My new box turtles!!!

[PumpkinPie]

Hey all!!

Good news......I finally adopted my turtles that I posted about a while ago!! It was a bit of a process, but I finally got them home today. Thanks to all of the great advice.

They are already slowing down a lot for winter, one sleeps under the bark mostly but the other one is swimming around and drinking water from the waterfall type of filter that came with the tank. I am so excited... can't wait to give work on their tank and them a bigger home too....

Do you guys think they are 3 toeds?? She said they are 2 years old. How do I find out their sexes?

Right now the tank is on a timer, and it turns on in the am and off at night she says.... she also gave me a separate red light. What is that for??
What is the ideal temp? It is right around 78 now with the light on.

Thanks guys! More pics to come soon

 

[kimber_lee_314]

They are three toeds and look like females to me.

 

[wellington]

Congrats. They are very cute. I can't really help you with boxies, but there are a few one here that can.

 

[LuckysGirl007]

Yeah! So glad you finally got those cuties!!!!

 

[coreyc]

Looking good congrats on them

 

[terryo]

I use a mix of garden soil and coco coir for the substrate. It's loose enough for them to dig under. I put lots of plants in the vivarium to hold the humidity, a water dish largen enough for them to soak in and a flat piece of slate as a food dish, which helps in triming the beak. I don't us a hide in the vivariums for the indoor box turtles, just plants for them to sit under, and a lot of long fiber moss or leaf litter for them to dig into. I just try to keep it natural for them. Just what I do, not written in stone. Cute little boxies.

This is a great site for Box Turtles, with lots of pictures. My favorite site.

http://turtle_tails.tripod.com/

 

[Hunahpu]

What cuties! Definitely three toed boxies. The red light is an infrared bulb and can be used to keep the night time temps up. (It doesn't interfere with sleep patterns since its not a bright white light.) Check your night time temps before using it. Here's some general temperature guidelines:

Basking spot: ~90 degrees F
cool side of vivarium: ~ 75 degrees F
night time: ~ 70 degrees F

Some variation is fine. Just check your temps and adjust your heating accordingly. (You can use different wattage of bulbs or move the bulbs closer or farther away from the substrate to make small adjustments.)

I personally never used night time heat until we moved and found that room of the house to be chilly.