I would suggest building a wooden enclosure, make windows if you like, and a wire mesh cover with a latch. Don't feel it has to be an aquarium or terrarium. I use potted plants as they tend to uproot planted plants, also I use plant saucers for pools, they are not deep are easy to remove to...
Great set ups, put a few holes in the kiddie pool, and for indoor set up you don't really need a terrarium, when it grows a good idea would be to use an old bookshelf to set up a larger enclosure. Looks great though, I feed mine every day and they are adults, small ones mainly eat meat, high...
Maybe it is a blessing in disguise that you found this turtle. Contact wildlife officials but i think its a safe bet that housing it with your female is a good plan.
try cuttle bone for birds, he might ignore it for a month or so but evenntually he will nip at it, good for the beak too. also protein is in a lot of foods, i hardly use the powder myself like turtle pellets my turtles ignore it.
Box turtles and Tortoises can't hybridize, that would be like a dog and a cat having a litter, and yes box turtles can store sperm up to 5 years.. Nice looking ornate box turtle, congratulations!
Oh I was thinking north American box turtle, well box turtles are semi aquatic and from the pictures the central american wood turtle looks semi terrestrial, google the species and their habitats, I suspect the central American turtle likes heat.
the top one is a sliderby the looks of it what made you think of wood turtle? I don't know much about water turtles , but i do know that the aquatic environment is totally different, and wood turtles are terrestrial turtles. i could see it being mistaken for a box turtle, but i bet its hind...
try putting cuttlebone in the enclosure and giving it superworms to eat, snails will help too if available. It may ignore the cuttlebone for a while but mine eat trim on cuttlebone, also feed out of a hard dish. the beak doesn't look that bad to me but you have to be the judge on that one.
If she stays buried she probably is not ready to lay, frankly I'm not sure if she's old enough, but be aware box turtles often lay eggs up to 5 years after the mating. If she lays she will dig a hole and tamp it down and you wont even know it. the babies dig themselves out. i would do some...
i use high quality dog cereal my turtles just love it. A large variety is best. Judging by shell length you have a 4-5 year old turtle, fully grown they are 5- inches in length. if her eyes are brown she probably is a female,which would make sense as they tend to roam more looking for nest...
It is unfortunate that with new construction projects animals get displaced. it could b a female looking to lay eggs, the most roadkills are females looking for nesting sites. It looks like an eastern box turtle from what I can tell. if so it is a digger and will try to escape, the walls...
I have two males and one female, they get along, they have ample hides to get away from each other and sometimes group together and like alone time. i did see one male nip at the other once when outside, but nothing serious. just a turtle quarrel i guess lol. box turtles are semi social, but...
If drying out is a problem maybe it is getting too much exposure to direct sun. Try shade plants or add moss to the soil to retain moisture. Also a few pools around the enclosure might help. Posting pics would help.
I didn't mean it that way, and I was thinking of the poor turtle. I was trying to spare the child of watching the turtle slowly die if they kept it. Turtles are not playthings for kids, sorry but that is the way I feel.
If that is true another myth bites the dust. But it is also true that all land turtles are called tortoises in Europe. but it is true that most tortoises have toenails and turtles claws, by north American standards anyway. I learn something every day lol.
Nice find, put her back where you got her, she\s probably scouting for a nest to lay. thanks for sharing your find, turtles have claws and tortoises don't. So box turtles are in fact turtles, they are incredible diggers!