Ornate Box Turtle

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tortoise_addict

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I am going to be taking in a friends ornate box turtle that he has had in a dog crate for about 8 months. He gives it fresh greens daily but no lights or heating. I get a lot of conflicting info on how to care for them in humidity and such. He will have to remain indoors for now and wanted to get an opinion on the best kind of indoor set up. I will probably use a 50 gallon rubbermaid and would like to know the best kind of set up. Do they need water to swim in or just a couple inches to soak. I read different things. If anyone knows about ornate box turtles give me some pointers please.
Show some pics of a good set up if you have any.
I would be very grateful. Thank you.
 

pneumaticbetta

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he will need water..enough for him to get into and swim. they need to soak daily, make sure he can get in and out of the dish. as for lighting get a light with uva and uvb output. give him a gradient of temperature hotter on one end colder on the other. and lastly do some research from different websites. google box turtle
 

tortoise_addict

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Thanks.
I did google it and there is a lot of mixed information about them. I read for about 2 hours and some say moist substrate for burrowing and humidity and some say to spray and get a humidifier... Not sure what to go by? I have the basic idea but also read they are prone to URI. So is air humidity what is needed or just partially moist substrate?
EDIT:Just saw the box turtle bonanza section. Heading over there to read! Thanks
 

egyptiandan

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Hi DiAnn,
A 50 gal. rubbermaid is perfect. I use a plastic sandwich container for a water dish. I use damp peatmoss as a substrate. A clamp on lamp for a basking spot, an MVB would be perfect.
The substrate is deep enough for them to dig down into. I let it get almost dry before I make it damp again.
Mine do great in a set-up like this over the winter. They than get outside in the spring.

Danny
 

tortoise_addict

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Thanks Danny.
I got the guy in on Friday night and he ate well when he got here but has pretty much just hid since the first night. He walked all over his new home and then found his cave and pretty much stays in there. The temps here have dropped so I am not sure if he is hibernating?
Here he is. My son named him Walle from another favorite movie of his.
Anyone have an idea on his age or specific kind? I figured he was an ornate.
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I stuck him in his water dish and he crawled out and back in his house.
RexandWalle034.jpg

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From what I have read, I think Walle may be a girl?
 

egyptiandan

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Hi DiAnn,
It is an Ornate box turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata. It looks like a female right now, but needs to be bigger to be sure. :D
The enclosure looks great, but the substrate needs to be a bit damper.
What are your temperatures in the enclosure?

Danny
 

tortoise_addict

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egyptiandan said:
Hi DiAnn,
It is an Ornate box turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata. It looks like a female right now, but needs to be bigger to be sure. :D
The enclosure looks great, but the substrate needs to be a bit damper.
What are your temperatures in the enclosure?

Danny

Thanks!
His temps are about 85 on the hot and 72 on the cool side. His substrate is 5 inches deep and the top inch is dry but very moist under that. Should I make sure it stays damp on top too? I baked the organic soil first and when I do that it seems to dry out and stay drier a lot quicker. I just wanted to make sure there were not mites. The first bag I purchased had little tiny black mite looking things crawling in it so since then I bake it and the mulch first.
 

egyptiandan

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Has she dug in any under the hide? If she's digging under to get to the damp substrate, than no you don't need to make the top damp. If she's not digging, than yes you should make the top damp.

Danny
 

Jentortmom

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I agree looks female to me. I have had mine for a while, to me ornates seem to be shy compared to other boxies (don't know if it is just mine or what) The males are a little more out going, they love worms! and any live food that moves, along with fruits, juicer the better to mine, with strawberries and bannanas being favorites. Give her a mixed diest with greens (dandelions, escrole, etc..), veggies (squash, bell peppers, green beans, frozen mixed veggies(occasionally), etc..) fruits (apples, grapes, blueberries, bannanas, etc) protein (chicken, earthworms, crickets, etc..) Mine like the plant saucers, they can crawl in and out easily and they will use it as a bathroom, I give enough water to go up to the middle of the shell and they are happy with this. As for feeding, feed every other day. You will find that if you look at a bunch of different sites you will get a lot of different info. I mist mine substrate every other day. www.boxtutlesite.info is a great site for info.
 

tortoise_addict

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Thanks everyone for all your info and help. I have moistened the substrate more and I am pretty sure she is now starting to hibernate. I am going to keep the light cycle going and if he wants to come out he can or sleep. He has not had a bite since the first night but yet he has yet to come out too. He is at a good weight and I will let him do what he wants. I am pretty sure he wants to hibernate:)
 

Millerlite

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I know this is a little old, But a great water dish for box turtles are those painters trays. They have the slope with grip, and it goes into a nice little pool, lol.. Well i found it to be one of the best soaking pans. maybe its just me,
 
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