New Baby Box Turtle- Loose Stool

[gia474]

Hello! I’m new here and recently adopted a 7 month old three toed box turtle from a breeder. The poor little guy (or girl- unsure) had a long flight and drive overnight to get to us. Then meeting the family and getting used to his new home has obviously been stressful. But despite this, the little cutie is very active, clean and healthy looking. He arrived with a few healthy looking stools in his container, got cleaned up (I’ve been using only distilled water for his dish) but didn’t eat the first day. Yesterday (day 2) the little guy was served a mix of some live bugs (pill bug, tiny centipede, baby slug), blueberry, apple, and sprout mix. He opted for some of the blueberry first then alllll the bugs and looked around for movement before deciding he was finished. These bugs were found in our pesticide-free backyard but am wondering now if that’s maybe not a good idea? This morning I found a loose-ish poop in his enclosure on the soil. I realize it’s a bit early to tell if there’s anything wrong (he seems fine otherwise) and it could likely be due to stress but does anyone have any other input? I should also state, though this little one is new to our family, I’m not new to caring for box turtles but haven’t since I was a kid (now an adult with older kiddos mature enough to help out). I probably should’ve taken a picture of the stool but didn’t think to and just cleaned it up right away. But I’ll attach some pictures of him and his enclosure (indoor sterilite tub 35”Lx16”Wx12”H) with about 4” organic top soil, live growing clover, a little live grass, live moss, live sedum, live hosta, live ferns and damp spaghnam moss in a rock cave, with a shallow water dish and small half soil-filled flower pot (one “hide” on each side so there is a temperature and light variance). Temperature and humidity gauge will be ordered today with a few other things (like TropicZone Baby Box Turtle Food if anyone has an opinion on that) but is approximately between 75F lowest and 78ish on the higher end, enclosure is very damp and misted twice daily to remain that way. The top is partially covered to keep humidity up. This is a temporary setup right now but I thought (after much research) this would be sufficient for the little guy for now being so small. I’ve read a lot about diet for young box turtles and though opinions seem to vary, higher protein content seem to be the consistent opinion. I will be including a commercial food and / or vitamin supplement. And then focus on protein sources and greens with occasional fruit. I apologize for the long post— so, to sum things up, my main questions are: do you think I should be concerned about the loose poop / too early to tell? Maybe just stress? And any recommendations as far as live caught worms / bugs vs store bought and dietary opinions in general? Anything you think I’m maybe missing? (He will be getting new lights, a temp and humidity gauge and commercial food ..just have gone back and forth on the specifics so again any recommendations would be awesome though I’ve noted a lot of the “popular” ones). Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

@Yvonne G

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’ll allow Yvonne to properly advise here because she’s kept these guys for many years, I only have hands on experience with red foot care.
However off the bat there are a few things I’d change here, I’d remove both the live moss and sphagnum moss because it can cause them to become impacted if eaten, humidity wise I’d probably cover the whole thing as I’ve read many people find it a constant battle when it’s partly uncovered, however your monitors should be able to give you a better idea of how your humidity is doing when they come.
I think your temps need raising but again I’ll let Yvonne answer to that.
May we ask what kind of bulb you’re using for heat? And what your uv situation is?
As for the wild caught food, I’d personally opt for store brought and gut fed a few days beforehand if it were me
The loose stool could be caused when temps aren’t high enough making it difficult for them to digest properly, but hang tight and let some of the more experienced members chime in

Welcome to the forum btw! You have yourself a little cutie there!

