lindaisturtling
New Member
Hello, sorry in advance for this lengthy post!
I have a three-toed box turtle named Bowser Flamel that was given to me by a colleague (her turtles had hatchlings). I believe it was born in October, so it is about 5 months old. I’ve had it since mid-December. I’ve been reading up different care sheets, forums, etc., and my local Petco has two workers who seem to know a lot about turtles. I get a lot of conflicting information and just want to make sure I’m doing things correctly.
Set-up: 10-gallon tank, coconut fiber substrate. Day/Night heat lamp and UVB light. I usually leave the day heat lamp and UVB light on for about 12 hours daily. Then I turn the night heat lamp on overnight. My household temp is set for 70-75 degrees day and night, since I’m always cold myself. I spray the tank once or twice a day. The tank came with a temperature/humidifier gauge but I don’t know how well it works. I have a hard time keeping the humidity between 50-60 (if the gauge can be believed). Also, the temperature on the gauge usually says 70 degrees even though my house is a little warmer.
Questions:
1. Do I need the night heat lamp?
2. How often should I change the substrate? I’ve only done it once since I’ve had him.
3. Is my coil UVB light okay? I hear a lot of absolutely NOs and wondered what to use instead? The light is 13W and made for tropical aquariums so I thought it was okay to use.
Feeding: He is inconsistent. He was eating tiny mealworms from about one month old. My colleague made sure he was eating well before giving him to me. I fed him 10-15 tiny or small mealworms almost daily for a couple of months. I sprinkled worms with the calcium and herptivite supplements. I introduced blueberries, red-leaf lettuce, carrots, apples, cantaloupe, spring greens in Jan/Feb. No ice-berg lettuce or spinach. He nibbles occasionally on the apples and blueberries. He loves the red-leaf lettuce. I usually feed him in a separate dish for the worms but will leave the fruits and veggies in his tank. Most often, the fruits and veggies seem to remain untouched. When he is in his separate feeding dish, he is like a cute puppy, staring at me or coming towards me as if begging for worms. I gave him rolly-pollies from my yard last week and he ate those (he ate about 10 small ones). I tried giving him an earthworm which I cut up. He tried to eat it but then spit it out. Then he tried a different piece and spit it out too, then backed away from the wriggling pieces. Last night I put about 10 rolly-pollies in his tank and couldn’t find any this morning. He loves the mealworms and once ate 25 tiny/small ones in one sitting. But then I read that turtles shouldn’t be given mealworms except as an occasional treat, and I was feeding them as his primary diet. I will also be getting cuttlebone to keep in the tank.
Questions:
1. Can I continue to feed him mealworms regularly? How many worms is “too many?”
2. Can I mix the two vitamin supplements? What happens if I mix the two powders in a little baggie?
3. Should I buy him any other kind of protein like wax worms or superworms? Boiled chicken? Scrambled egg?
Water: He has a small wading pool which is cleaned once per day, more if needed. He used to get in it every day for about two months. I could tell because it was filthy in the mornings when I woke up and again when I got home from work. When I first got him, I used to soak him in warm water in a separate dish for about 5-10 minutes daily, as hatchlings dehydrate easily. But I stopped since he seemed to be soaking himself in his wading dish regularly. I use my local tap water to fill his dish and spray the substrate. Recently I became concerned with the quality of the water, so I’ve been adding a drop or two of the tap water conditioner I use for my fish aquarium. Now I’m paranoid that the conditioner is not good for the turtle.
Questions:
1. Can I use tap water?
2. If I use tap water, do I need to add the conditioner to it?
3. Can I use regular bottled water or distilled water instead?
4. When is he no longer considered a “hatchling?”
Behavior: Every day for about two months, I would wake to find him roaming his tank after having used his wading pool. However, the last month he hasn’t been coming out and stays burrowed. I don’t know what changed. I will lure him out with a worm but he drags it back to his little hole to eat it. His wading pool is also clean now every morning, where it was obviously used before. I know burrowing is usual for baby turtles but it was just a sudden change from his usual routine. I hardly ever find poop in his water or in his substrate, so I don't know what's going on there. He's growing faster than I thought he would.
Shell: His shell seems to be growing with a ridge around the entire rim and then drops flat from there. It doesn’t seem normal, but I have no idea if it is or not. Also, I actually don’t know if it’s a male or female.
Here are pictures of him, set-up, lights used, supplements, water conditioner.
