Hello all,
I have purchased an 2023 eastern box turtle hatchling. I am trying to figure out the best way to set up the animal as there seems to be several different options. What I know for sure is I will be keeping it in a 20 long with a flourescent 5.0 full spectrum 15” light. I will be using a fish tank lid or cut piece of plexiglass to hold in humidity. The questions I have are as follows:
1. Substrate with large shallow water dish or water only? (If substrate I will use a mixture of reptichip and eco earth with leaf litter)
2. Heat or no heat? I keep my house around 68 degrees. ( if heated I will run a Che on a ranco thermostat)
3. If heated how many hours per day should I heat?
4. What to feed? (I am currently thinking a mixture of zoomed hatchling formula, red wigglers and mixed greens and fruits. (Occasionally bsf or mealworms if earth worms are not available).
5. Is it ok to dust food with calcium 3x a week and herptivite once a week? (All made by repcal)
I have purchased an 2023 eastern box turtle hatchling. I am trying to figure out the best way to set up the animal as there seems to be several different options. What I know for sure is I will be keeping it in a 20 long with a flourescent 5.0 full spectrum 15” light. I will be using a fish tank lid or cut piece of plexiglass to hold in humidity. The questions I have are as follows:
1. Substrate with large shallow water dish or water only? (If substrate I will use a mixture of reptichip and eco earth with leaf litter)
2. Heat or no heat? I keep my house around 68 degrees. ( if heated I will run a Che on a ranco thermostat)
3. If heated how many hours per day should I heat?
4. What to feed? (I am currently thinking a mixture of zoomed hatchling formula, red wigglers and mixed greens and fruits. (Occasionally bsf or mealworms if earth worms are not available).
5. Is it ok to dust food with calcium 3x a week and herptivite once a week? (All made by repcal)