Humidity/ Enclosure Help + Species Confirmation

[StampsTheCrab]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here, so forgive me if I am doing it wrong! I will ask my questions and then give a little more backstory, but if you see anything that can be improved upon I am more than happy to take suggestions! I just ask that you are kind about it as I really do strive to give her the best care with what I know and have available. I have included pictures of my turtle (Jeter) and her enclosures for reference. I also mainly use the Reptifiles three-toed box turtle care sheet as that's what our veterinarian recommended, although I don't follow it exactly.


I am located in northeast Ohio and have been struggling to keep the humidity up for my box turtle. I try to mist her enclosure daily, keep a humid hide outdoors, and run a humidifier indoors all night for about 8-12 hours. However, I don't know how to increase the average humidity especially outside. Inside overnight the humidity is about 75-80% because of the humidifier, but then drops down to 50 and sometimes even lower in her basking area. Outdoors the humidity can drop to around 45% as well. My dilemma with both enclosures is that I don't want to keep the substrate constantly damp as I've heard that this can lead to serious issues like shell rot, but she has had some consistent issues with being dehydrated despite soaking in her water dishes. I'd like to mention this is the first year we've had the outdoor enclosure. I've tried to include as much information as possible on both enclosures, but feel free to request more information and pictures.

I have a second question and I'm hoping that's alright since I didn't want to make an entirely new thread, but if anyone can identify the species of box turtle I have then I would be grateful. Jeter has three toes on her back feet and five in the front. I am pretty certain she is a three-toed turtle because of this and her coloring. However, they are pretty rare around here and the vet assumed she was an Eastern box turtle. Let me know what you guys think! I can try and get more pictures of her if needed.



Here's some information on the enclosures:

Indoors: 3ft x 2ft x 1ft (I recognize this is very small, but this is the biggest enclosure I could physically fit in my home. When I move I will definitely make sure she has a properly sized indoor enclosure.)

• 100w Fluker's heat lamp and bulb.
  • Considering switching to 75w?
• T5 HO 10.0 24w Reptisun UVB Bulb and Zoo Med Laboratories terrarium hood.
• The lamps are on a timer of 13 hours on, and 11 hours off.
• Coconut coir + cypress mulch substrate, about 8 inches at the deepest so she can fully bury herself if she chooses.
• There's a dish always full of clean water available.
• There is a cool side of the enclosure away from the lamps.
  • I'll add some sphagnum moss to this area soon.

Outdoors: 8ft x 8ft x 1.5ft

• Cypress mulch + organic topsoil + sphagnum moss substrate.
  • There is a 2ft x 2ft "dig pit" of mainly soil and larger sphagnum moss, the rest is mainly cypress mulch and fine sphagnum moss.
• She is outdoors for at least a few hours as long as it is above 75 Fahrenheit, but I always bring her in before it is dark.
• She has a large log hide and a humid hide filled with larger sphagnum moss.
  • I plan to add more hides soon.
• There is one Boston fern, a dying aloe vera plant, and a hen and chick plant.
  • I'll add some more Boston ferns soon.
• There's a 14in. saucer and an 8in. saucer always full of clean water on opposite ends of the enclosure.

 

[Tom]

Over all, you are doing far better than most. Here are the issues I see:
1. Humidifiers should not be blowing directly into the enclosure. Its to good for them to be breathing those micro droplets. You can humidify the room, but to maintain humidity you need a large closed chamber.
2. The turtle doesn't care about your space limitations. It NEEDS a much larger enclosure. Four times that size as a minimum. It needs this now. Not when you move.
3. Box turtles are semi-aquatic. They don't get shell rot from damp substrate. That is red foot tortoises. Keep it plenty damp.
4. Tortoises will almost always eat sphagnum moss. You might get away with it with a box turtle, but do keep an eye out for that problem. If the turtle eats it, it can cause impaction.
5. Get rid of the ramped water bowl. Those are chelonian death traps. Use terra cotta saucers sunk into the substrate for food and water.
6. Outdoors make sure the soil you used has no perlite or other additives in it. Also be careful that the fine sphagnum moss doesn't burn the plastron, because it can. Since it is outdoors and mixed with other stuff, you might get away with it, but check for plastron damage early and often. What you might think is shell rot due to wetness, could actually be acidic burns due to the sphagnum moss. I've never seen shell rot on a box turtle. I have seen "burns" on the plastrons of tortoises housed on the dirt like sphagnum moss stuff.
7. Run sprinklers and misters outside for humidity.
8. Your outdoor enclosure looks great for a sun loving species in cool weather. Your box turtle will cook in that space during hot summer weather. You need deep heavy shade and lots more plants. Use a securely mounted umbrella or an EZ up for more shade, or move the enclosure under a tree. Box turtles are shade lovers. They need lots of shade, cover, and hiding areas, and all of it can be damp.

 

[StampsTheCrab]

Over all, you are doing far better than most. Here are the issues I see:
1. Humidifiers should not be blowing directly into the enclosure. Its to good for them to be breathing those micro droplets. You can humidify the room, but to maintain humidity you need a large closed chamber.
2. The turtle doesn't care about your space limitations. It NEEDS a much larger enclosure. Four times that size as a minimum. It needs this now. Not when you move.
3. Box turtles are semi-aquatic. They don't get shell rot from damp substrate. That is red foot tortoises. Keep it plenty damp.
4. Tortoises will almost always eat sphagnum moss. You might get away with it with a box turtle, but do keep an eye out for that problem. If the turtle eats it, it can cause impaction.
5. Get rid of the ramped water bowl. Those are chelonian death traps. Use terra cotta saucers sunk into the substrate for food and water.
6. Outdoors make sure the soil you used has no perlite or other additives in it. Also be careful that the fine sphagnum moss doesn't burn the plastron, because it can. Since it is outdoors and mixed with other stuff, you might get away with it, but check for plastron damage early and often. What you might think is shell rot due to wetness, could actually be acidic burns due to the sphagnum moss. I've never seen shell rot on a box turtle. I have seen "burns" on the plastrons of tortoises housed on the dirt like sphagnum moss stuff.
7. Run sprinklers and misters outside for humidity.
8. Your outdoor enclosure looks great for a sun loving species in cool weather. Your box turtle will cook in that space during hot summer weather. You need deep heavy shade and lots more plants. Use a securely mounted umbrella or an EZ up for more shade, or move the enclosure under a tree. Box turtles are shade lovers. They need lots of shade, cover, and hiding areas, and all of it can be damp.

Thank you for the swift reply!! I will reply to each bullet point if I have further questions and to add clarification.
1. The humidifier is not directly near the enclosure, it's a few feet up and away and just humidifies the entire room. I will look into a closed chamber!
2. You are right and I have been struggling with this for a long time. We do have a room that would need a lot of work from a prior renovation that I could try and convince my parents to help me transform into a turtle room. I measured it and could fit a 5ft x 4.5ft give or take a few inches if you think that would be suitable.
3. Thank you for clearing up this misinformation!
6. The soil has no additives, and I will definitely keep an eye out for any burns. I will try to remove the bulk of the sphagnum and replace it with more mulch.
8. I will definitely add more plants, if you have any suggestions besides Boston ferns I'd love to hear them. I get nervous about most websites that list safe plants because of the misinformation out there. I'll also invest in an umbrella, would it need to shade the majority of the enclosure or about 1/2?