How to protect my box turtle from hot afternoon sun?

chami

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Happy 4th of July everyone,

I am brand new to this forum. About a month ago, I found a box turtle while walking my dog. Given the fact that someone had marked her back with paint, it appeared that at some point she had lived with someone so I took her in.

I am building her a basic outdoor pen to live in but given the configuration of my home, the only section where I could feasibly build her pen is in the part of the house that gets the hot afternoon sun. I read somewhere that that is the absolute worst place to build her pen but the only other alternative is to build her pen in deep shade, which sounds worse given how much turtles love sun.

So my question is, how do I protect my turtle from the hot sun that we get here in the mid-atlantic region once her pen is built and she's ready to be moved outdoors? I already placed a couple of hosta plants in there, a tiny strawberry plant and a baby boxwood bush though I don't think those provide enough shade. I look forward to your positive constructive advice. Thanks!
 

wellington

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The plants will help. Also try building her a hide dug into the ground and covered with dirt or sod. Spraying the enclosure once in a while will also lower the temps at her level.
 

bigred

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You can add a bunch of loose leaf litter or something for the turtle to burrow in and wet it down. you also want to make sure to cover half the enclosure with some kind of shade. A box turtle will burrow down in the dirt and its hard to find them sometimes. They can climb over or dig under so be careful
 

lynnedit

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Leopard Tortoise Lover 16199

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You can provide a bit of shade from a log or critter hideaway that's oversized for your box turtle for now. Also make sure there's always a large shallow dish of cool water outside because if they get too hot they like to soak in it. The turtle also may have gotten paint on it from being in a turtle race, then the people just let it free again and didn't keep it. Here's the one I found, I'm returning him back to the wild, only had him for a week, keeping him outside so as natural environment as possible. Good luck! You'll need a pretty big enclosure for indoors; the turtles used to having the whole world to explore! They also love dandelions and worms.ImageUploadedByTortForum1372999902.533474.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1372999915.101414.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1372999925.265071.jpg :)
 
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chami

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Thank you to everyone for your informative replies! I imagine that if I dig a hole for a hide in her pen that I should make it deep and wide enough for her to hibernate in? How wide / deep would that be anyway?
 

mchong9606

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I suggest you simply loosen up the soil with a shovel (don't dig it all up) or mix in some peat moss around your pen. Your boxie will enjoy digging down into the dirt to stay cool or to feel safe and sleep. If you are going to hibernate your boxie make sure you read up on it. If you dig a hole it will most likely ignore it and pick another spot it finds more suitable.
 

Len B

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I have used umbrellas in the past to provide shade to areas of some of my new enclosures where the plants haven't filled in yet.
 

chami

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I want to very belatedly thank all for your recommendations on protecting my box turtle from this summer's heat. I ended up creating several hide boxes for her and she ended up showing a clear preference of her preferred hide. This forum is an amazing resource so thanks again!
 
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