This is the first time Io, my eastern box turtle, has laid eggs with me. Should I incubate these eggs? I took them out very carefully, making sure not to turn them. I’m gonna rebury them for now.
Hey guys, my Russian tortoise Zonder has been on a food strike for almost 3 months now, only eating little bites of food here and there. I took him to the exotic vet twice now and they can’t find anything wrong with him (fecal clean, clear lungs, very active). He’s in a 6’ by 2’ enclosure with a...
Hey guys, need some advice for a friend’s box turtle. She has a super thick top beak that gives her a duck-like appearance. It desperately needs trimmed but it is super thick and has a small hole in the middle that makes her weary about trimming it more. Here’s the hole in her beak:
The vet is...
Hi guys! So I’m gonna be building an outside enclosure for Zonder and wanted to get some thoughts on my building plans. I’m wanting to build a pen with a shelter in it so during nicer weather he can sleep safely outside. I’m gonna set up a cinder block perimeter of 5’x5’ with chicken wire set...
Hello guys, I am making my appearance once again on the forum to update on Io. She is doing wonderful after her surgery early this year. As I mentioned in my last post, she had a benign tumor removed from her oviduct that was causing her to prolapse. No more prolapses after having this issue for...
Hi guys, Io and I are doing great since moving into our apartment. She’s really taken to her “college suite” and loves getting some exercise and sun out in the courtyard with me every day the weather allows.
For the sake of money and not wasting any food, I have been feeding her canned box...
Hi guys, quick question here: has anyone used canned bugs to feed their box turtle? I’m taking Io with me to college (yay!) and the nearest petsmart from the college is about 20 minutes away. I’ve seen the canned grasshoppers and canned snails in their stores before and was curious if anyone has...
Hi guys, a bit of a controversy I’m about to ask, but a greens like collards really necessary in a box turtle’s diet? I know in the wild they get a naturally diverse diet with being scavengers who eat anything that smells edible, but in captivity if they are getting a diverse enough diet do...
So today Io had her surgery to get her prolapse removed and fixed. What they ended up removing was a piece from her reproductive track that had stretched and scarred in a way that it liked being outside of her. Well, turns out that the vet who removed it thinks it was an underdeveloped penis...
Hey guys, I wanted some suggestions for plants to put in Zonder’s enclosure, preferably close to plants in his natural habitat. He is also a chronic snacker so something hardy and healthy is preferred. I’m starting some grass trays to put in there but wanted to add some larger plants for him...
Hello everyone! I’m just more curious than anything else, but what kind of food do you feed your box turtle(s)? This could be like an everyday kind of meal or like a special treat you give every once in awhile. I know boxies are typically picky and have varying personalities, but I thought it...
Hello everyone! I know I don’t always make my appearance on the forum but here I am again to talk about my lovely boxie io. Io is a female eastern box turtle estimated to be 17 years young who had a troubled past with improper care. Long story short she was surrendered to me after being held in...
Hello guys! The time has finally come that I am updating my lights for io, and I’m looking for something that won’t cost me $80 every 6 months. I was originally using a PowerSun for her enclosure because it’s a heat and UVB, but since she’s kept inside she doesn’t need that intense heat. The...
Hello everyone! As I write this, I am watching my little Russian in complete zen mode in his soak. Somewhat recently I’ve started soaking them with flower tea (all safe for consumption, he’s soaking in True Jasmine today) and I was curious if any other keepers do this. It’s not every soak I do...
Hello guys! I wanted some input from some more experienced keepers out there. We had recently brought my dog to the vet and one of the vets there owned a lot of tortoises. He had a tortoise room with radiated and star tortoises (and a couple box turtles). I wasn’t with my family at the time but...
Hello friends! This isn't so much as an issue, I just thought I should spread this information
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is such a wonderful thing to have around. It's made up of fossilized silica shells from diatoms, a type of microalgae, and it's known as a natural insecticide! How does this...
Hey guys! I’ve been looking into my options for providing fresh food for my tortles and was hoping to see if anyone here has a setup for growing food indoors. My backyard is full of clay and very prone to flooding so it’s not the best for growing things in (as well as having noisy dogs). I...
Hey guys! So I have had Zonder for two weeks now and you can already see major improvements in him. I don’t really see too many threads about “restoring” torts so I think I’m gonna keep this thread to post progress on him as he gets better.
Getting Zonder was a very quick turnaround from when...
Hey guys! So Zonder is already starting to look much better from when I first got him, but the biggest issue I need to address is putting him on a proper diet now. He has been fed pellets his whole life and doesn’t seem to want to eat the real stuff I get him. I don’t really know the brand of...