Help/advice with Eastern Box

[CarolinaParalegal]

Hello, I'm new to this site and I apologize if my post is too long or in the wrong place.
I live in North Carolina and this summer my neighbor's daughter "rescued" a young female Eastern Box turtle (~3"). A few weeks later they brought her to me because they didn't know how to take care of her. I have a RES that I carefully researched before getting but I know nothing about Eastern Box turtles. I would have let the turtle go, but I have no idea where they found her. Because she was wild, I tried to replicate a natural environment by building her a 4'X8' pen in my yard with a shaded area and two small shallow pools to soak in. So far, she will not eat veggies for me, but she will eat several worms at a time.
Winter is approaching here in NC and I know that these turtles hibernate. The problem is that I don't know how to help her hibernate and, because she's wild, I would prefer to leave her outside so things will be as natural as possible for her. I know I should stop feeding her ~14 days before hibernation, but how do I know when that will be? Should I leave her in the grassy enclosure to hibernate? I don't want her to be uncomfortable or unhappy, should I just let her go in the woods so she can do her own thing? Should I try to re-home her with someone who knows more about this kind of turtle?

I really just don't know what to do with this poor turtle. I like the idea of having a second turtle but I want it to be happy and healthy and I feel bad keeping a wild turtle that might not want to be enclosed. Any advice would be appreciated, I just want to do what is best for this turtle.

 

[CarolinaParalegal]

I should probably add that I have read several box turtle care sheets online. I just don't feel confident about caring for this turtle properly.

 

[Berkeley]

If you don't want to keep it, or don't feel comfortable keeping it, see if there are any local nature centers or environmental education centers that will take it. If it was kept by itself, and you can determine where the neighbors got it from, take it back and release it.

If you do decide to keep it, the turtle will decide when it shouldn't eat. I generally don't feed mine once the nighttime temps go below about 50, but they will self regulate. For brumation, you can loosen the soil in the corner of the pen, and then cover it with a generous pile of leaves and cut grass. You can also build a small wooden house with an opening (think doghouse, but smaller) and fill it with leaves and grass. The turtle will bury itself in there and rest comfortably. Definitely leave it outside since it is a wild caught turtle- if you try to bring it in, it will waste away because it's rhythms are already set for the season.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, just ask. There are a bunch of folks here with lots of experience.
--Berkeley

 

[cmacusa3]

As far as the food part you can stop offering but she will still eat if she find worms or insects, They know when to shut down. I've stop offering mine food but just yesterday I caught one eating a worm.

It sounds like you have things set up right and are pretty knowledgeable about things. In her outside pen is the dirt soft enough for her to bury and dig in for the winter? I think you have a few options here, 1. return her to the area where she was found 2.Set her up inside in a decent sized enclosure and keep her up for the winter. 3. If you have a garage that get colder during the winter you can get a large tub with some soil with very little sand mixed in and dead leaves and hibernate her in there so you can keep an eye on her. You could let her hibernate outside if the enclosure is set up right.

Personally since she has been captive for a little bit, I would set her up inside in an enclosure and keep her up this winter. You have a lot of options in my book and I think all could work.

We like pictures if you have any of her.

This is just my view and I'm sure others will have some ideas too.

 

[cmacusa3]

If you don't want to keep it, or don't feel comfortable keeping it, see if there are any local nature centers or environmental education centers that will take it. If it was kept by itself, and you can determine where the neighbors got it from, take it back and release it.

If you do decide to keep it, the turtle will decide when it shouldn't eat. I generally don't feed mine once the nighttime temps go below about 50, but they will self regulate. For brumation, you can loosen the soil in the corner of the pen, and then cover it with a generous pile of leaves and cut grass. You can also build a small wooden house with an opening (think doghouse, but smaller) and fill it with leaves and grass. The turtle will bury itself in there and rest comfortably. Definitely leave it outside since it is a wild caught turtle- if you try to bring it in, it will waste away because it's rhythms are already set for the season.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions, just ask. There are a bunch of folks here with lots of experience.
--Berkeley

I agree with the last part if you know she was eating and given plenty of water while she has been captive.

 

[TLWR]

Dig down/loosen some soil at one end/corner of the pen. Pile on leaves and other natural ground materials from your area on top of the dug up area. She'll start hanging out in there and realize she can dig down further on her own

 

[Yvonne G]

Choose a high spot in the turtle's yard and then follow TLWR's suggestion.