 

[zovick]

Hello! I’m new here and recently adopted a 7 month old three toed box turtle from a breeder. The poor little guy (or girl- unsure) had a long flight and drive overnight to get to us. Then meeting the family and getting used to his new home has obviously been stressful. But despite this, the little cutie is very active, clean and healthy looking. He arrived with a few healthy looking stools in his container, got cleaned up (I’ve been using only distilled water for his dish) but didn’t eat the first day. Yesterday (day 2) the little guy was served a mix of some live bugs (pill bug, tiny centipede, baby slug), blueberry, apple, and sprout mix. He opted for some of the blueberry first then alllll the bugs and looked around for movement before deciding he was finished. These bugs were found in our pesticide-free backyard but am wondering now if that’s maybe not a good idea? This morning I found a loose-ish poop in his enclosure on the soil. I realize it’s a bit early to tell if there’s anything wrong (he seems fine otherwise) and it could likely be due to stress but does anyone have any other input? I should also state, though this little one is new to our family, I’m not new to caring for box turtles but haven’t since I was a kid (now an adult with older kiddos mature enough to help out). I probably should’ve taken a picture of the stool but didn’t think to and just cleaned it up right away. But I’ll attach some pictures of him and his enclosure (indoor sterilite tub 35”Lx16”Wx12”H) with about 4” organic top soil, live growing clover, a little live grass, live moss, live sedum, live hosta, live ferns and damp spaghnam moss in a rock cave, with a shallow water dish and small half soil-filled flower pot (one “hide” on each side so there is a temperature and light variance). Temperature and humidity gauge will be ordered today with a few other things (like TropicZone Baby Box Turtle Food if anyone has an opinion on that) but is approximately between 75F lowest and 78ish on the higher end, enclosure is very damp and misted twice daily to remain that way. The top is partially covered to keep humidity up. This is a temporary setup right now but I thought (after much research) this would be sufficient for the little guy for now being so small. I’ve read a lot about diet for young box turtles and though opinions seem to vary, higher protein content seem to be the consistent opinion. I will be including a commercial food and / or vitamin supplement. And then focus on protein sources and greens with occasional fruit. I apologize for the long post— so, to sum things up, my main questions are: do you think I should be concerned about the loose poop / too early to tell? Maybe just stress? And any recommendations as far as live caught worms / bugs vs store bought and dietary opinions in general? Anything you think I’m maybe missing? (He will be getting new lights, a temp and humidity gauge and commercial food ..just have gone back and forth on the specifics so again any recommendations would be awesome though I’ve noted a lot of the “popular” ones). Thanks so much in advance!

You should not use distilled water for the drinking water. Your regular tap water should be used because it has "safe" bacteria and minerals in it which the turtle needs.

The change in its environment plus the change in water could account for the loose stools. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Give it a week or ten days to get used to the new digs you are providing it, and things should improve. But do start using regular tap water for drinking right away.

Good luck wit the turtle. It looks very nice.

PS: Where are you in MA? I am from Winchester originally.

 

[Ink]

I use moss with my box turtle. So I would like to know if that is ok. I don't use it with my tortoise. @Yvonne G or @DoubleD1996! Maybe can help.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I use moss with my box turtle. So I would like to know if that is ok. I don't use it with my tortoise. @Yvonne G or @DoubleD1996! Maybe can help.

Maybe it’s different for these guys, I’m sure others will chime in

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Everything sounds good to me, but I'd use the tap water as well.

Other than that, make sure those temps and basking spots are on point. If you can, find out what the breeder was feeding. The foods your feeding are natural and spot on. It could be his stomach is adjusting just like how a dog may have runny stools when switching to a new brand or trying a new food.

 

[Ink]

Everything sounds good to me, but I'd use the tap water as well.

Other than that, make sure those temps and basking spots are on point. If you can, find out what the breeder was feeding. The foods your feeding are natural and spot on. It could be his stomach is adjusting just like how a dog may have runny stools when switching to a new brand or trying a new food.

Is the moss okay? I personally am using sphagnum moss and fresh Irish moss.

 

[DoubleD1996!]

Is the moss okay? I personally am using sphagnum moss and fresh Irish moss.

Sphagnum moss is perfect. Holds humidity well for growing babies. Irish moss as well.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sphagnum moss is perfect. Holds humidity well for growing babies. Irish moss as well.

