3 Toed Box Turtle

Paroan

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Jun 14, 2022
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Fayetteville, AR
Hello, Three weeks ago I found a 3 toed box turtle in my driveway. I believe he/she was probably living in a small wooded area a half block from my house. They are tearing the area up for a gas line repair so I assume the turtle was driven out. I did not want to live him where he was as there is a lot of traffic on my street and I'm sure he would get run over.
I chatted with a local turtle rescue person that advised me not to just take him to another wooded area and leave him as he will try to get back home. She said the best thing for him would be if I could provide a safe place for him. I have a small hosta garden in my back yard that I put him in along with a small water dish. There is a large japanese ornament that he can walk under that I dug some dirt out and filled with leaves.
Up until two days ago he was roaming all around in there and a few time I saw him in the water. I have given him strawberry and other greens and fruits of which he has eaten a small amount but not much. Two days ago I could not find him and assumed he got out somehow and was somewhere in my yard. After looking for the past two days I lifted up the Japanese ornament and sure enough could see the top of his shell under the leaves. If he has come out it has to be at night when I am not checking on him.
At the same time as he went into hiding the temperature here climbed to the high 90's so it has been hot and humid. Would that be why he is staying under the leaves? Or is it something else I need to be concerned about? I had a desert tortoise for many years when I lived in Arizona but have no experience with a box turtle.
Any help/advise would be appreciated.
 

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wellington

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Yes they do most of their roaming early morning or later when its cooler.
Do not feed fruit. They will not find fruit in the wild
When they are done working back in those wooded area I would put him back.
 

mark1

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while i keep terrapene carolina carolina as opposed to terrapene carolina triunguis ..... mine live outside , if they eat weeds i never see it .... worms and bugs , i feed them dog food(bil-jac frozen) , hikari cichlid gold large pellets(soaked) , minnows , sardines , strawberries , blueberries , apples , pears , peaches , bananas , liver , cooked ground chicken (including bones) ....... is that a proper diet ?? they seem healthy , they grow up with perfectly normal shells beaks and nails , they have hibernated successfully for many years ........ at what point have they been successfully kept ? something i wonder about all the time , i've seen some relatively long kept reptiles go from "perfectly fine" to dead pretty quickly , pretty rough way to find out you done something wrong ..... it seemingly would take a long time to know you've successfully kept them ....

if you keep that guy make sure you understand what they require for optimum survival in each season , it's different for each season , but providable in one pen ........understand wild turtles , be mindful of predators , make sure he can dig in to spots like you described , a top on the pen or an electric wire are not bad ideas ....

all these guys were born here , various ages 3yrs-10yrs+

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wellington

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What? These things eat all sorts of fruit in the wild.
It's not something that would be on their daily diet. It is something when they happen onto it, they will eat it, same as animal poop, they will eat it but shouldn't be fed it. Much better things to feed than fruit. In the majority of the areas our Box turtles live in the wild, there isn't a lot of fruit. Veggies yes.
 

Cathie G

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Hello and welcome to the forum 😊 God bless you for helping the little box turtle 🐢 I'm sure s/hell bless you back
 

methos75

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Lawrenceville, IL via Walker, LA
It's not something that would be on their daily diet. It is something when they happen onto it, they will eat it, same as animal poop, they will eat it but shouldn't be fed it. Much better things to feed than fruit. In the majority of the areas our Box turtles live in the wild, there isn't a lot of fruit. Veggies yes.
It's different here, all the ones I see in the wild are primarily eating berries, wild grapes, crab apples, etc.
 
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