jenwhiddon
New Member
Hello, I'm Jenn and I have 2 three toed
box turtles. We have had a male for quite awhile but a female was given to us last October. We live south of Houston, in Brazoria County, on a 9 acre property we share with my in-laws. I live with my long-time boyfriend and my 16 year old son, three dogs, 11 baby chicks, and the turtles. But there are lots! more animals on the property - like 15 more dogs, a pot-bellied pig, 4 horses, and a coop full of grown chickens, not to mention my in-laws, a few of their friends, and their pets. Somehow I feel like we are beginning our own commune, Clampett family style, LoL! Most of my family lives close too and one of just about any farm animal or pet you can think of is part of someone's household. However, we are the first and only box turtle owners. My parents have a pond of red-eared sliders, so I grew up with having them right out the front door but box turtles seem to have much more complex care needs. My boyfriend and his dad lived in Arkansas while he was growing up and they tell me stories of having numerous box turtles living wild on their property and inside their home, basically they would just pick them up as they came across them, bring them home and set them free to wander around indoors. Yes, they are hillbillies - please don't judge too harshly, lol. I am most definitely the most citified/civilized person on the property, however, there are only two of us females and my mother-in-law is one of those people that you can meet and walk away from the conversation still wondering if you heard her name correctly, because you're sure you were just shooting the breeze with an old dude, ball cap and all, LoL. But you know how it goes - you don't get to pick your family, you just learn to love them anyway 
So back to the turtles... We have had turtles indoors since we got them. I was in love the minute I saw the male - he was given to me by a friend of a friend who knows we like animals and didn't want him anymore. He is a scrappy lil fellow, lots of personality, some permanent shell damage that we assume happened to him a very long time ago ( will attach some pics) and more than likely at least a decade old. He is also much smaller than the female, a little in length and quite a bit in shell height and she outweighs him, too. He weighs 280 grams vs. her almost 400 grams. I bought a scale at the convenience store to weigh them and when I took it with us to the vet to see if it was accurate (which it was), the tech told me that people use those kind of scales to weigh illegal substances, lol. I didn't know that but since it serves the purpose.... Anyway, we have intended to build an outdoor habitat but have not yet. I do take them outside a few times a week and more frequently now that the weather is warmer. I only take them out when I am going to be outside too because I worry they will get loose or one of the million pets around here will hurt them, as I have been using a puppy play pen to take them outside. It's one of those 8 paneled metal kind that fold up flat, it is easy to move and restake down to wherever I am puttering around in the yard and about hip high to me, but the top is open. Anyway, they seem to like basking in the sun and prowling around in the plants. I mostly put it inside of one of my raised gardening beds, so I am sure that all the plants are edible and there are no pesticides or animal droppings for them to come into contact with. I am having a hard time picking a location for a permanent outdoor area for them, but will soon, I have it narrowed down to two spots, one is more ideal, at least I think so, since there is a stand of young trees there but it's farther from our house, so I haven't made the final decision. We also are undecided on materials. I have both bricks and landscape pavers already that we originally planned to use but I am starting to feel like we should put them in an enclosure with a top. There are the horses, pig and dogs that roam the property, and we have a canal behind the property and beyond it is thick woods, so we also get deer, racoons, possums, owls (barn and screech), hawks, and the occasional stray dog or cat. We hear coyotes, too but I have never seen them. So I was curious as to what most people use to build a secure enclosure? And the best way to construct a 'top' that can be opened as needed? I just can't figure out how to incorporate a top if we use bricks or pavers for the walls but if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great. My father-in-law is a carpenter/builder, we have a business, so if I can dream it, they can build it Also, I was curious if there is a certain time or month of the year that the female would lay eggs? We get alligator snapping turtles every year that come and bury their eggs at the back of the property along the canal every year. They come like clockwork, the same week of a certain month, so I wasn't sure if box turtles are like that and I haven't found much information regarding the subject, so I was hoping someone might know? Anyway, thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my super long post! And thanks in advance for replies regarding enclosures and egg laying, I appreciate it!