Can I ask why it’s safe for these guys but not tortoise? I’ve always read it’s an impaction risk so assumed it would be the case for these guys, I’m always wanting to learn new things about a variety of species, nice to broaden my knowledge, thanks in advance

 

[jeff kushner]

Dang....finally someone who writes more than me! WTTC GIA! I love baby box turtles....so cute!

You have a great setup....but where does the added heat come from? He needs low 80's to digest food so room temps don't cut it. Fear not, a 100w CHE 12hrs a day is about 18cents here. LOL

Do you still have the top? Maybe place it half over to raise the humidity?.....dont want him to panic with a big white roof!



L,
Spag moss was fine for Matilda when she was a baby. It retains water w/o rotting for a long time. She didn't eat it though. Why it's fine for box turtles...and not torts is a great question. My guess is the ability of the turtle to safely remain wet. hopefully we'll all learn!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

L,
Spag moss was fine for Matilda when she was a baby. It retains water w/o rotting for a long time. She didn't eat it though. Why it's fine for box turtles...and not torts is a great question. My guess is the ability of the turtle to safely remain wet. hopefully we'll all learn!

Interesting! Thank you for the response!

 

[Ink]

My thoughts were their natural habitat has moss? I'm sorry if I highjacked your thread, however some of us would really like to know. @gia474

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

My thoughts were their natural habitat has moss?

Same could be said for most tortoise too though no?same way they’d come in to contact with sand in the wild but it’s discouraged to add to substrate
My best guess is because of how different captive care is vs them out in the wild, we limit their world to our parameters, making things they’d encounter out in the wild more of a hazard in captivity? If they’re exposed to it all day everyday, perhaps curiosity gets the better of them in smaller environments? Idk that’s just my thought process when it comes to this stuff

 

[gia474]

Thank you everyone for all the replies!! I’ve switched the water to tap water and will be upping the temp and humidity with better equipment and a gauge to more accurately measure both! Will update if the problem persists or worsens. Little one did eat today, had some baby red leaf lettuce and a small worm. We will have to wait and see how he does with it!

 

[Ink]

I'm sure in the wild they both (tortoise and turtle) have way more variety of food to eat.

Same could be said for most tortoise too though no?same way they’d come in to contact with sand in the wild but it’s discouraged to add to substrate
My best guess is because of how different captive care is vs them out in the wild, we limit their world to our parameters, making things they’d encounter out in the wild more of a hazard in captivity? If they’re exposed to it all day everyday, perhaps curiosity gets the better of them in smaller environments? Idk that’s just my thought process when it comes to this stuff

I agree. I just don't know about the moss. The sand is like glitter, it gets everywhere.

 

[Ink]

Does your turtle have a name? Very cute three toed.

 

[gia474]

Thank you ..my kids want to name him/her (we’re unsure!) Gizmo or Izzy for short.. but we haven’t completely decided. Today is just its third day with us! Still a brand new baby to us!!

 

[gia474]

Just wanted to post a quick update in case anyone was interested— our little guy seems to be doing great now! Healthy poop and eating well / great variety of protein with baby lettuces mixed in currently. Our new lights are coming in this week but I’ve been trying to keep the humidity up and also have been giving him a warm bath prior to feeding him and right after and maybe that’s helped a bit too? Either way, he seems happy and healthy now and I’m relieved! thanks again for all the support guys!!

 

[Ink]

Just wanted to post a quick update in case anyone was interested— our little guy seems to be doing great now! Healthy poop and eating well / great variety of protein with baby lettuces mixed in currently. Our new lights are coming in this week but I’ve been trying to keep the humidity up and also have been giving him a warm bath prior to feeding him and right after and maybe that’s helped a bit too? Either way, he seems happy and healthy now and I’m relieved! thanks again for all the support guys!!

I'm glad he is doing well.