New Owner to Two Florida Boxies

[rvtjess]

The issue right now is the bag of mulch has big chunks of wood in it... so while I'm digging around, I think "Oh! Found one... nope, just a chunk of wood". At least with coconut coir if I feel a chunk chances are very likely that its a boxie. When they get bigger this won't be a problem, but for now it's annoying.

Also looking into a solution for my waxing and waning humidity levels... would be great if the humidity would stay up at 75-80% or more, but it drops to 50% pretty quickly... I have 3/4 of the enclosure covered to try to retain humidity, dump a cup or two of water around the enclosure daily/every other day (not the past few days, we had a water main break and are on a "boil order/water conservation order"... aka don't use water unless you boil it first... thankfully I have extra bottled water for these guys). What do you think about the reptile misters? Or configure a humidifier into a fogger?

Oh! I normally feed them earlier in the morning/later in the afternoon or evening, anyway I have noticed the later I feed them, the more likely they are to just hang out in their water dish basking instead of heading straight to bury themselves when I put them back in. But I have yet to see them come out on their own =/

 

[reagansymone]

Yea I get you. Humidity is rough without having a glass top. If you have a constant heat source that can be helpful...if its a tank you can use an under tank pad, or you can get a ceramic heat emitter. A misting system might be helpful for keeping humidity up. Since I'm in Florida, I can just put mine outside but since you're not that's not a solution.
As far as helping them come out on their own though, to shower them (for example, I use the hose on mist for mine) so it feels like its raining to them. In the wild they're on the move during rain showers.

 

[rvtjess]

We have pretty high humidity here (St. Louis), but we are not prepared to keep them outside atm. We just moved into a house and we're working on getting the yard under control so we've been spraying for weeds... so I don't trust letting them in the yard until spring (or maybe later, depending on when we're able to seed and fertilize the lawn depending how our fall is). Oh! That reminds me... another (silly) question I was thinking about... the city sprays for mosquitoes here... will that be a problem for them when they're outside?

Ultimately my goal is to have them outdoors, but it won't be until late spring/early summer at the earliest.

Maybe I'll use a watering can to "water" them instead of just pouring the cup of water in the enclosure.

I am just using a large rubbermaid container for their enclosure now... not sure how well that would work with an under tank pad (also I've heard not to use glass aquariums with these guys??).

Thank you so much for the help, you've been wonderful <3

 

[johnsonnboswell]

The humidity/ moisture in the substrate that is of utmost importance, not so much the air.

 

[reagansymone]

Yea don't use the under tank heating pad if you're using a plastic home. And yes, you're right, glass tanks are not recommended...sometimes young ones are kept in them though. But the big plastic bin is perfect. I'd recommend looking into a ceramic heat emitter...probably 60 watts would be good for you...and a fixture with a ceramic/porcelain base. It works like a heating lamp, only there's no light so it's good for day and night use.

They spray for Mosquitos here also. It makes me uncomfortable but there's not much you can do. They say its a small enough amount that it won't affect them. I keep mine in the back yard, and they only spray the ditches out front...and since there are wild turtles here, I tell myself that they couldn't do it if it would hurt them. So.

The water can sounds like a good idea! Someone said the air humidity doesn't matter...the humidity of their substrate may be slightly more important...but I know for a fact the level of humidity in the air affects the activity levels of my babies and adults.

 

[rvtjess]

Thank you! Need to look into a ceramic heat emitter for sure... just grabbed what I could at the time. Thank you for the suggestion Also on the list is a timer for the UVB!

They seem to be doing GREAT on humidity now with what I'm doing so I won't get too crazy... I mist their cage at least twice a day and the substrate underneath stays nice and moist.

So hopefully this will be one of the last questions -- diet.

Currently I am feeding protein (mealworms or night crawlers) every other to every third day. Offering leafy green veggies (50/50 mix or Spring mix) daily and fruit (blackberries, strawberries, mango, papaya) every other day. I've been using the calcium supplement (with no D3) once weekly on the protein. Does this seem appropriate?

I'm so sorry for so many questions. Thank you so very much for your help!

 

[reagansymone]

I use calcium with all protein...that's bad for adults, but when they're young and their shells are still forming, calcium is really important. Everybody's routine is different, but I've read in a few places that it's almost impossible to give a baby too much calcium, because they're growing so much.
But other people, please chime in with your opinions!

 

[rvtjess]

Good to know, thank you! When would they be considered out of their adolescent stage and into their adult stage? Takes a few years to reach adulthood if I remember correctly?

And which brand supplements would you recommend? Haven't owned any pets in a loooooooooong time that required supplements (and even then I probably just bought whatever the first thing I saw on the shelf at PetCo or Walmart...).

All I've been using currently is a sample of whatever calcium supplement that came with them when I bought them; I can't remember what it's called and don't have access to look now (pet sitting overnights for the weekend... my poor boyfriend is left to care for our zoo while I'm gone!).

 

[reagansymone]

Yea they're not adults until they're like 5 years old at least...they aren't usually sexually mature until closer to 10 years.


These are what I use, but my purchase wasn't overly informed...I didn't just buy the first ones I saw, but it wasn't a super researched purchase. You might want to search a bit for more advice on that. I hear that the calcium with the pink label (I don't remember the brand...but I think it's the only pink one) is good.

 

[rvtjess]

That ReptiCalcium looks awfully similar to what I remember the container that was given to me!

And yeah I know it took them yeaaaarrrrssssss to sexually mature.

Thank you <3