New box turtle !! help please

[alyssa heflin]

months back my boyfriend (who works as a landscaper) accidentally "weed whacked" a baby box turtle who he brought home for us to rescue. Now i know it's wrong to bring a wild animal into a domesticated lifestyle but I tried to call a local turtle rescue a few times and they never got back to me.

Now the turtle has been pretty happy with us but i just want to make sure I'm providing the best lifestyle I can for the lil guy, if anyone has advice for me especially concerning the habitat please feel free to comment !!

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

hey welcome to the forum! i know like nothing about box turtles. but maybe post some pics of him and his enclosure, also tell how you are caring for I'm like diet and lighting.

 

[Ciri]

If you'd like to post some pictures, and give us details about the habitat for the little hatchling we will be happy to give you suggestions for anything that might be changed.

Meanwhile, you might want to take a look at this website if you haven't already:
http://boxturtlesite.info/bxbook.html#contents

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Alyssa, and welcome to the forum!

I'd like to see pictures of your new baby if possible.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Here's a link for you to read until you post pictures and we can give you proper advice...welcome....

tortoiseforum.org/threads/box-turtle-hatchling-care-sheet.97144/

 

[alyssa heflin]

I have him in a glass tank but its wrapped in a green blanket because i know they get stressed when they can see out the sides.
I want to change his bedding because I currently am using a woodchip forest floor bedding and I don't think it's keeping it humid enough in there.. I've heard a mix of soil sand and moss is good?
I've also been feeding him earthworms/mealworms from the petshop which he loves but i'd love some advice on how much I'm supposed to feed him as soon as i show you picture so you can see his size.
The other foods I've tried are

• blackberries (which he loves)
• raspberries (he kinda likes)
• squash (which he didn't seem to eat)
• tomatoes (he didn't go for these at all)
• mushrooms (he seemed slightly interested but not really)

I know greens are very important so I'd love if you all could tell me which greens your boxie likes
I have a little "toad house" for him which he adores a rock for feeding him and a little water bowl that I always find him soaking in, so if anyone has advice on how to create a mini pond inside his tank it'd be greatly appreciated because I think he really loves to soak

 

[alyssa heflin]

heres a current picture

 

[alyssa heflin]

this is him playing outside on a sunny day he is really tiny... about the size of my hand

 

[Ciri]

the most important foods for box turtles are worms and bugs, and you're already giving him those. You might want to give him a little more variety: add grasshoppers and pill bugs – you can catch them yourself. You can gut load the worms or bugs with greens if you want him to have some veggies. In the wild they eat very little vegetable matter. Strawberries are another good berry for box turtles. In my experience though, I have to limit the number of berries as some will overeat them. You can also feed caterpillars - I get the ones called hornworms you can buy on the Internet.

Having a water dish as you do is a very good idea. I sanitize my box turtle's dishes daily by washing them in the dishwasher and using the heated drying cycle. You can also sanitize with a bleach and water mixture – just rinse thoroughly afterwards. I started doing this years ago when my box turtle got repeated eye infections. The infections stopped.

For a substrate, you can get dirt from your yard and bake in the oven at 350° for about half an hour. This is what I usually do.

He looks really cute. Good luck with your boxie. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

For a substrate, you can get dirt from your yard and bake in the oven at 350° for about half an hour.

why do you cook the dirt?

 

[Ciri]

I cook the dirt to kill the germs. It's not really necessary, but my reptile vet did suggest I could do that when I was keeping one of my box turtles indoors. That way I could get around having to look for a suitable potting soil, which can be hard to find.