Outdoor box turtle enclosure size

Professor Brenda

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Hi friends. I have an adult 3 toed box turtle in a 2.5' by 5' outdoor enclosure with a wire covered top. Is that too small? IF so, what is the recommended size? On this forum I have read 15 square feet and 32 square feet as the recommended size.

I would love to eventually create a nice outside, uncovered area like Colleen T's but right now am afraid of predators: hawks, raccoons, opossums, skunks, coyotes, wild hogs. We have plenty of predators in the country in central Texas.

Thanks for your always welcome advice.
 

Yvonne G

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I would like to see your turtle in an area twice that big, but, of course, bigger is always better.
 

Yvonne G

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Hard to say. I don't worry about birds with my full grown box turtles, or opossum, but if you have raccoons, yes, do worry about them. And once they have found a food source, they keep coming back night after night until there's no more food left to come back for. I lost 5 or 6 box turtles to a raccoon before I caught her and relocated her. There are fox and coyote here too, but so far they have never come onto my property. I've seen where skunks have dug holes looking for box turtle eggs, but they don't go after the box turtles themselves. The people next door have very tall, over 60' tall, eucalyptus trees and there's a hawk nesting up there. It's right next to my box turtle enclosure. The hawk shows absolutely no interest in the box turtles. Other birds may take away baby box turtles, but not larger ones.
 

Professor Brenda

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Hard to say. I don't worry about birds with my full grown box turtles, or opossum, but if you have raccoons, yes, do worry about them. And once they have found a food source, they keep coming back night after night until there's no more food left to come back for. I lost 5 or 6 box turtles to a raccoon before I caught her and relocated her. There are fox and coyote here too, but so far they have never come onto my property. I've seen where skunks have dug holes looking for box turtle eggs, but they don't go after the box turtles themselves. The people next door have very tall, over 60' tall, eucalyptus trees and there's a hawk nesting up there. It's right next to my box turtle enclosure. The hawk shows absolutely no interest in the box turtles. Other birds may take away baby box turtles, but not larger ones.
That is exactly the kind of info I needed. Thank you. We don't have much trouble with raccoons. But the coyotes do travel right through my side yard most nights. They have plenty other easier things to eat so I don't think I need to worry about them. Also, they come looking at night when he is in his burrow.
Thank you.
Happy turtling and Merry Christmas.
 

ColleenT

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Hi friends. I have an adult 3 toed box turtle in a 2.5' by 5' outdoor enclosure with a wire covered top. Is that too small? IF so, what is the recommended size? On this forum I have read 15 square feet and 32 square feet as the recommended size.

I would love to eventually create a nice outside, uncovered area like Colleen T's but right now am afraid of predators: hawks, raccoons, opossums, skunks, coyotes, wild hogs. We have plenty of predators in the country in central Texas.

Thanks for your always welcome advice.

MINE is not uncovered. It could not be. we have too many predators here. let me see if i can find a photo of the outside of the enclosure.

5E9776EE-0F2B-4A46-8DF3-CA3D1E73A002_zps2cm8kit7.jpg
 

Blackdog1714

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MINE is not uncovered. It could not be. we have too many predators here. let me see if i can find a photo of the outside of the enclosure.

5E9776EE-0F2B-4A46-8DF3-CA3D1E73A002_zps2cm8kit7.jpg
Does the wire mesh go into the ground as well? Here in richmond we got about everything except wolves so I have fence at the base that goes out like an L for about 2 feet so if the predator tries to dig under at the wood fence all they get is the metal fence. Nice Digs
 

ColleenT

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Does the wire mesh go into the ground as well? Here in richmond we got about everything except wolves so I have fence at the base that goes out like an L for about 2 feet so if the predator tries to dig under at the wood fence all they get is the metal fence. Nice Digs

No, it does not go to the ground. It would eventually rust and make a mess. We have treated wood at ground level- well a bit lower than ground level, so they can't dig under it. We just used the hardware cloth( metal mesh) everywhere that a rodent might be able to get in.
 

