps are you getting with that basking light? It sounds like your temps are really high of your drying out the coir like that. I suspect that basking bulb is overkill. So what temp do you show and what are you using to read them temps? If it's one of those pet store circle analog disc thingies you've got another item to swap out, they are extremely inaccurate.

While you are in the outside garden section of Home Depot go to the pool chemicals and find the outdoor weather stations. Accurite sells a "indoor home comfort meter" it is digital, measures both temps and humidity, and records daily highs and lows. It takes 2 AA batts (not included) and the best part is it's only $10. You can see it in my picture above, the little red box. You just put the batteries in it and drop the entire thing in there.

I think you are right about overkill. I have an infared thermometer gun that I use for my car and the surface under the lamp is 91 degrees. Ill swap that out as well with a lower watt incandescent. As he is inside I shouldn't have that much of an issue with temps.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

My ideal box turtle substrate is a mixture of finished organic compost from my garden plus coconut coir, with a continually replenished leaf pile on top that gets ground in.

 

[M249saw]

My concern with fake silk plants is I've read some turtles like to eat them.

 

[lisa127]

My concern with fake silk plants is I've read some turtles like to eat them.

mine don't. that may be more of an issue with tortoises maybe. boxies are not as crazy about greens as tortoises are. they try to eat things that look like bugs or berries, not greens.

 

[Yvonne G]

I use the fine grade orchid bark mixed about half and half with potting soil for my box turtle babies. This works well for me. I tried Bed-A-Beast a couple years ago and was very unhappy with the long strings it contained.

 

[Nijia_Tortoise]

My box turtles love banana and snail very much, lol...
Your enclosure is very nice and comfortable, where are your babies?

 

[johnsonnboswell]

My ideal box turtle substrate is a mixture of finished organic compost from my garden plus coconut coir, with a continually replenished leaf pile on top that gets ground in.

That's for indoors. Outdoors I use only finished compost without additives. There is a large leaf pile that gets garden waste added to it all through the summer & attracts bugs, provides warmth & hides. The pen is heavily planted- I toss seeds in. In the fall I add a thick layer of leaves to replenish what has broken down. It's full of worms & good hunting for the crew.

 

[M249saw]

Picked up sphagnum Moss and Orchard bark today from Lowe's (thanks tortdad). They didn't carry the organic soil with the moss in it so I'll just mix the eco Earth and forest floor together, then the moss followed by the Orchard bark.

He's moving around quite a bit, and seems to enjoy his daily soaks. But I still haven't seen him eat anything. Have tried meal worms and multiple veggies on the approved list. Next I'll try cantaloupe.

I've also ordered a Mist King setup for his humidity (overkill I'm sure).