Tember-the-turtle
New Member
You will have to excuse me I've never posted on something like this before and im not exactly tech savvy or an english major but I needed help and didn't know how else to find it.
I have a hatchling (missouri) 3 toed box turtle. I saved it from a cat about a month (maybe a hair over, Maybe) ago. I've never owned a turtle before or even thought about owning one but I just knew it wouldn't make it if I didn't do something with all the mowing, hay bailing, landscaping and cats around here so I brought it home. I'm sure I'll get shamed but whats done is done and I will care for it to the best of my ability and give it at least a fighting chance. I named the turthe tember, and I often call it a he even though I have no idea what gender it really is. Tembers about the size of a quarter, still had a soft tooth when I brought it in but that's been gone awhile and he's eating pill bugs and worms pretty well. My questions are about his habits, the habitat, and the worry about diet. I'm scatter brained so I'll just make a list
#1 is that he is buried 24/7, I dig him out everyday for a soak and meals but hes never come out on his own, is that normal?
#2 is will he get enough uva/uvb if he's always buried?
#3 is I can't get him to eat anything besides pill bugs and worms, is that a problem? I've tried all kinds of fruits and veggies and grasses but he only wants stuff that wiggles. Do I need to worry or will it eat greens when he needs them as long as I have them there?
#4 when I dig him up I put him in a bowl of luke warm water then Dump the water after awhile and feed him. Is that right or wrong?
#5 is about the lighting, I bought a light in the automotive section of walmart that had a clamp on it and I bought reptile daylight light bulbs and night ones from Walmart. The worker told me that they should be more than enough. Are they actually though? They keep it between 80-85 on the warm end and 70-75 on the other but he's always in the same spot buried so it could it be to hot? I have 12 hrs of the daylight bulb and 12 hrs of the night one. Is that to much?
Sorry I just worked 11 hrs and then had to come home and cook and clean and im so tired and worried. I feel like this is prob more confusing than anything I just didnt know what else to say. If I forgot anything that was needed to answer anything I asked please let me know and also if you tell me how to upload a picture I'll gladly do so of the turtle, his home and the lights I bought. Thanks in advance for reading my long post.
I have a hatchling (missouri) 3 toed box turtle. I saved it from a cat about a month (maybe a hair over, Maybe) ago. I've never owned a turtle before or even thought about owning one but I just knew it wouldn't make it if I didn't do something with all the mowing, hay bailing, landscaping and cats around here so I brought it home. I'm sure I'll get shamed but whats done is done and I will care for it to the best of my ability and give it at least a fighting chance. I named the turthe tember, and I often call it a he even though I have no idea what gender it really is. Tembers about the size of a quarter, still had a soft tooth when I brought it in but that's been gone awhile and he's eating pill bugs and worms pretty well. My questions are about his habits, the habitat, and the worry about diet. I'm scatter brained so I'll just make a list
#1 is that he is buried 24/7, I dig him out everyday for a soak and meals but hes never come out on his own, is that normal?
#2 is will he get enough uva/uvb if he's always buried?
#3 is I can't get him to eat anything besides pill bugs and worms, is that a problem? I've tried all kinds of fruits and veggies and grasses but he only wants stuff that wiggles. Do I need to worry or will it eat greens when he needs them as long as I have them there?
#4 when I dig him up I put him in a bowl of luke warm water then Dump the water after awhile and feed him. Is that right or wrong?
#5 is about the lighting, I bought a light in the automotive section of walmart that had a clamp on it and I bought reptile daylight light bulbs and night ones from Walmart. The worker told me that they should be more than enough. Are they actually though? They keep it between 80-85 on the warm end and 70-75 on the other but he's always in the same spot buried so it could it be to hot? I have 12 hrs of the daylight bulb and 12 hrs of the night one. Is that to much?
Sorry I just worked 11 hrs and then had to come home and cook and clean and im so tired and worried. I feel like this is prob more confusing than anything I just didnt know what else to say. If I forgot anything that was needed to answer anything I asked please let me know and also if you tell me how to upload a picture I'll gladly do so of the turtle, his home and the lights I bought. Thanks in advance for reading my long post.
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