My New Eastern Box Turtle

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Kadaan

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This is the little guy who came home with me from the Herp World Expo this past weekend. Haven't decided on a name for him yet.

 

dreadyA

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Whoa,that's a cute little one! And awesome shot,man! the expo in Pasadena??you're lucky, I wasn't able to make it.
 

terryo

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Awwww....baby boxies are the cutest! What do you have him in? And..what are you feeding him...always looking for new idea's.
 

Kadaan

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Right now he's living in a 20gL terrarium. It seems slightly shorter with more floor space than my 20gL aquarium, I'll have to measure to be sure.

Screen top with an 18" ReptiSun 5.0 UVB bulb and an infrared heat lamp I leave on 24/7. I have a plastic container with about 1.5" of coco coir and 0.5" of sphagnum moss on top for burying. There's a few pieces of slate in that corner with a hide on top, and little hills of moss around it so he can't fall off and flip over (you can see those in the photo.) The enclosure is raised about a quarter inch with a piece of cardboard at one end and filled with water so that's maybe half an inch at the deep end. There are a few more moss "islands" and a couple 1" terracotta flower pots spread out on the watery side. I also have plastic duckweed floating around the whole thing. Warm side of the enclosure stays around 80-85 degrees 24h, and the cooler side fluctuates between 75 and 65 (a bit too cold I think, but he always goes to sleep buried on the warm side.)

For food I have box turtle pellets, meal worms, baby crickets, and will be offering some small fruit salads as well (apples, melons, strawberries, carrots, and lettuce.) I don't have worms yet but am shopping around for some blackworms or redworms, and may build a worm bin/composter after reading the how-to thread here.
 

terryo

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Kadaan said:
Right now he's living in a 20gL terrarium. It seems slightly shorter with more floor space than my 20gL aquarium, I'll have to measure to be sure.

Screen top with an 18" ReptiSun 5.0 UVB bulb and an infrared heat lamp I leave on 24/7. I have a plastic container with about 1.5" of coco coir and 0.5" of sphagnum moss on top for burying. There's a few pieces of slate in that corner with a hide on top, and little hills of moss around it so he can't fall off and flip over (you can see those in the photo.) The enclosure is raised about a quarter inch with a piece of cardboard at one end and filled with water so that's maybe half an inch at the deep end. There are a few more moss "islands" and a couple 1" terracotta flower pots spread out on the watery side. I also have plastic duckweed floating around the whole thing. Warm side of the enclosure stays around 80-85 degrees 24h, and the cooler side fluctuates between 75 and 65 (a bit too cold I think, but he always goes to sleep buried on the warm side.)

For food I have box turtle pellets, meal worms, baby crickets, and will be offering some small fruit salads as well (apples, melons, strawberries, carrots, and lettuce.) I don't have worms yet but am shopping around for some blackworms or redworms, and may build a worm bin/composter after reading the how-to thread here.

That sounds great. I just ordered a bunch of moss for the little guys vivariums. I started mine on frozen blood worms, and now he's eating wax worms and some cut up red wigglers. They don't seem to be interested in fruit or veggies at his age..also mine loves pill bugs. They really scare me at this age...so fragile. Could you post a picture of your enclosure?
 

dreadyA

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Cool.can we see your set up? sounds neat.
Have you tried looking for bugs 'n' worms around your home/outside? I hear that boxies love pillbugs(rollie pollies). They like moisture and are busually under rocks,under logs, garbage cans,etc.

..also mine loves pill bugs. They really scare me at this age...so fragile. Could you post a picture of your enclosure?
[/quote]

Didn't mean to hijack or steal;)

&I meant to say that they (pillbugs) are under rocks etc. They like moisture
 

Kadaan

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I read about pillbugs and setting up a breeding colony of them, and I used to love playing with them as a kid. I live in an apartment community where all the grassy area is nicely manicured and there aren't many rocks and places to find them. I may go on a bug-hunt walk this weekend to see if I can find some.

I know what you mean about them being so fragile, I worry about him a lot and hope I'll be able to raise him well. He ate a pea-sized piece of boiled chicken the night I brought him home, and maybe half a pellet soaked in water. He didn't seem interested in the baby cricket or mealworm. I may get a pack of frozen blood worms and try offering those as well. I have freeze-dried blood worms for my fish, do you think those would be ok for the box turtle?

I'll take and post photos of the full enclosure when I get home from work tonight.
 

spikethebest

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very nice pic. how was the pasadena show? i had to miss it. but im looking forward to the pomona show in january.

your lil turt is so cute. feed her/him lots of little bugs to grow up nice and healthy. and make sure that beak stays trimmed!
 

terryo

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I put mine in a little plastic tub, and put a little bit of warm water and that's where I feed him. I put some pill bugs, a wax worm, and some chopped up red wigglers. Each day I put something different...but every day I put in a few small turtle pellets or trout chow. He won't eat all of it, but will nibble on each thing.
 

Candy

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Absolutely precious. That's all I can say about that picture.
 

Kadaan

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I measured the terrarium and the width/length are the same as my 20gL aquarium (30" x 12") but it's 2" shorter (11" vs 13")!!! Oh well, I'll probably be making him something a little bigger next summer, and I'm sure I'll be renovating it before then to add more live plants and substrate.

Here's the enclosure on my bookshelf, right next to my desk so I can keep an eye on him when I'm home.


Left/Right halves of the enclosure. You can see in this one where I used some plastic to make a barrier so he won't fall off the high side of the plastic container.


Cruising around in the water.


Island life.
 

Kadaan

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terryo said:
Wow..I love that. How deep is the water and how often do you have to change it?
The photos of him "swimming" are with his feet on the bottom, so it's only about 1/2" tops. I've only had him since Sunday so I haven't changed the water yet, but I plan on siphoning and replacing most of the water twice a week.


dreadyA said:
That's an awesome Enclosure. How does he get into the lil container?
The moss wedged between the hide and the container makes a nice easy ramp for him to climb up:
 
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