I have a rescue who is unhealthy but this is my first tortoise so I have some questions

[Rachel1998]

I don't know what kind of tortoise he is, I do know he is about 12. I've been told he is small for his age as well. I rescued him from a home that wasn't taking care of him. His nails were horribly over grown and his beak passes his bottom lip. I'm taking him to a pet store today to get his nails done, and the vet to fix his beak. His skin is white and flaky, I guess the home he came from didn't use a UV light for him so I was wondering if that's what caused his skin to look like that. hes pretty lethargic I got him to eat a little fruit and greens but hes not eating much and is sleeping most of the day. so I came to the forum to ask if there is anything I'm doing wrong or anything more I can do to help him get better.

 

[T Smart]

Hi, welcome!

You’ve got yourself a box turtle. I know nothing about their care, but I’m sure someone on the forum can be of help.

 

[Rachel1998]

Hi, welcome!

You’ve got yourself a box turtle. I know nothing about their care, but I’m sure someone on the forum can be of help.

Yeah I just got his nails cut and they told me the same I was shocked haha but thank you for the response!

 

[crimson_lotus]

Hope you have checked out the box turtle care sheet!

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/box-turtle-care-sheet.93937/

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings. Nice that you rescued that poor lil boxie.

Id suggest you getting a good digital thermometer (with a probe) to replace the one you have. Those round stick on ones are known to be very inaccurate and usually not located at tort level. Right now you are tsking the temps at least a foot above mr torty. A new gauge with a probe will help you ensure temps are perfect for boxies.

Lighting - make sure you check what you have. No CFL bulbs

Good moist substrate with lots of hides.

Food - make sure you feed all the good stuff!

Enclosure - as big or bigger as u can make

Good luck

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a box turtle - Terrapene carolina triunguis. He looks normal size to me. The folks who had him probably didn't know what he was and figured he ought to be bigger. Good for you to take him to get his nails and beak trimmed.

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome and good luck, thank you for taking him in.

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum!

Great to know you have rescued the poor tort.

Any pics of his enclosure?

 

[Rachel1998]

I know for sure I plan on changing the substrate i'm using