Baby Eastern Box Turtle Care

[Monty007]

Hello,

I got a baby Eastern box turtle about a month ago and I’m not sure I’m doing everything right. This is my first non-mammal pet and it’s so hard to tell if it’s behavior is normal or if something is wrong.

I provide a heat lamp that keeps a basking spot 88 degrees Fahrenheit and a UVB bulb that are both set to be on/off for 12 hours a day.

The substrate is organic top soil mixed with coco coir and I mist it every day to keep the humidity at least 50%.

I have a small plant saucer filled with conditioned water and many hides throughout the enclosure.

I’m worried because all the turtle does is burrow and hide. I have provided vegetables for it to eat but it only touches the dried meal worms that I dust with calcium. Today when I dug it up it seemed really lethargic, I was even worried it was dead. I put it in the water dish to soak and after about 15 minutes when I looked back in the enclosure it buried itself again. Some days it doesn’t touch it’s food.

I’m so nervous that I’m doing something wrong and that it’s going to die. I am a teacher and this is a classroom pet and I couldn’t face my students if anything happened to “Tidbit.”

Please give any suggestions on if I’m doing anything wrong.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Hello,

I got a baby Eastern box turtle about a month ago and I’m not sure I’m doing everything right. This is my first non-mammal pet and it’s so hard to tell if it’s behavior is normal or if something is wrong.

I provide a heat lamp that keeps a basking spot 88 degrees Fahrenheit and a UVB bulb that are both set to be on/off for 12 hours a day.

The substrate is organic top soil mixed with coco coir and I mist it every day to keep the humidity at least 50%.

I have a small plant saucer filled with conditioned water and many hides throughout the enclosure.

I’m worried because all the turtle does is burrow and hide. I have provided vegetables for it to eat but it only touches the dried meal worms that I dust with calcium. Today when I dug it up it seemed really lethargic, I was even worried it was dead. I put it in the water dish to soak and after about 15 minutes when I looked back in the enclosure it buried itself again. Some days it doesn’t touch it’s food.

I’m so nervous that I’m doing something wrong and that it’s going to die. I am a teacher and this is a classroom pet and I couldn’t face my students if anything happened to “Tidbit.”

Please give any suggestions on if I’m doing anything wrong.

Hi,

I'll try my best to help, but knowing what species you have as well as tossing some pics in would help.

Sounds like you have a pretty good set up. It's natural for baby box turtles to hide when they are young.

At this size, they are small, their shells are still soft and pliable, and they are on the menue for pretty much everything. Their goal is to eat, stay hidden and get big.

At this stage in life, I wouldn't be concerned about vegetation. Yes, they are omnivores, but you should be more focused on things such as insects and animal matter.

Things like live mealworms, earthworms, isopods(rollie pollies), snails, slugs, dubia roaches, boiled eggs, raw chicken hearts etc.

They're kind of like kids. When they're younger, they want more protein to grow, but as they mature, their pallet expands. Then they want the blueberry, the mushrooms, the clover etc. Even the box turtle madh. A homemade diet with protein, fruit, and vegetation.

Keep in mind that box turtles brumate as well; even babies. As temperatures drop, and they sense changes in barometric pressures; it triggers that rest mode.

I like to keep my baby hatchling box turtles in smaller spaces their first few months of life so its easier to keep an eys on them and ensure they are hydrated. My analogy; you want grapes, not raisins. I currently have hatchling simply in a pencil storage drawer...thing. Instead of substrate i keep them in water about up to their necks which I change every other day.

This isn't 100% necessary at all. Your set-up sounds good. Just something to keep in mind.

Eddie

Comparison of a hydrated vs less hydrated turtle.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Hi,

I'll try my best to help, but knowing what species you have as well as tossing some pics in would help.

Sounds like you have a pretty good set up. It's natural for baby box turtles to hide when they are young.

At this size, they are small, their shells are still soft and pliable, and they are on the menue for pretty much everything. Their goal is to eat, stay hidden and get big.

At this stage in life, I wouldn't be concerned about vegetation. Yes, they are omnivores, but you should be more focused on things such as insects and animal matter.

Things like live mealworms, earthworms, isopods(rollie pollies), snails, slugs, dubia roaches, boiled eggs, raw chicken hearts etc.

They're kind of like kids. When they're younger, they want more protein to grow, but as they mature, their pallet expands. Then they want the blueberry, the mushrooms, the clover etc. Even the box turtle madh. A homemade diet with protein, fruit, and vegetation.

Keep in mind that box turtles brumate as well; even babies. As temperatures drop, and they sense changes in barometric pressures; it triggers that rest mode.

I like to keep my baby hatchling box turtles in smaller spaces their first few months of life so its easier to keep an eys on them and ensure they are hydrated. My analogy; you want grapes, not raisins. I currently have hatchling simply in a pencil storage drawer...thing. Instead of substrate i keep them in water about up to their necks which I change every other day.

This isn't 100% necessary at all. Your set-up sounds good. Just something to keep in mind.

Eddie
View attachment 383115
Comparison of a hydrated vs less hydrated turtle.

Oh and I know tge species are eastern

 

[jeff kushner]

As a late great politician said: "Well, you've just heard it from the horses mouth"

You can't go wrong following DD's advice Monty, he has an excellent track record!