Sorry that would be what my phone auto corrects ornates to
Newcomer got bad advice
- Thread starter Speeddymon
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So I wanted to update everyone on the tort.
I tried for two weeks to get him to eat all sorts of different greens. He stopped eating the spinach, and in fact the vet said it was crap for them just like iceberg lettuce.
Unfortunately, he wouldnt eat anything at all. I was to the point that I was going to let him go (its still a possibility).
That is until my mother found tortoise food at Petco. She bought some pellets, some freeze dried shrimp, and some canned moist stuff. First thing she gave him was the moist stuff, and he ate every single bite of it.
I tried the pellets this morning, even moistened and mashed them up, but he just ignored it. Dropped a mealworm into it, and he ate the mealworm... I think he's just really picky, so I need to find out what is in that moist stuff that he likes and try to give him more of that... But how do I vary his diet if he won't eat anything but very specific foods?
So that's where I'm stuck now is how to vary his diet within certain food groups that he will eat.
I tried for two weeks to get him to eat all sorts of different greens. He stopped eating the spinach, and in fact the vet said it was crap for them just like iceberg lettuce.
Unfortunately, he wouldnt eat anything at all. I was to the point that I was going to let him go (its still a possibility).
That is until my mother found tortoise food at Petco. She bought some pellets, some freeze dried shrimp, and some canned moist stuff. First thing she gave him was the moist stuff, and he ate every single bite of it.
I tried the pellets this morning, even moistened and mashed them up, but he just ignored it. Dropped a mealworm into it, and he ate the mealworm... I think he's just really picky, so I need to find out what is in that moist stuff that he likes and try to give him more of that... But how do I vary his diet if he won't eat anything but very specific foods?
So that's where I'm stuck now is how to vary his diet within certain food groups that he will eat.
As Saloli pointed out ornates are grassland boxes. I have never encountered one in the forest (Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas), so from what I read of your yard it should be ok if part is in the shade. A shelter with moist substrat would be good (you are recreating a rodent burrow). Let grass grow high in enclosure as this will make him more confortable. For food try raspberries and worms at dawn and dusk.
Every other day I feed my box turtles a mix. I soak turtle brittle, add, cooked carrots, cooked sweet potato, greens (each time is different) today's greens were: grape leaves, dandelion leaves and hibiscus leaves) veggies (squash, corn etc.) and fruit. today's fruit was strawberries, blueberries and melon. chop everything up in small pieces. The soaked turtle brittle holds it all together. Sometimes I add a scrambled egg, they love this mix and will eat every bit of it. When they first come out from hibernation I add canned Venison, but that is the only time they get the venison and a week before I stop feeding for hibernation, unless I have one that is sick or won't eat. Every other week I sprinkle vitamins on the mix and in the afternoon they get some worms. I use this mix for my tortoises too. My Ornate loved this too and she lived with the other turtles year round outside in the same garden. She was 32 when she died. I had her since she was 3 months old. 
You can see my Ornate in the last picture.
You can see my Ornate in the last picture.
My ornate really enjoys canned "box turtle food" from Petsmart, and it sure is convenient but make sure to offer a variety like you have been doing. You can also try offering some leftovers from your dinner as long as the meat is cooked and there's no dairy. Cooked chicken and steamed/roasted veggies (or similar) generally goes over pretty well. Limit foods that are high in oxalic acid like spinach and members of the cabbage family. Also...they can go for some time between meals. Don't worry if he's not eating every day. I typically feed every other day and keep edible plants in the enclosure. Plastic plant saucers make nice water/food dishes and are very cheap, if you're still looking for an idea with those.
I really like sphagnum moss and coco coir (comes in bricks at the pet store, get the moss at home depot) mixed for bedding. I haven't had any problems with it, and you can keep it as moist as you'd prefer. I have a clean spray bottle from home depot that was $.97 and works great for misting. Keep in mind that you don't want him wet, just moist. He is native to semi-arid climates after all.
Make sure that one side of your enclosure is cool and the other is warm from the lights. Your boxie will need to be able to regulate his own temps and he can't do that if the whole enclosure is warm. I've had very good results with one end being room temp and the other between 85-95 degrees.
