Hi y'all I'm new! Former eastern box turtle owner and enthusiast, looking for a new one.

kerrishell

New Member
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Hi everybody. So glad I found this forum. Thankyou for having me. I grew up in beautiful Long island, New York. Back when only twenty years ago the eastern box turtles were seemingly plentiful and you could encounter them all the time. Back then I was really into nature and animals, and I took classes and ended up doing volunteer work at my local nature preserve in East Islip. At one point I had a type of special permit so I could begin taking home certain orphan and injured animals at night to care for them. During this time I fell in love with box turtles and my father built an awesome large in-ground enclosure (maybe around 12'x12') we planted it with edible plants and strawberries. It had an in ground water pond feature, a hibernation pit that was easily diggable for them and just in general awesome setup. I got my first and most beloved boxy named Mr Turtle. Yes, I know...very original. Lol. So anyway after that throughout the next ten years or so I added a few more here and there. At one time I had a nice little community that consisted of a few easterns, an ornate, and a three toe. (I know now that housing different species together is not recommended, but I luckily never had any problems. )
So now here we are in the present. I'm now an adult and living in Arizona, and I have a daughter who is the age I was when I began keeping turtles. We don't have a yard at all where we live, but nevertheless I'm feeling that I'm ready to begin putting together a nice indoor setup together and refreshing my knowledge on good box turtle husbandry. I'm considering purchasing maybe one of the zoomed(?) tortoise table type enclosures or something similar. Then also there is the most important item...where should I purchase my boxy you guys?! Im not totally decided on male or female. That doesn't so much matter to me, because I'm only going to host a single specimen. But what IS important is I only want the best, most healthy and most beautiful, colorful one possible. I've been researching online all the different suppliers, but omg when I go to read the company reviews, there's always such negative comments and talk of unhealthy turtles or bad company practices. Yes I prefer a captive bred if possible of course. But I'm wary of all of the online companies. I think some of the companies may in fact have multiple website storefronts operating under multiple names, so I'm getting confused. Who can I trust? Who should I purchase from? Or is there members of this trusted turtle community here that I can aquire a healthy vibrant eastern box turtle from? Any help or insight you all can give me would be super awesome. And thankyou for having me!
 

daniellenc

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Jun 10, 2017
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Plenty of great breeders here so definitely check the reviews on this forum. As for the zoomed tables they aren’t big enough for an adult but I don’t know what optimal size for a box turtle is. I’m a tort owner myself.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome!

Unless you get a baby box turtle, I wouldn't get the already made tortoise table. They're too small. You can set up a Christmas tree storage bin for a box turtle and it give him plenty of room to wander. They're about 4' long. The plus for this type of bin is it's plastic. Box turtles like moist substrate and the wood tort table would mold and rot, while the plastic will hold up for years and years. Here's my Christmas tree storage bin (mfg'd by Iris):

christmas tree bin-1.jpg Christmas tree bin-2.jpg

We have a few members who breed and raise box turtles. Take a look at our breeders section. Occasionally I send some babies down with forum member Will to sell from San Diego, but he doesn't have any right now.
 

kerrishell

New Member
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Plenty of great breeders here so definitely check the reviews on this forum. As for the zoomed tables they aren’t big enough for an adult but I don’t know what optimal size for a box turtle is. I’m a tort owner myself.
Hi Danielle thanx!
 

kerrishell

New Member
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Hi, and welcome!

Unless you get a baby box turtle, I wouldn't get the already made tortoise table. They're too small. You can set up a Christmas tree storage bin for a box turtle and it give him plenty of room to wander. They're about 4' long. The plus for this type of bin is it's plastic. Box turtles like moist substrate and the wood tort table would mold and rot, while the plastic will hold up for years and years. Here's my Christmas tree storage bin (mfg'd by Iris):

View attachment 240112 View attachment 240113

We have a few members who breed and raise box turtles. Take a look at our breeders section. Occasionally I send some babies down with forum member Will to sell from San Diego, but he doesn't have any right now.
Hi, and welcome!

Unless you get a baby box turtle, I wouldn't get the already made tortoise table. They're too small. You can set up a Christmas tree storage bin for a box turtle and it give him plenty of room to wander. They're about 4' long. The plus for this type of bin is it's plastic. Box turtles like moist substrate and the wood tort table would mold and rot, while the plastic will hold up for years and years. Here's my Christmas tree storage bin (mfg'd by Iris):

View attachment 240112 View attachment 240113

We have a few members who breed and raise box turtles. Take a look at our breeders section. Occasionally I send some babies down with forum member Will to sell from San Diego, but he doesn't have any right now.
Hi Yvonne yes great points about the wooden zoomed boxes getting moldyish from the moisture. And wow i actually have that same long clear rubber tote! I use it for storing my unused comforters. I'm going to go check it out. Hey Yvonne what heat/light wattage are you running over your turtle bin there?
Hi, and welcome!

Unless you get a baby box turtle, I wouldn't get the already made tortoise table. They're too small. You can set up a Christmas tree storage bin for a box turtle and it give him plenty of room to wander. They're about 4' long. The plus for this type of bin is it's plastic. Box turtles like moist substrate and the wood tort table would mold and rot, while the plastic will hold up for years and years. Here's my Christmas tree storage bin (mfg'd by Iris):

View attachment 240112 View attachment 240113

We have a few members who breed and raise box turtles. Take a look at our breeders section. Occasionally I send some babies down with forum member Will to sell from San Diego, but he doesn't have any right now.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Ga
I'm also in the market for a box turtle. Let me know if you find any good breeders and I will do the same.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
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Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I have a 60 watt black light at either end and a 100 watt Zoo Med UVB in the center. I have since switched over to using CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for night heat and a tube type fluorescent UVB for day light. Depending upon the size of the enclosure, I use either a 60 watt CHE or a 100 watt.
 

kerrishell

New Member
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
I have a 60 watt black light at either end and a 100 watt Zoo Med UVB in the center. I have since switched over to using CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for night heat and a tube type fluorescent UVB for day light. Depending upon the size of the enclosure, I use either a 60 watt CHE or a 100 watt.
I have a 60 watt black light at either end and a 100 watt Zoo Med UVB in the center. I have since switched over to using CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for night heat and a tube type fluorescent UVB for day light. Depending upon the size of the enclosure, I use either a 60 watt CHE or a 100 watt.
Oh nice setup thanks again
 
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