Hello from Southern Illinois

Timt5352

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Joined
Aug 4, 2018
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6
Location (City and/or State)
Illinois
My name is Tim and I live in Southern Illinois with my wife and 5 kids. My youngest son Jeffrey is 10 years old and a very, very science focused introvert. He has been a huge fan of turtles since having one as a classroom pet a few years ago, and it has turned into a bit of a bridge for the two of us. We currently have an 8x12 habitat in our back yard which houses a group of 4 Eastern Box Turtles and have started a smaller indoor habitat in the garage for bringing them in for the winter.

What brought me to this forum is we are currently researching and planning about the possibility of bringing home an adult Sulcata. As much as I brushed off the idea at first, the more information and links he has brought to me the more I see that it is a viable possibility. We aren't wanting to jump in blind with such a large commitment, so there has been lots of studying with more still to go and some questions along the way. Thanks for adding me!20180514_194015.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Welcome to the Forum!

I'd like to see a few more plants in that enclosure. . . it's quite open. Plants give them a more secure feeling, plus it helps keep in the humidity.

I'm wondering why you just don't let the turtles hibernate instead of bringing them inside for the winter.

We have some VERY good reading material pinned at the top of the Sulcata section.
 

Pastel Tortie

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North Florida
Welcome to the forum!

There's nothing wrong with being an introvert, and that affinity for science will serve Jeffrey quite well as he gets older. He will have so many anecdotes to tell about the box turtles - and there are so many people on this forum eager to listen!

Tell us about the box turtle in the upper left corner of the picture... He looks like he's investigating the infrastructure and trying to mastermind an escape attempt. You and Jeffrey may need to thwart him before he gets into too much mischief...
 

Timt5352

New Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
Illinois
Thanks for the welcome!

Yvonne, the habitat has a lot more grass, plants and weeds now....and less mud. That pic was one I had taken when we first put the habitat together (and I think still only had one turtle, lol). The hibernation question is a good one, and it really comes down to the geography of our property and our weather. Our home is next to a lake in an area that was heavily glacier carved.....and further altered when the house was built. We only have 8-10" of topsoil depth before hitting bedrock in our actual yard. I worry that a severe winter would jeopardize them too much because of shallow burrows. Plus, Jeffrey enjoys the daily interactions with them.

Pastel, the one in the pic is Sophia.....probably the most active one in the bunch. Shortly after taking this picture I added a 12" overhang around the enclosure as we were seeing where they were trying to climb out. Now it functions as a way to keep them in and an awning!
 

Pastel Tortie

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Location (City and/or State)
North Florida
Thanks for the welcome!

Pastel, the one in the pic is Sophia.....probably the most active one in the bunch. Shortly after taking this picture I added a 12" overhang around the enclosure as we were seeing where they were trying to climb out. Now it functions as a way to keep them in and an awning!
Awesome! I figured you and Jeffrey had it under control!

At Jeffrey's age, I was the super shy, smart girl in class. I had an interest in science, too. Still do. I went to a really small school, so there weren't nearly enough people like me around during those years.

That was also back in the dark ages when WordPerfect had a blue background and forums like TFO didn't exist yet.
 

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