Need Help Identifying Tortise/Turtle.

[TSTAN]

Hello Everyone,

I recently adopted a tortise/turtle from a youth facility in which I work. The boys here deal with mental illness and drug addiction, and were abusing this animal, so I took it home. I am having trouble identifying it however. I want to give it a good home and take care of it the best that I can. I will post some pictures of him.

I need just a few things for him as well:
1) what type of substrate should I use?
2) Is there anyway to safely clean his shell? I know he can feel everything on it, but they boys drew on him with sharpie and chalk, and I would like to remove it.
3) Best things to use for water bowls?



Thank you in advance!
Tim

P.S. His name is Donatello aka Donnie.

 

[TMartin510]

Looks like a box turtle??

 

[TSTAN]

Thank You, couldnt tell whether it was a box turtle or a russian tortise?

 

[TSTAN]

I dont see any rings on his shell though, and I also live in southern california. I hope this can help narrow it down.

 

[tortoise5643]

Yes it is a box turtle. Others will chime in on care. Or, if they're indigenous to your area it should be released.

 

[TSTAN]

Awesome! Thank you very much everyone.

 

[TMartin510]

Well you adopted it right so it isn't wild caught?

 

[TSTAN]

Well, from what I am told, they found him in the dirt, but he had some writing on his shell already, so they assumed he was a pet that was dumped on the side of the road nearby.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Yup. Looks like 3Toed box turtle. I suggest taking a very soft bristle toothbrush and gently cleaning out the creases between scutes, especially the plastron scutes, and seeing if there is infection or anything in there. I recently rescued a 3Toed from a very bad accidental neglect situation. The people had taken her in after a cousin died (the original owner for almost/around 10 years) and that cousin's grandmother ended up with her but kept her in a 10 gal tank on pebbles etc so these people took her in but only kept her in a 20 gal with no humidity, no UV lights, and only fed her night crawlers every couple days. They had her for two years before placing her on craigslist. Her connecting tissue between her plastron scutes and the tissue connecting the marginal scutes to the plastron is all infected and separating and peeling so I need to put special cream on the creases twice a day and she is a permanent resident of a hospital tank for the next year or so until it heals. But at least with me she gets UV light, the option of variety (refuses everything but night crawlers, so she's a bit of a pain), and I take her outside on good days to sunbathe and wade in a kiddy pool for a few hours.
She has/had other issues, some somewhat severe, but those issues aren't pertinent to your new buddy.
Soft toothbrush, warm water, gentle scrubbing.

 

[Angel Carrion]

An indoor enclosure at least 12 inches deep with at least 12-13 square feet of floor space is best. Outdoor enclosures are even better, climate permitting.

Sphagnum moss and milled coconut husk fiber (coco fiber/coir) or peat moss mixed together is a good moisture retaining substrate. It needs to be about 6 inches deep throughout the enclosure. Humidity needs to be between 70-90% in the enclosure. Using an accurate hydrometer is the best way to measure the levels. Having a water dish under the heat lamp is a way to keep humidity up, just make sure the water doesn't get too hot for the turtle and that, while it is under the lamp, it isn't sitting DIRECTLY under, as that is where the turtle will bask. The moistened substrate will also keep humidity up. The water dish needs to be big enough that the turtle can soak on her own, but shallow enough that she doesn't accidentally flip over while trying to climb in or out. Misting the enclosure is another good way to keep humidity up.
Temp ranges; 80ish F on warm side, 70-75 F on cool side, 85-90 F for the basking spot. Nighttime temps should not go below 65 F.

Heat lamp UVA and a UVB bulb will be needed, or you can get a mercury vapor bulb which produces heat and UVB. If you get a heat lamp and UVB bulb separate of each other, make sure to NOT get a coil bulb. Those can damage turtle eyes and cause blindness. A UVB bulb should be replaced every 6 months, but a mercury vapor bulb can be replaced every 12-18 months. The lamps need to be 16-18 inches above turtle so as to avoid burning them.
Using a digital temp gun is most useful in reading the temps accurately. I got mine off amazon for 12-14 bucks.

