New box turtle burrowing and outside questions

[Ginger Harris]

Hello all,

We have a new box turtle which we found recently outside our home in Houston, TX. We believe she is a 3 toed, female. I have a few questions and hoping y'all can help.
We have her in a glass terrarium, but I have put paper around the outside so she can't see out (read this somewhere). I have bark and moss in there, UV and heat lamps, a cave thing, and also a fogger for humidity. I recently put a philodendron plant in there as I read on this forum they like plants to hide in. Anyway, she constantly burrows - we never see her out unless we dig her out. When we do that, she will eat worms and canned box turtle food. We will also put her in her "pool" for a soak. As soon as she is finished, she burrows again.

I have put her outside during the day in an enclosure and she seems a bit more active (plus, she can't really burrow because the ground is pretty hard). I have recently bought a proper outdoor tortoise enclosure so she can spend more time outside during the day when it's warm.

My question(s) are this: First, I have considered putting her back out in the wild, but we do live in a neighborhood with traffic so that concerns me a bit. Also, I am not sure this is the best time of year to put her back. But if it's the best thing for her we will. If we keep her (which we would like to), should I be concerned about the constant burrowing? As mentioned, she does eat and is active when we pull her out. I guess I am not sure if she is burrowing so much for "safety" or possible brumination. I am not sure when they bruminate here in Houston as it's still pretty hot during the day but cooling off a little at night. And not sure how long into the winter I should let her be outside in the enclosure.

Any advice or thoughts appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. I believe philodendron is toxic to turtles. Please take it out. Can you post a picture of the turtle and enclosure? How long have you had it?

 

[Sarah2020]

She is probably terrified as they hate change and the whole env is not familiar. It is not recommended to return to the wild as it could have got infections/disease etc.. that it would relay to others in the wild. Best plan is to read all about them and what they need and provide the best set up possible. Tortoise like cover so provide a hide , low rocks, heat light etc.,.

 

[Ginger Harris]

Welcome to the forum. I believe philodendron is toxic to turtles. Please take it out. Can you post a picture of the turtle and enclosure? How long have you had it?

Hi there! Here is a picture of the terrarium - and she was actually out today by herself soaking! I removed the plant - thanks for letting me know. What plants would be recommended?

Also I have just gotten another tortoise enclosure that may be better … had gotten it for outside, but it might be better for inside. I have not put it together yet though.

To answer your question, we have had her maybe two months. She seems to be doing well other than the constant borrowing. But today showed signs of peeking out when I was taking out the plant and then soaking herself later.

Welcome to the forum. I believe philodendron is toxic to turtles. Please take it out. Can you post a picture of the turtle and enclosure? How long have you had it?

 

[Ink]

I have pothos and wandering jew plants. I have aquarium logs and wood hides. Paxton has many places to hide. I use zoo med Forest floor over the coco coir. I rinse my plant roots off and directly plant them into the substrate. It seems like a lot, however it's growing like crazy. I water the plants once a week. You can kinda see 3 hides, half a clay pot, a wood house and aquarium wood. You can see Paxton too. Lol. My plants are all organic, very important.