Gulf coast box turtle hatchling

[justsilent]

I have a gulf coast box turtle hatchling. Hes about a few weeks old. I'm a little less knowledgeable on box turtles but I do have a common snapper whos doing well. I did alot of research on enclosure, temperature, food and all sorts of stuff for the box turtle and seem to have got everything I need. My main concern is he just burrows in the substrate day and night. When I pull him out he will eat his food and drink water no problem. I've seen other post about maybe the turtle is sick but he doesn't have any bubbles coming out or his nose and doesn't seem sick for all I know. But right after he eats he'll go straight back into the substrate to burrow. I live in NJ so it's summer time right now so I don't think hes hibernating. Does anyone have any advice about what this could be?

 

[Yvonne G]

Babies are prey. You need to make the enclosure all closed in - plants, big 'boulders' etc. so he feels safe. . . not so out in the open.

 

[gia474]

Honestly, my little 8 month old box turtle does basically the same thing and there’s no issues with heating / lighting / humidity / appetite. My little one does however get up very early in the morning (5ish— I’m up having my coffee nearby so I know lol) and takes a little swim. Usually I will scoop him up and he eats a large meal, we hangout a bit then he gets restless and wants to go back into his terrarium and goes straight to his cave-burrow he made. Stays there pretty much all day and just peeks out at us about half the time. I’ve read that the first three years this is fairly normal behavior for box turtles because they’re so vulnerable in the wild and need high humidity (digging in moist substrate). This is also where they can find plenty of worms and insects to eat so it makes sense to me. But also their personalities seem to vary because I’ve heard people who have multiple babies where some are more shy like ours and some more outgoing. I’m not a pro when it comes to the babies as this is my first (but not first box turtle) but I’d say if you know the habitat and dietary needs are being met and there are no obvious signs of illness or change in behavior, it’s likely normal. I’d be curious to hear other comments and insight you get from more experienced boxie owners though. Just wanted to share my experience

 

[justsilent]

Babies are prey. You need to make the enclosure all closed in - plants, big 'boulders' etc. so he feels safe. . . not so out in the open.

Thank you for your response.

Honestly, my little 8 month old box turtle does basically the same thing and there’s no issues with heating / lighting / humidity / appetite. My little one does however get up very early in the morning (5ish— I’m up having my coffee nearby so I know lol) and takes a little swim. Usually I will scoop him up and he eats a large meal, we hangout a bit then he gets restless and wants to go back into his terrarium and goes straight to his cave-burrow he made. Stays there pretty much all day and just peeks out at us about half the time. I’ve read that the first three years this is fairly normal behavior for box turtles because they’re so vulnerable in the wild and need high humidity (digging in moist substrate). This is also where they can find plenty of worms and insects to eat so it makes sense to me. But also their personalities seem to vary because I’ve heard people who have multiple babies where some are more shy like ours and some more outgoing. I’m not a pro when it comes to the babies as this is my first (but not first box turtle) but I’d say if you know the habitat and dietary needs are being met and there are no obvious signs of illness or change in behavior, it’s likely normal. I’d be curious to hear other comments and insight you get from more experienced boxie owners though. Just wanted to share my experience

Thank you for sharing. Makes me feel a lil more comfortable knowing he's not the only one that likes to hide.

 

[jeff kushner]

The best advice I ever received for my box turtle was:
"Throw in a pile of leaves, he will thank you"

Welcome to the club!