Food items and how much
Animal matter: 50% of meal -- crickets, earthworms, feeder fish (not goldfish - may make them sick, like upset stomach or something), Dubai roaches (yum!), mealworms (as a treat), grasshoppers, sow bugs, katydids, isopods, june bugs, slugs (but not banana slugs), terrestrial snails, waxworms, various grubs, superworms (zoophobas), blood worms, carrion, beefheart, gastropods, spiders, cicadas, silkworms, millipedes, pill bugs, butterfly larvae, preying mantids (remove spiked forelegs first), boiled skinless chicken, boiled eggs with shell, cooked lean ground beef, nightcrawlers. Can feed a pinkie or fuzzy once a month. Freeze in freezer bag for 72 hours at least to kill any parasites. Thaw in tepid water before serving. Never use microwave to defrost! NEVER FEED EASTERN TENT CATERPILLARS
Vegetables: 20% of meal -- pretty much all squashes, bell peppers (not often), carrots, corn on the cob (boiled, not often), green beans, okra, opuntia cactus pad & fruit, peas in the pod, various pumpkins, sweet potatoes, zucchini.
Greens: 10% of meal -- bibb, various kinds of clover, collard greens, dandelion greens & weeds, escarole, kale (not often), mustard greens, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, turnip greens, watercress, pesticide-free field-collected weeds & leaves (I suggest only picking those you can identify).
Fruits: 10% of meal -- apples, apricot, figs, banana (mainly as a treat), all berries, grapes, kiwi, all melons, peach, plum, tomatoes (never feed any other part of the tomato plant- not safe)
Fungi/mushrooms: 10% of meal -- chanterelle, fried-chicken mushrooms (yeah, that's a thing), meadow, morel, oyster, puffball, russulas, shaggy inkcap. (Yes those are all different mushrooms). Do not offer Portabello mushrooms. Can't remember why.

Once a week, lightly dust meal with a calcium supplement with Vitamin D3 and a vitamin supplement. I use Rep-Cal Phosphorus-free Calcium with Vitamin D3 (the phosphorus-free info is important) and ZooMed's Reptivite. Leaving a cuttlebone in the enclosure will give the turtle the opportunity to free-serve calcium as they need
Do not offer cat food as most commercial cat foods produce acidic urine, which will increase the excretion of calcium in the urine.This can and most likely will cause a calcium deficiency in reptiles and can lead to metabolic bone disease, shell deformities, and soft tissue calcification. Using a low-fat wet dog food can be done if the turtle will not eat anything you offer to entice them to start eating.

Dealing with a reluctant eater: Box turtles are most active in the mornings, evenings, and after it rains. Try misting the enclosure before feeding & offer meals in the morning after the turtle has had time to warm up but before the day becomes too hot. If the turtle continues to not eat, try overripe brightly colored fruits like strawberries and cantaloupe (those are my guys favorites) and bananas. Also, turtles are naturally attracted to moving food. If your turtle will only eat live foods, try cutting up a nightcrawler or two and mixing it with some veggies and fruits so that the wiggling in and on the meal will attract them. As they try to eat the nightcrawler, they will likely accidentally grab the greens and such. After doing this for a while, reduce the amount of nightcrawlers until the box turtle consistently eats the veggies and greens.

How to get shy turtles out to eat: feed underneath foliage and keep activity in the area to a minimum as much as possible while eating.
Be sure to offer a wide variety and change things up. Turtles become bored being offered the same foods every meal.

Feeding frequency:
Hatchling to 1 year old, or underweight turtle - one to two days
one to three years old, or recovering from illness - two to three days
three years and older - three to four days
overweight - four days

Feed on a flat plate, plastic lid, flat rock, or paper plate. Be warned: turtles may try to eat the paper plates. Flat rocks are best generally because the rock will help file the beak and keep the nails trim.

