Box turtle donated

[Blakem]

Hello all, I was in my front yard about 5 minutes ago and a neighbor stopped and asked me if I wanted a turtle. They seem to know nothing about it, but it has a pretty well varied diet of veggies. I doubt that it is fed any worms or has any protein. So, I went to investigate what he had. It's definitely a box turtle, but I'm not entirely sure what kind. It is currently in a tank that is about two feed long and 8 inches wide. It's small, approximately 3.5 inches long and felt light, but not hollow. It's VERY shy and seems to be almost cracked from side to side on its plastron. When it goes into its shell, the front part f the plastron, where the crack is, lifts up a little.

I still live at home, so I could only foster it in my tank for some time. I would be using my sulcatas tank since Dexter is now outside full time. Here's some pictures I took.

 

[wellington]

Your second pic is kinda dark. Can you take a pic of the top, head, and plastron.

 

[Blakem]

I'm no longer there. Sorry, I was editing the post with my pictures. The app crashed while I was adding them.

 

[yagyujubei]

I'm going to say that it's a young desert box turtle. But I am far from expert on this type. I think that the "crack" you're referring to is the hinge.

 

[Blakem]

Do they have "hinges"? The owner said it doesn't bother him. They want me to take if.

 

[jjsull33]

I believe most box turtle species have hinges, if not all of them.

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

This is a cute little Ornate box turtle. The crack is their hinge, so they can completely close up their shell. Definitely should be fed bugs like earthworms, mealworms, crickets and snails.

 

[Blakem]

Does anyone know where I can find a good care sheet? I know very little about box turtles. I currently own a Russian tortoise and a sulcata. Are temps different? Do they need soaking? Diet other than fruit, certain bugs, veggies (any particular kind?).

Thanks guys! Good to know about the hinge, it's very interesting!

 

[theelectraco]

They do need access to water....that's about all I know about box turtles lol.


0.1.0 Dachshund
0.0.1 Redfoot
1.0.0 Greek
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

 

[Blakem]

They do need access to water....that's about all I know about box turtles lol.


0.1.0 Dachshund
0.0.1 Redfoot
1.0.0 Greek
0.0.1 Crested Gecko

Ha, well thanks for the effort at least. I'm going to use the 4 temps I used for raising my sulcata, not high on humidity, terra cotta bowl, UVB light, CHE. I'm more wanting to know the diet! I'm stoked I foster. It's going to be a surprise for my parents. Shouldn't be a problem since my room is separated from the house.

 

[Millerlite]

You need high humidity, and more of a grassland set up. Ornates don't like it as humid as there cousins but they do still love water. Google ornate box turtle it will give you a lot of care sheet links. Diet should be 80 percent protein, nigh crawlers, meal worms, crickets, red wigglers, wax worms, snails, slugs, Rollie pollies etc... Then I do 15 percent veggies, 5 percent fruits and other.

 

[yagyujubei]

Keep it cooler and wetter than you kept the sulcata. They like to soak in deeper water. He will dig. They like live food. You can offer greens, strawberries, blackberries, blue berries, raspberries, mulberries, grapes, a little tomato, turtle brittle, mazuri if you have it. Worms, nightcrawlers, slugs and snails , moistened cat food, raw fish. I feed different things all the time.

 

[Blakem]

Awesome! I'll have to figure out plants to place in there since they like grassland area. It will be 100x better than what it's in now.

What about amount of food? I know people say the amount of food for the size of their shell.

 

[Millerlite]

Walmart has night crawlers for cheap that box turtles love. I feed my three toed a few every few days, in between ill feed salads and mealworms or wax worms, box turtles may not touch salads either but keep trying cuz it should be part of their diet if possible.

 

[Blakem]

Temporary basic setup! Any advice on what else I could add for this guy/girl?

 

[Millerlite]

Few more hides, deeper substrate, and is he water dish big enough for him to fully sit in and soak?

 

[KingInCulver]

Wow Blake! Have you picked out a name? Do you know if its male or female?

 

[Blakem]

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not. The previous owners didn't have a name in the year they owned it. I have yet to look up how to check for gender.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Few more hides, deeper substrate, and is he water dish big enough for him to fully sit in and soak?

This...

cute little ornate boxie indeed

 

[lynnedit]

Can you find some leaves (not the time of year, of course!), and mound them in a corner? They like to burrow in them.
Sphagnum moss, moistened, in a couple of areas?
Stick a plant like a spider plant in its pot right down in the substrate.

Wow, what an experience!