Inherited an Eastern Box Turtle

SeaTurtleSwims

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Joined
Aug 3, 2015
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17
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Kentucky
Well! She hates baths but likes being misted, and if I revoke berries she will eventually break down and eat her greens haha she is very much like an old woman. Once left my door unlatched- she isn't interesting enough for the dogs, so I was never worried about them, but I have two CATS that make me nervous. My male cat was curled up asleep in her dirt and she was just eating like it aint no thang haha but still keep my door shut just in case! Will be making that screen hopefully this weekend ;)

Thanks for asking!
 

Angel Carrion

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Jul 1, 2015
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Location (City and/or State)
Douglassville, PA
Well! She hates baths but likes being misted, and if I revoke berries she will eventually break down and eat her greens haha she is very much like an old woman. Once left my door unlatched- she isn't interesting enough for the dogs, so I was never worried about them, but I have two CATS that make me nervous. My male cat was curled up asleep in her dirt and she was just eating like it aint no thang haha but still keep my door shut just in case! Will be making that screen hopefully this weekend ;)

Thanks for asking!
Haha, sounds very much like a boxie. Remember to offer something different every other meal and not to offer too many fruits. Boxies tend to get bored eating the same thing over again, or they will become exclusive and only eat a certain thing or things, which isn't good.
Your dogs many not be interested now, but there are so many stories here on the forum about someone that had a tort/turtle for 10+ years that their dog always ignored or didn't seem to care about or was always gentle, then one day they came home to a dead or dying tort/turtle because their dog started chewing on it's shell. It happens all the time. It seems like the dogs don't realize it's a living creature, they think it's a moving chew toy/chew rock. Just this week another person lost their young tort to their boxer because their son forgot to check to see if the tort had been put outside for his daily yard time and he let the dog out. Took around 3-5 days for the tort to die, even though the man had taken him to a vet immediately and did everything he could to save him.
Cats are also dangerous, but I think not as dangerous as a dog. Cats are mostly scratches, punctured eye, lost limb, things like that, which can also kill a turtle, but I don't think they're as high up on the danger list as dogs.
Another thing to worry about with cats is if they view the pen as a big decorated litter box. Yes the box turtle might eat the cats poop. But I don't know how the urine or poop would effect her.
So I'm glad to hear you tend to keep the door closed to keep the cats and dogs away. Doing the cover will help a lot. Just make sure the UV bulbs are under the screen. UVB can't travel through screens or glass.
 
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