Blackdog1714

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No, it does not go to the ground. It would eventually rust and make a mess. We have treated wood at ground level- well a bit lower than ground level, so they can't dig under it. We just used the hardware cloth( metal mesh) everywhere that a rodent might be able to get in.
I used the galvanized 2”x4” fence on my chicken coop years ago and just overlays chicken wire. Stopped several raccoons and possums from sneaking in. But to be honest I have two 70’ tall Japanese cedar trees in my backyard so even after a heavy rain the yard dries up real fast!
 

Millerlite

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Box turtles are small but love big enclosures and will use the space I would go with like suggested above 8ft by 8ft, bigger is always better.. what's also important is plants and hides. I plant box turtle enclosures pretty dense and let it grow out. Big water fishes and plenty of little hides, thus will all help with predators in a natural way. You can than build a lid on hinges if your really worried about predators.

Kyle
 

Professor Brenda

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CB436FF1-2368-48C2-ABCB-07488A276570.jpeg

So this is my new enclosure walls. Obviously not finished. I will be adding several inches of topsoil inside the walls and lots of plants. I will fill the cinderblocks with dirt for added stability and cover them with paving stones and plants. It is 103 square feet. The fourth wall in the back is a wall of the sulcata enclosure. I will post pics in the spring when I get plants, hides, water, and title in there.
 

Maro2Bear

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View attachment 284482

So this is my new enclosure walls. Obviously not finished. I will be adding several inches of topsoil inside the walls and lots of plants. I will fill the cinderblocks with dirt for added stability and cover them with paving stones and plants. It is 103 square feet. The fourth wall in the back is a wall of the sulcata enclosure. I will post pics in the spring when I get plants, hides, water, and title in there.

wow! Someone has been busy,
 

Relic

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View attachment 284482

So this is my new enclosure walls. Obviously not finished. I will be adding several inches of topsoil inside the walls and lots of plants. I will fill the cinderblocks with dirt for added stability and cover them with paving stones and plants. It is 103 square feet. The fourth wall in the back is a wall of the sulcata enclosure. I will post pics in the spring when I get plants, hides, water, and title in there.
The block wall is a nice idea because it can be enlarged easily - especially with that back wall already in place.
 

Madame Terrapene

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Brenda! I knew I saw this somewhere when I saw your enclosure pic on a local Central TX fb page. We're relatively neighbors, I live in San Antonio. Is your turtle a climber? I have one guy who would climb right over a cinder block wall, but several others that wouldnt. Also, sometimes a predator might not actually eat the turtle but they'll take it out of the pen and just try to eat it. Then they get bored with trying and go off but the turtle is now out of the enclosure, wandering around. Just something to make note of. I've seen how some people build like an aviary or dog kennel around their pens so that they can still have the vertical height for trees and shrubs.
 

Madame Terrapene

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No, it does not go to the ground. It would eventually rust and make a mess. We have treated wood at ground level- well a bit lower than ground level, so they can't dig under it. We just used the hardware cloth( metal mesh) everywhere that a rodent might be able to get in.

ColleenT, I'm sorry to bother you but I can't find a pic of your enclosure. Could you repost it? I'm always looking for new ideas. Someday I want a huge turtle garden, but right now we always rent so I can't dedicate a whole swath of yard just yet.
 

Professor Brenda

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Brenda! I knew I saw this somewhere when I saw your enclosure pic on a local Central TX fb page. We're relatively neighbors, I live in San Antonio. Is your turtle a climber? I have one guy who would climb right over a cinder block wall, but several others that wouldnt. Also, sometimes a predator might not actually eat the turtle but they'll take it out of the pen and just try to eat it. Then they get bored with trying and go off but the turtle is now out of the enclosure, wandering around. Just something to make note of. I've seen how some people build like an aviary or dog kennel around their pens so that they can still have the vertical height for trees and shrubs.

Thank you for the input. No, he's not a climber. In fact he has been raised by someone else before I got him, in a very small space. He is going to love this. We have the occasional coyote, skunk, snake, and armadillo. None of which have ever bothered anything but our chickens (coyotes) and my roses (armadillos). The rest have plenty other wild life to eat.

This pen with added chicken wire or hardware cloth above, like you were saying, is the kind of pen I could see you offering to build for people. Or, when you get to see it, Colleen's would be a good option for that.

And Yep, I am the person who answers questions and post many of the posts on Facebook for CTTR. That's me. These are the people I go to when I need info. They are FABULOUS!!
 

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