Maggie's Box Turtles

[Maggie Cummings]

Gosh Danny, did I hit a sore spot or what? Am I not allowed to disagree with you ever? I just said that if they were used to being together and had been housed together before why would that change now? Well, I didn't say all that...But I am saying it now...Here are some of mine and a couple of my habitats...
This is the Goofball when he was little...Just a cute picture

Main outside habitat

These are getting a bath so they are pretty for Danny

inside a tort table

woo hoo...not for the faint of heart

tort table in the not a reptile room room

inside of one tort table

that is a sampling of my box turtle habitats and animals
I believe I do know what I am talking about when I offer advice about box turtles...

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[Yvonne G]

I hadn't seen that inside tort table before. That's pretty nice. Is that the one your son made for you? Do you keep the blind (Bright Eyes) ornate in with all the others? And does Tweezer live in with all the others?

Yvonne

 

[Isa]

They are so cute Maggie,
Their inside and outside enclosures are very nice. I really like the first pic, it looks like the turtle is saying "hello who's there"
I love box turtles, one day, I will have one, they are so beautiful and I love their round eyes
Thanks for sharing.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I hadn't seen that inside tort table before. That's pretty nice. Is that the one your son made for you? Do you keep the blind (Bright Eyes) ornate in with all the others? And does Tweezer live in with all the others?

Yvonne

Bright Eyes lives by herself because she is blind and kept in a smaller habitat so she can move around comfortably and know where her stuff is. I make sure her different hides and soaking pool are always in the same spots so she doesn't ever get stressed out from having stuff moved. Then I have a kind of a portable outside habitat for her. Tweezer also lives alone but I've been thinking lately that he's getting big enough now he may go live with the others....heck, they might teach him to eat on his own...
That one tort table is the one I got from Tom for running that Russian down to you a couple of years ago..

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That first picture is a male 3-toed when he was a baby. He got in that coconut shell and couldn't get out so he walked it over to the water dish and got in the water. So in that picture he and the shell are sitting in the water...cute picture...

 

[chadk]

Nice animals and setups! If I ever head down to Oregon I'll have to beg you to let me stop by and say hi...

 

[Yvonne G]

Is the "not-a-reptile-room" room also the "Dale Earnhardt Memorial Worship room?"

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Is the "not-a-reptile-room" room also the "Dale Earnhardt Memorial Worship room?"

Yvonne

If you remember when I bought this house I said I was not going to have a reptile room...So that room is the "it's not a reptile room, room" and there's 6 habitats in it...nope The Dale Earnhardt Memorial Worship Room is a whole different room...
you need to come up here and see my house. I've been here for 3 years and in a normal family they would come and see the new house...

 

[Isa]

Ahh I wish my sister would love tortoises and come to this forum, she likes Hermy but let's just say she is not crazy about reptiles. You 2 seems to have so much fun in here

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I blame my interest in all things chelonia on my sister. Most of what I know I have learned from her. But then I branched out on my own and have different interests. I don't care for the Manouria she likes so much...and I am better at some things then she is. I am obsessive about them eating and having things 'just so'. I play with mine and move them around to different habitats and she lets hers be wild. I think that I give them so much care and spend so much money on them that they darned well better keep me entertained!

 

[egyptiandan]

They do look nice Maggie So do you have 2 or 3 together? Ornates that is
Yup you hit a sore spot, but only because of how many Ornates have passed away while in my care to learn what I've learned. You will find 1 in about 30 WC Ornates that can live in a group of other box turtles. I had 1 female with me for 11 years who lived in with my group of other box turtles. That was 1 out of about 30 animals that were added to the group over a 4 year span. After that fiasco, I gave up on Ornates for about 5 years. Than I figured they had caught something from my other box turtles and I was willing to try again. It was 15 animals this time. They were set-up on their own in a large well planted pen. Within 2 years they were all gone. I was beside myself as I thought I had done everything right. After fiasco #2, I quit for almost 10 years. I just started back up again 5 years ago with Ornates.
This time I had 6 together. They did fine through the spring and into the summer. Late summer though 3 got sick, I brought them inside and housed them seperately. I got one of them well enough to hibernate that winter and the other 2 stayed up.
They did fine over the winter and did great. So the next spring they went out with the other Ornates. The next ones to get sick were the 3 that didn't get sick the year before that spring. Okay they came in, but I had run out of space so housed 2 together. The 2 together were pretty bad off with swollen eyes and running noses so had no idea they were together. I got both of them well. They were doing great, both eating and doing fine. Than 2 weeks after being fine, the female quit eating. 2 days later her eyes swelled and 1 week later her nose was runny. The only thing I could see that happened is that she could now see the male (who never even looked cross eyed at her ). I seperated her and treated her again. She perked right up and did great.
So now I had figured out what had gone wrong with me keeping Ornates. I seperated everyone outside to 3 and 3 (1.2 in each pen). I've since added another male to the pure Ornate pen, so it's at 2.2 now. For the first time ever last year I had my Ornates and Ornate crosses lay fertile eggs for me. These were true captive eggs as the adults were here 4 years before they did this (I have had WC females lay the first year I got them, but never again)
So just a little insight into my ups and downs with Ornate box turtles.
I just want to pass on the things I've learned so someone doesn't have happen what has happened to me.

I'm done preaching for the day

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Danny: I'm so glad to hear you say that; well, not glad that your turtles died, but glad to hear that its not me and my turtle-keeping that causes my ornates to die. I have been trying for about 15 years to keep an ornate or two, but they just stop eating and slowly die. They live outside in a large pen (about 4'x25') that is planted with all kinds of nice hiding places and built in water ponds. Other than being "captured" and no longer free, far as I can see, there's no reason why they shouldn't be happy there and LIVE! But I just can't keep them alive.

Yvonne

 

[BigBiscuit]

Those are some awesome pictures, Maggie. In the first picture, I didn't realize at first that the turtle was in a coconut. I just thought he had a strange shell.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Danny I am sorry you (and your turtles) had to go thru all that.

 

[egyptiandan]

So am I I just want to make sure everyone's Ornate box turtles do well. I know it's possible to keep them together, but (always a but ) I'd rather aire on the side of caution with Ornates (especialy ones that already aren't doing well). That way whoever has them can get them well and healthy and than try keeping them together. It might work or it might not, but at least the person will have tried with healthy animals.
Maggie you can disagree with me anytime you want to and I'll still play nice

Danny

 

[terryo]

Maggie, are you the one that posted the picture of your boxie trying to get into that little coconut hut, but he was too big? I loved that picture so much I saved it.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Maggie-I really like your tort tables with the little viewing panel. I have a very high sided tort table (18 in. because I thought 12 in. would be too short), and I've been wanting to do something with it like a second story or a panel. Too bad I don't have any tools. It was enough of a pain assembling the boards the dude at Home Depot cut for us! You have a very nice family from what I've seen of your torts too.

 

[Stazz]

Hahahaha I love the pic "not for the faint hearted" very funny! And of course I love the one with the turtle and the coconut shell!