With regards to his native habitat, it is very possible that he is native to the neighborhood. They generally live away from people, but its not uncommon for wild turtles to live in a neighborhood, particularly if they have good access to some sort of water source and food. When my husband lived in Midland, TX he had wild boxies that would visit the pond in their backyard fairly regularly. A friend here in CO also has a couple wild boxies that like to munch the plants in her backyard garden.
I really like sphagnum moss and coco coir (comes in bricks at the pet store, get the moss at home depot) mixed for bedding. I haven't had any problems with it, and you can keep it as moist as you'd prefer. I have a clean spray bottle from home depot that was $.97 and works great for misting. Keep in mind that you don't want him wet, just moist. He is native to semi-arid climates after all.
Make sure that one side of your enclosure is cool and the other is warm from the lights. Your boxie will need to be able to regulate his own temps and he can't do that if the whole enclosure is warm. I've had very good results with one end being room temp and the other between 85-95 degrees.
With regards to his native habitat, it is very possible that he is native to the neighborhood. They generally live away from people, but its not uncommon for wild turtles to live in a neighborhood, particularly if they have good access to some sort of water source and food. When my husband lived in Midland, TX he had wild boxies that would visit the pond in their backyard fairly regularly. A friend here in CO also has a couple wild boxies that like to munch the plants in her backyard garden.
You could try Chiltepines or Nopal cacti. There are other native plants you could try and plant for example Texas Persimmon.
Thanks again for all of the help. He definitely seems to eat the greens as long as small amounts are mixed in with the canned stuff, which is great. I'm still working on getting his outdoor area built. It's going to be big.. Texas big. Just to give you an idea, I bought 2 of the 3x3x3 cubes of the spaghnum moss just to make sure I had plenty enough to cover the area and account for cleanouts and such.
My big question now is this. Since I'm in south eastern TX, how much sun is too much? The area I was initially thinking of putting him in has sun most of the day, which means no place to regulate his temp if he gets too hot. I'm reconsidering that now in favor of a corner area on our patio where the direct sun only happens in the mid to late afternoon. I plan on having him be outside 90% or more of the time during the warm months, and then bringing him inside during the winter. It's just easier to keep my kids (3 of them under age 6) from playing with (scaring the dickens out of) him all the time.
Also, since putting moss inside is a no-go during the winter (not my home), what's a good (*indoor*) substrate to use during those months? Ideally, I'd like something easy to just scoop out like kitty litter, but that won't hurt him if he swallows any. I'd considered sand until I read here during my first visit that that's not a good idea for this kind of tort.
My big question now is this. Since I'm in south eastern TX, how much sun is too much? The area I was initially thinking of putting him in has sun most of the day, which means no place to regulate his temp if he gets too hot. I'm reconsidering that now in favor of a corner area on our patio where the direct sun only happens in the mid to late afternoon. I plan on having him be outside 90% or more of the time during the warm months, and then bringing him inside during the winter. It's just easier to keep my kids (3 of them under age 6) from playing with (scaring the dickens out of) him all the time.
Also, since putting moss inside is a no-go during the winter (not my home), what's a good (*indoor*) substrate to use during those months? Ideally, I'd like something easy to just scoop out like kitty litter, but that won't hurt him if he swallows any. I'd considered sand until I read here during my first visit that that's not a good idea for this kind of tort.
I like coco coir for an indoor substrate. Its fairly easy to clean, but I wouldn't say its "scoopable." Just pick out chunks as needed. A lot of people on the forum use cypress mulch and really like it as well.
Your turtle has to be able to thermoregulate. Lots of sun is good, but there has to be some shade too.
Your turtle has to be able to thermoregulate. Lots of sun is good, but there has to be some shade too.
The native vegetation would be your best model as far as what you turtle's habitat should look like.
and indoor turtle table substrate should be a mix of peat moss, plain top soil (no manures or fertilizers) and sand.
Keeps it light and fluffy while holding moisture
Keeps it light and fluffy while holding moisture
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