box turtles. We have had a male for quite awhile but a female was given to us last October. We live south of Houston, in Brazoria County, on a 9 acre property we share with my in-laws. I live with my long-time boyfriend and my 16 year old son, three dogs, 11 baby chicks, and the turtles. But there are lots! more animals on the property - like 15 more dogs, a pot-bellied pig, 4 horses, and a coop full of grown chickens, not to mention my in-laws, a few of their friends, and their pets. Somehow I feel like we are beginning our own commune, Clampett family style, LoL! Most of my family lives close too and one of just about any farm animal or pet you can think of is part of someone's household. However, we are the first and only box turtle owners. My parents have a pond of red-eared sliders, so I grew up with having them right out the front door but box turtles seem to have much more complex care needs. My boyfriend and his dad lived in Arkansas while he was growing up and they tell me stories of having numerous box turtles living wild on their property and inside their home, basically they would just pick them up as they came across them, bring them home and set them free to wander around indoors. Yes, they are hillbillies - please don't judge too harshly, lol. I am most definitely the most citified/civilized person on the property, however, there are only two of us females and my mother-in-law is one of those people that you can meet and walk away from the conversation still wondering if you heard her name correctly, because you're sure you were just shooting the breeze with an old dude, ball cap and all, LoL. But you know how it goes - you don't get to pick your family, you just learn to love them anyway So back to the turtles... We have had turtles indoors since we got them. I was in love the minute I saw the male - he was given to me by a friend of a friend who knows we like animals and didn't want him anymore. He is a scrappy lil fellow, lots of personality, some permanent shell damage that we assume happened to him a very long time ago ( will attach some pics) and more than likely at least a decade old. He is also much smaller than the female, a little in length and quite a bit in shell height and she outweighs him, too. He weighs 280 grams vs. her almost 400 grams. I bought a scale at the convenience store to weigh them and when I took it with us to the vet to see if it was accurate (which it was), the tech told me that people use those kind of scales to weigh illegal substances, lol. I didn't know that but since it serves the purpose.... Anyway, we have intended to build an outdoor habitat but have not yet. I do take them outside a few times a week and more frequently now that the weather is warmer. I only take them out when I am going to be outside too because I worry they will get loose or one of the million pets around here will hurt them, as I have been using a puppy play pen to take them outside. It's one of those 8 paneled metal kind that fold up flat, it is easy to move and restake down to wherever I am puttering around in the yard and about hip high to me, but the top is open. Anyway, they seem to like basking in the sun and prowling around in the plants. I mostly put it inside of one of my raised gardening beds, so I am sure that all the plants are edible and there are no pesticides or animal droppings for them to come into contact with. I am having a hard time picking a location for a permanent outdoor area for them, but will soon, I have it narrowed down to two spots, one is more ideal, at least I think so, since there is a stand of young trees there but it's farther from our house, so I haven't made the final decision. We also are undecided on materials. I have both bricks and landscape pavers already that we originally planned to use but I am starting to feel like we should put them in an enclosure with a top. There are the horses, pig and dogs that roam the property, and we have a canal behind the property and beyond it is thick woods, so we also get deer, racoons, possums, owls (barn and screech), hawks, and the occasional stray dog or cat. We hear coyotes, too but I have never seen them. So I was curious as to what most people use to build a secure enclosure? And the best way to construct a 'top' that can be opened as needed? I just can't figure out how to incorporate a top if we use bricks or pavers for the walls but if anyone has any suggestions, that would be great. My father-in-law is a carpenter/builder, we have a business, so if I can dream it, they can build it Also, I was curious if there is a certain time or month of the year that the female would lay eggs? We get alligator snapping turtles every year that come and bury their eggs at the back of the property along the canal every year. They come like clockwork, the same week of a certain month, so I wasn't sure if box turtles are like that and I haven't found much information regarding the subject, so I was hoping someone might know? Anyway, thank you to anyone who takes the time to read my super long post! And thanks in advance for replies regarding enclosures and egg laying, I appreciate it!
