New box turtle

[haley200]

Hey guys so this turtle was given to my brother. I put pictures on here and was just told it was a box turtle. He's not really eating anything so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions I was also wondering what kind of tank he should have. Right now he's in a aquari with bark for the flooring

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This is his turtle his names Franklin

 

[Millerlite]

Looks like a 3 toed box turtle. Ill help you out when I get a little time here a little later tonight. But keep him warm, they like higher humidity, what are you housing him in? Lights set ups? Any info helps

 

[haley200]

Right now he's under a 24 hour red heat bulb and the temp in the cage has been between 70 and 76. He's in a turtle aquarium with reptile bark. A good size water dish and a plastic food bowl. Thanks!

 

[terryo]

Try to mimic the forest floor where he might be in the wild. Regular soil, mixed with coco coir or peat moss for substrate. Some plants to hide or dig under, a large enough water dish for him to sit in and soak, a flat piece of slate or stone to feed on so his beak stays trim, cuttle bone to nibble on ...also keeps the beak trim. I use a heat emitter (60 wt...no light) and a long tube 5.0 UVB. Warm and humid. I also put some leaf litter in to hold the humidity and for them to dig under.

 

[Rover15]

Terryo is deffinitly someone to trust with box turtle info she has helped me out a lot XD also look up some of her threads with her setups a good way to make yourself jealous and gives you something to aim for

 

[haley200]

Sweet thanks! I was also wondering he hasn't been eating hardly anything. Is it because we just got him and he's stressed or do you think something's wrong?

 

[Rover15]

What are your temps at? It might be to cool for him he might be trying to sleep or hibernate/burmate (I think that is the right term :s lol)

 

[haley200]

It's 76 as of right now. Is that to cold for him?

 

[Rover15]

A few things to concider and Terryo can correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still new to EBT but have done a lot of research and had a lot of help from her)

Is your enclosure large enought to have different temps? (I.e, 76 one side and up to 85-88ish on the other)
How deep is your substrate? Do you have enough hides/cover to allow him to get away from any light or heat?

Also do you know the humidity level?

Check out this site for help and lots of pictures (given to my by Terryo XD)

http://turtle_tails.tripod.com/raisingbabyturtles/raisingbabyturtles.htm

 

[terryo]

Thank you Gregory for your kind words. I'm still learning new things every day myself.
Haley....Is your Three Toed wild caught? Do you know where he came from? Some questions to ask. If he's wild caught, he would be hibernating now and wouldn't be eating, so he just might be doing what comes natural for him. You could try giving him warm soaks every day and put a few worms in the water. Some turtles who are WC don't adjust very well, and might take some time before he trusts you. Keep him warm, and humid, and try the soaks for now. Offer him live worms and try some red fruit like strawberry or some melon. You can also offer him some canned dog food...I use Wellness Venison and sweet potato. That usually works for me when I have a picky eater. I would get rid of the bark, and use some soil from the garden mixed with leaf litter or coco coir. The bark is hard for them to dig into and not very comfortable to walk on either. Leaf litter is what most turtles dig into in the wild. You can use long fiber moss too. Leaf litter is just a favorite of mine.

 

[turtlemann2]

live foods will also aid in stimulating an appitie, i suggest earth worms from the bait section of and fishing store or walmart

 

[thelub]

My 3toe LOVES frozen blood worms you usually feed fish. I just let the cube sit and thaw a bit and he dives right in. Another favorite protein is crickets and it gives them good exercise chasing them down. If he's wild caught, the hunt might trigger him to eat better. Mine also loves collard greens and kale as well as fresh green beans and bell peppers.

I bought a bale of sphagnum moss from home depot for 11 bucks and its plenty to use for multiple substrate changes in a 50 gal tupperware tote with enough depth to completely bury in. I'd suggest putting him in something bigger if possible. Turtles tend to stress out when they're in an aquarium that they can see out of but can't get out of. My 3 toe loves water and it perked him up a lot when I first got him to soak him in a warm bath for 20-30 min a day or EOD. Now I can't hardly keep him out of his water dish. We have to change his water 2-3 times a day because he always drags in the moss and it turns his dish into a boggy mess.

 

[Rover15]

Where do you find your frozen blood worms? I can't find them any where just the dried kind

 

[terryo]

Most pet stores carry them. They have a refrigerator and freezer somewhere in the store.

 

[thelub]

Check with your local fish store first, if none are available the big chain pet stores carry them.

 

[Rover15]

There are maybe 2 more places I can check in my city but I was looking online and came upshort

 

[turtlemann2]

too expensive! lol

 

[thelub]

http://www.google.com/#q=frozen+blo...74,d.cGE&fp=c5167c443cd9f80c&biw=1241&bih=584

 

[haley200]

I just bought mine some meal worms and he seems to love then.

 

[thelub]

Good good Any worms will suffice. I just noticed that mine has a special love for blood worms. If you have a good earthy substrate you can put some earth worms in it and your tort will be able to hunt and dig for them. I also have put in some pill bugs from the yard and I also bought some crickets that he loves hunting. Its good to get a variety of protein and something they can hunt for to keep them occupied.