Found Baby Eastern Box Turtle, No back leg, mushed front paw

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Barnes31

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I'm new to this forum and looking for some advice. My husband was weed eating the drainage ditch in our front yard that doubles as a shallow creek when its been raining a lot in the middle of our front yard and found a baby eastern box turtle. Luckily he spotted it before the weed eater got to close and yelled for me to come pick it up. After looking it over I noticed he has a stump for a left from paw with only one claw left, and his left back leg was completely gone. At first I thought my husband did it, but then realized the leg was healed over. Not sure if it was a birth defect or an injury but we have a baby turtle to take care of now! We've had him in a wooden box for about a week, he gets around decently although struggles as times. My question is he hides under the hollow cork log we put in his habitat. Unless I pull him out to give him a soak, he's perfectly content to just hide out. Is this normal? He eats a big cricket in the morning, and one in the evening. So far, haven't gotten him to eat anything else.
Any advice would be great, I'm really fascinated with this little guy!
 

tiff3grl

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He/she is lucky to have been found by you. I would say give it time. Who knows how long it's been wandering around and now it's in a new environment. I'll let the experts give advice on diet. I don't know much about the Eastern Box turtle. Good luck!
 

Kathy Coles

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I'm not an expert but try some worms for part of the diet. Just don't watch. It's kinda gross.
 

kimber_lee_314

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Thanks for helping this little one!!! Yes, it's very normal for box turtle hatchlings to hide most of the time. Start introducing other wiggly things for him. I like to put a bunch of little pill bugs in the enclosure for them to munch on whenever they like. Good luck and keep us up to date on him. :)
 

Vickie

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HI Welcome! Boy one lucky box turtle baby there! I would say the same thing give it time. He obviously had rough start weather injury or birth defect. When it the past I have gotten a new turtle its always been pretty normal for them to be skittish at first and those were captive born ones. With it being a wild one it will even take a bit longer since he had to always be on alert for predators etc and with him being not as strong as the "normal" turtles he had to learn to hide very well. So anyway, yep just give him time. Keep up what your doing and slowly add new food a bit of something here or there and different things until you find other items he will eat. I have also heard many on here state about giving them baths with baby food carrots mixed in the water to help them absorb other nutrients. As well as you might put some serious consideration into getting him vitamins and sprinkle them on the crickets so he gets more that way as well.

Good luck! BTW If your like the rest of us on here you will quickly find out turtles and tortoises make great family members. ;)
 

Barnes31

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Oh man thanks for all the quick replies! I've literally never been a part of any forum ever, and this little guy has me to mesmerized I just had to get some opinions to be reassured I'm heading down the right path. He 's pretty calm when I handle him now and I'm confident he's liking his new digs (home) I will post some pictures later to be sure I've correctly identified him.

BTW I am totally loving the sense of community on here! Thanks again!
 

Pokeymeg

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Re: RE: Found Baby Eastern Box Turtle, No back leg, mushed front paw

lkwagner said:
We love pictures on the forum :)

Agreed! We would love to see pictures of your new little friend!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using TortForum mobile app
 

Jlant85

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Glad your able to rescue him/her. Please post pictures! Can't wait to see the lil one!
 

kanalomele

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Thank you for taking this little one in and giving it a home. My ornate hatchlings love pillbugs, red worms, meal worms, garden snails, cantalope slivers and even some spring mix occasionally.
 

Yvonne G

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Be sure to keep the habitat moist. Baby box turtles dry out (dehydrate) very quickly because they are so small.
 

diamondbp

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Moisture moisture moisture! Worms bugs grubs worms worms worms! Lol that's the secret to healthy young box turtles. I feed mine Reptomin sticks to and they do great on them. Good luck
 

Instinct

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Glad your husband came across him before the weed eater did!

Poor thing, I wonder what happened to him that caused those injuries. Would love to see photos of your boxie. Perhaps a member can tell if it is an old injury or a birth defect.
 

Levi the Leopard

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What a way to join the turtle keeping club, huh? :)

You've been given some good tips.

Does his wooden box home have lighting and heat?
 

WillTort2

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Boxies are great hunters and will need a wide variety of foods. Do a search on the forum and you will find great suggestions.

Some exposure to sunshine is also necessary; but be careful not to overheat.

Welcome and good luck.
 

Vickie

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I am like the above people PICTURES! We love seeing new little ones on here. :)
 

vanessa

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Eastern box turtle are expensive make sure to research about them good. They are pretty small turtle like ornate box turtles I have 3
 

wiccan_chicken

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Good on you and good eye on your husband! Can't wait for pictures of this baby. Good luck!
 

Barnes31

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CAM00520.jpgCAM00521.jpgHey there everyone, i wanted to thank you again for all the pointers and support thus far. I havent had alot of time the last day and a half to take good pictures of my baby. My husband wants to call him Kack, so until we find out he's a she or vice versa, i just call it my baby LOL. Anyway im super worried today as some new developments have happened over night. This poor baby has been so resilient, you can tell it just loves the TLC its recieving, its eating phenominally, had a good bowel movement etc. We keep his house outside on our screened in porch here in Chattanooga where the weather is warm and humid. I spray the substrate to retain moisture so we are on the right track there.
Well, today when i had my son looking after the baby sunning while i cleaned his water getting ready for a soak, we noticed what we call his good front paw, one of the nails looks red, kinda like its been chewed on or something. Then when you look at his mushed paw, half of the front of of the paw and leg is literally peeling off like a huge scab. Im sorry, back up the mushy paw didnt start peeling till 2 hrs after he soaked and went back to his chill out spot under the cork log. I just came back from lunch and checked on him and thought some of the substrate was hanging off the mush paw but when i went to brush it off i realized it was his skin/scab which i didnt even realize he had a scab on that leg. Im starting to really wonder if he got something else wrong with his paws. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Have you ever heard of a baby eating his own feet? I'll post the pics i have and get better ones when its time for his evening soak here in an hour. Any advice would be sooo appreciated. Im worrying my husband wi th how worried i am about the baby. He thinks ive lost my mind im sure.
 
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Barnes31

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CAM00561.jpgCAM00556.jpgCAM00564.jpgCAM00567.jpgIm uploading this from my phone, in the previous post it says we want to name him kack..... i meant to type JACK LOL. Ok, heres more pics. Please someone help with some advice, husband not gonna like me spending money on a vet..... even though he rescued the baby......
First pic is of the "good front paw with the nail problem. Then some of the "mush paw" then the missing back leg spot.

Thanks again for your help!
 
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