Possible outdoor enclosure

[calisoko]

Hello all,

I take care of soon to be 10 box turtles, it is currently 6 (I work at a zoological facility). They are all currently kept inside with no plans to change, but I do not believe this is the best care for them due to UV needs. I am potentially going to be creating an outdoor space in which a couple a day can hang out outside, and each should get about 2 full days of the week outside. My issue is I am located near Tampa, Florida, and the box turtles I care for are all Eastern box turtles, and one Ornate box turtle.

Would the Florida summer/spring/and honestly fall, be too hot for them? I plan on creating a lot of shade for the space via plants, and I'd also like to include a shallow pond. I just feel like the option of basking outside is much better for them. We have been sunning them 3x a week for 15 min each, but I don't think this is benefitting them much, and it's not in the hours of the day that they would normally bask because of time constraints on my end.

Any info is helpful! Thanks everyone!

 

[wellington]

Outside is always better.
Don't understand how a zoological facility didn't do better for them from the get go?
The deep shade and pond would benefit them greatly. Do not put them out in pairs though, but in groups. I also would not put more than one male to several females. 2 full days would benefit them a lot and yes, the sun is much better than any light.
Natural ground/yard/dirt would be great for them to be able to look and dig for bugs. Maybe even some worms could be given to them to hunt when they are put out.
Glad to see you want to do better by then and are looking out for them.

 

[calisoko]

Outside is always better.
Don't understand how a zoological facility didn't do better for them from the get go?
The deep shade and pond would benefit them greatly. Do not put them out in pairs though, but in groups. I also would not put more than one male to several females. 2 full days would benefit them a lot and yes, the sun is much better than any light.
Natural ground/yard/dirt would be great for them to be able to look and dig for bugs. Maybe even some worms could be given to them to hunt when they are put out.
Glad to see you want to do better by then and are looking out for them.

Perfect, because I think I'm getting more females instead of males.

They were brought to the facility when herp care was very old school. I'm fighting to update it on every front for sure. I just looked at the range map and realized EBTs weren't in my area, and didn't want any heat exhaustion risks. Thank you for your help!!

 

[wellington]

If you can, figure in a misting system or sprinkler. On those too hot of days, those can really cool things down too. Even a good spray from a hose will work if you can do it long enough.
Good luck and keep up the updating for the turtles and keep us posted on the progress.