Meet Flash!

[Yvonne Mercer]

This is our Flasg. Since brining him home he is now the new boss. He's eating well and seems to be healthy and happy, but I of course still worry. I read so many conflicting thins about box turtles that I wonder if he's getting all he needs. I feed him a variety of fruits and veggies and one site said he need to have eggs shells to help with his calcium so I gave him those too. I've just read he can have worms and feeder fish. One site said I needed to cut the worms and feeder fish up and another said to let them be..my question is, is ok for me to put the feeder fish in his make shift pond or do I cut them up? Although I didn't plan on owning a turtle he has made life more interesting. My son and dogs love Flash. We let Flash roam the house freely for and hour and we take him outside alot. The dogs look at him and even thought his home is low enough for the dogs to mess with him they dont. When Flash is free it's funny because he chases my 70 pound shepherd mix around. That is a funny picture. Please excuse Flash ' s home...tomorrow is cleaning up day. Thanks for the help.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome, Yvonne!
Ideally, Flash needs a larger home. Much larger and do not. I mean do not trust any dog to be with a turtle or tortoise unsupervised. Friendly dog. Mean dog. It ends the same. With a tort becoming a fun chew toy. Eventually the shape, smell, whatever will make him just too much to resist.
I'm no box turtle expert. Never had one actually, but I know that you should offer earth worms and get rid of the grapes. grapes aren't really great for any turtle.

 

[wellington]

Everything said above, I second. Along with do not let him roam your house, very dangerous for him. Give him a proper outside and inside set up. You don't need to cut his food, don't feed grapes or fruit. @terryo can help with more Box turtle info.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Make a large dog-proof habitat outdoors for the summer. Put in a leaf pile with garden waste to encourage worms & bugs. Boxies love sun & rain.

They are omnivores. In the wild, they'd eat windfalls. They love overripe fruits, and it's fine as part of a varied diet. They need protein, too. Don't chop the food. Fruits, vegetables, live food, eggs, cooked chicken, fish... Not goldfish. Offer a cuttlebone for calcium.

Don't let it walk around the house. Too many dangers. The non-obvious one that no amount of careful watching can prevent is damage to feet and legs along with insufficient moisture & UVB.

Welcome. Boxies are my favorites. I've had my oldest for 39 years now.

 

[bouaboua]

Hello Yvonne and Welcome to the forum.

I think you already getting some great advises, so I'm just here to welcome you. Good to have you here! ! !

 

[cmacusa3]

Everything said above, I second. Along with do not let him roam your house, very dangerous for him. Give him a proper outside and inside set up. You don't need to cut his food, don't feed grapes or fruit. @terryo can help with more Box turtle info.

why do you say not to feed fruit?

 

[tinkerbell1189]

I can't speak for the original poster on why they said not to feed fruit, but I'm guessing it's because it's not part of their natural diet and actually contains sugars in them that are no good for Flash. Like I say I'm not putting words in anyone's mouth, but that would be my answer.

 

[cmacusa3]

Mine eat fruit all day long, They eat black berries, Strawberries, Watermelon and anything else they can get in the wild.

 

[cmacusa3]

They are omnivores. In the wild, they'd eat windfalls. They love overripe fruits, and it's fine as part of a varied diet. They need protein, too. Don't chop the food. Fruits, vegetables, live food, eggs, cooked chicken, fish

This was posted above and is part of the natural diet.

 

[Eric Phillips]

Abramsmytankturtle is spot on!

 

[tinkerbell1189]

Sorry my fault, should have researched before posting

 

[cmacusa3]

Sorry my fault, should have researched before posting

No worries, I just don't want the original poster to be misinformed.

 

[terryo]

Box turtles need a warm moist environment. Your substrate should be soil, mixed with leaf litter or coco coir. A large water source that he can climb in and out of to soak and drink, a flat piece of slate to eat from so his beak stays short, plants to keep the humidity in and places to hide. He should have a large outdoor enclosure with lots of sun and some shade. Everything should be sprayed to keep it humid and wet. They need a variety of foods to get all the vitamins they need. Every day mine get a mix of soaked turtle brittle, cooked sweet potato, cooked carrots, some kind of greens (spring mix is good) and some fruit...berries, melons etc. I chop everything up very small so they get a good mix. Then in the afternoon they get some buggie things...worms, wax worms, meal worms, etc. If you have to keep him indoors he will need a MUCH larger home. You can throw in some cuttle bone for calcium too. Humidity is very important, as is a variety of foods. Just what I do.....everyone in different. this is a part of my outdoor garden for my box turtles.

 

[shari_antonucci]

Box turtles need a warm moist environment. Your substrate should be soil, mixed with leaf litter or coco coir. A large water source that he can climb in and out of to soak and drink, a flat piece of slate to eat from so his beak stays short, plants to keep the humidity in and places to hide. He should have a large outdoor enclosure with lots of sun and some shade. Everything should be sprayed to keep it humid and wet. They need a variety of foods to get all the vitamins they need. Every day mine get a mix of soaked turtle brittle, cooked sweet potato, cooked carrots, some kind of greens (spring mix is good) and some fruit...berries, melons etc. I chop everything up very small so they get a good mix. Then in the afternoon they get some buggie things...worms, wax worms, meal worms, etc. If you have to keep him indoors he will need a MUCH larger home. You can throw in some cuttle bone for calcium too. Humidity is very important, as is a variety of foods. Just what I do.....everyone in different.View attachment 139522 this is a part of my outdoor garden for my box turtles.

You're a box turtle enclosure is gorgeous. Can you please tell me what plants are in there. I have a big enclosure built for my box turtle and trying to find out what best plants to put in there. Thank you

 

[ColleenT]

My signature is a long article about what to feed to box turtles and what NOT to feed. them. please read thru this. and add moisture to the enclosure. it is way too dry. Good luck.

 

[Yvonne G]

This is a very old thread. TerryO hasn't posted on the Forum in a long time.