Gut-loading insects: Crickets and mealworms (and others) can be gut-loaded two days before use. Feed them a high-calcium invertebrate food - sweet potato, high quality tropical fish flake, or low fat dry dog food. To provide the insects with moisture and added nutrients that will be passed on to the turtle, offer the feeders leafy greens like turnip greens or dandelion greens.

All invertebrate food items (except earthworms) should be lightly dusted with the calcium supplement just before serving. You can do this by putting some of the supplement powder in a sandwich bag then put that meal's insects in, close the bag, and gently shake to coat them in the supplement. Place in front of the turtle. If the feeders are moving around too much, the dust will fall off. It is best to offer them using forceps or by incapacitating them while still being able to move enough to draw the turtle's attention.
Make sure to mist the enclosure at least once a day.
I think that's it right now unless you want me to go into medical stuff.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Do you know how long the people there had this turtle?

 

[TSTAN]

They boys have had him for about a year. I work for juvenile probation for this house, and had very little contact with the turtle (work the overnight). Found out the boys were throwing it into the pool, drawing on it, digging holes and burrying him etc. So i took him in. I have an outdoor 4 ft by 4ft planter that I have put a small fence around, and am going to plant some things for him to nibble at.

Thank you so much everyone for helping me out with all of this, he has grown on me, and I really like him.

 

[TSTAN]

I read somewhere to use a terracotta pot bottom for a little wading pool/drinking area, how big of one should I use? I also have him in some soft potting soil mixed with sand and dirt because I initially thought he was a tortise, but I will switch the substrate ASAP. He loves to dig into the dirt.

 

[Angel Carrion]

I read somewhere to use a terracotta pot bottom for a little wading pool/drinking area, how big of one should I use? I also have him in some soft potting soil mixed with sand and dirt because I initially thought he was a tortise, but I will switch the substrate ASAP. He loves to dig into the dirt.

Glad to hear you're going to change it. Sand can be harmful and cause impaction if accidentally or intentionally swallowed. The reason I asked how long they had her is because after X amount of time you can no longer release. So you can't release her at this point, especially since you don't know if she was captive bred or wild caught.
Terra cotta saucer is awesome. One big enough he can get in and out of easily

 

[TSTAN]

Glad to hear you're going to change it. Sand can be harmful and cause impaction if accidentally or intentionally swallowed. The reason I asked how long they had her is because after X amount of time you can no longer release. So you can't release her at this point, especially since you don't know if she was captive bred or wild caught.
Terra cotta saucer is awesome. One big enough he can get in and out of easily

Yes, I looked on a local california page, and it said after 6-8 months in captivity, I cannot release it. I originally wanted to do so, but decided on keeping her. Are there any good places to pick up this type of substrate? I am going shopping wednesday for the teracotta saucer. Can i fill the bottom of the saucer with pond pebbles/rocks to cut down on the depth but still give him enough space to wade around? Also, having some trouble sinking the pool into the ground without ending up with a little dirt ending up in it :/

I have been feeding him lettuce, strawberries, night crawlers, and some sprigs of basil, but I have been doing it in a bowl, so I will place a flat rock in there too.

 

[TSTAN]

As far a building im a house like structure, are there any hints for that? I have looked at youtube videos of guys who did it with bricks or cinder blocks and then covered it with dirt. Can i do this as well but with the substrate you recommended?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It's a shame really. Of the last three wild Florida Gopher tortoises I've spotted in the wild two had paint on them. IDIOTS.

 

[TSTAN]

It's a shame really. Of the last three wild Florida Gopher tortoises I've spotted in the wild two had paint on them. IDIOTS.

Yeah, its really sad. I dont understand why people deface them.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm hoping it was just children and not some pea brained adult.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Tstan, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Donatello.
Lovely turtle, though a bit battered looking in places, still looks nice.
Have a look at the enclosures section here for lots of good ideas.
You can get the terracotta saucers at DIY stores, home improvement centres, garden centres and so on.
They are very cheap.