Sorry for this long novel-like post. I appreciate any help and advice!!
I have a three-toed box turtle named Bowser Flamel that was given to me by a colleague (her turtles had hatchlings). I believe it was born in October, so it is about 5 months old. I’ve had it since mid-December. I’ve been reading up different care sheets, forums, etc., and my local Petco has two workers who seem to know a lot about turtles. I get a lot of conflicting information and just want to make sure I’m doing things correctly.
Set-up: 10-gallon tank, coconut fiber substrate. Day/Night heat lamp and UVB light. I usually leave the day heat lamp and UVB light on for about 12 hours daily. Then I turn the night heat lamp on overnight. My household temp is set for 70-75 degrees day and night, since I’m always cold myself. I spray the tank once or twice a day. The tank came with a temperature/humidifier gauge but I don’t know how well it works. I have a hard time keeping the humidity between 50-60 (if the gauge can be believed). Also, the temperature on the gauge usually says 70 degrees even though my house is a little warmer.
Questions:
1. Do I need the night heat lamp?
2. How often should I change the substrate? I’ve only done it once since I’ve had him.
3. Is my coil UVB light okay? I hear a lot of absolutely NOs and wondered what to use instead? The light is 13W and made for tropical aquariums so I thought it was okay to use.
Feeding: He is inconsistent. He was eating tiny mealworms from about one month old. My colleague made sure he was eating well before giving him to me. I fed him 10-15 tiny or small mealworms almost daily for a couple of months. I sprinkled worms with the calcium and herptivite supplements. I introduced blueberries, red-leaf lettuce, carrots, apples, cantaloupe, spring greens in Jan/Feb. No ice-berg lettuce or spinach. He nibbles occasionally on the apples and blueberries. He loves the red-leaf lettuce. I usually feed him in a separate dish for the worms but will leave the fruits and veggies in his tank. Most often, the fruits and veggies seem to remain untouched. When he is in his separate feeding dish, he is like a cute puppy, staring at me or coming towards me as if begging for worms. I gave him rolly-pollies from my yard last week and he ate those (he ate about 10 small ones). I tried giving him an earthworm which I cut up. He tried to eat it but then spit it out. Then he tried a different piece and spit it out too, then backed away from the wriggling pieces. Last night I put about 10 rolly-pollies in his tank and couldn’t find any this morning. He loves the mealworms and once ate 25 tiny/small ones in one sitting. But then I read that turtles shouldn’t be given mealworms except as an occasional treat, and I was feeding them as his primary diet. I will also be getting cuttlebone to keep in the tank.
Questions:
1. Can I continue to feed him mealworms regularly? How many worms is “too many?”
2. Can I mix the two vitamin supplements? What happens if I mix the two powders in a little baggie?
3. Should I buy him any other kind of protein like wax worms or superworms? Boiled chicken? Scrambled egg?
Water: He has a small wading pool which is cleaned once per day, more if needed. He used to get in it every day for about two months. I could tell because it was filthy in the mornings when I woke up and again when I got home from work. When I first got him, I used to soak him in warm water in a separate dish for about 5-10 minutes daily, as hatchlings dehydrate easily. But I stopped since he seemed to be soaking himself in his wading dish regularly. I use my local tap water to fill his dish and spray the substrate. Recently I became concerned with the quality of the water, so I’ve been adding a drop or two of the tap water conditioner I use for my fish aquarium. Now I’m paranoid that the conditioner is not good for the turtle.
Questions:
1. Can I use tap water?
2. If I use tap water, do I need to add the conditioner to it?
3. Can I use regular bottled water or distilled water instead?
4. When is he no longer considered a “hatchling?”
Behavior: Every day for about two months, I would wake to find him roaming his tank after having used his wading pool. However, the last month he hasn’t been coming out and stays burrowed. I don’t know what changed. I will lure him out with a worm but he drags it back to his little hole to eat it. His wading pool is also clean now every morning, where it was obviously used before. I know burrowing is usual for baby turtles but it was just a sudden change from his usual routine. I hardly ever find poop in his water or in his substrate, so I don't know what's going on there. He's growing faster than I thought he would.
Shell: His shell seems to be growing with a ridge around the entire rim and then drops flat from there. It doesn’t seem normal, but I have no idea if it is or not. Also, I actually don’t know if it’s a male or female.
Here are pictures of him, set-up, lights used, supplements, water conditioner.
Sorry for this long novel-like post. I appreciate any help and advice!!