Can't get this darling, two-legged box turtle out of my mind.

[TexasSunflower98]

There's a delightful, two-legged box turtle available at my local pet store, and I am smitten with him.

He was rescued or surrendered from a bad home. (I'm not sure which.) There are conflicting stories as to how he lost both hind legs, so I suppose neither the shopkeeper nor any of her customers will ever get to the bottom of what happened. But the little guy pulls himself forward, using just his front legs, happily enough. He eats and seems to be in great health. I'm not sure how old he is (I haven't asked), but he's smaller than my (already pretty small) palm.

I want to adopt him and get him a nice, 40-gallon tank with the proper lights and substrate and hideouts and worms and plants. In the summer, I want to build him an outdoor area so he can hang out in the yard and feel the grass and eat the kale and lettuce we grow in the garden. I want to figure out a way to give him some tiny wheels to use as prosthetic hind limbs--which has, apparently, been done for other turtles and tortoises, with vets' help.

At the same time, I'm seeing so many posts about turtles that didn't thrive in their new environments, that it's making me gun-shy about the whole venture.

Any words of encouragement? Advice? Warning?

 

[TammyJ]

Hi there. Can we see some pictures of this turtle?

 

[mark1]

if the injuries are healed and he' eating and seems healthy , i'd think he'll do fine ……… turtles and tortoises always thrive in a proper environment ….. what type of box turtle is he ?