Soaking?

[crissyshine]

i have a 4yr old eastern box turtle, I have never soaked him
Should I have been doing this all along?
Although, I think he does it himself all the time. I always see him laying in is water dish, hanging out for about 5 min. He always goes back and forth for a drink or just to walk through the water for a bit.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

If he soaks himself regularly, you don't need to soak him. Do check to see that the substrate is holding moisture. Some turtles happily go in and out of the water dish all day in optimal habitats. Others are trying to correct for dry conditions.

 

[crissyshine]

If he soaks himself regularly, you don't need to soak him. Do check to see that the substrate is holding moisture. Some turtles happily go in and out of the water dish all day in optimal habitats. Others are trying to correct for dry conditions.

Ah, ok.
I only have zoomed repti bark in this tank. I do mist it a lot though!
I'm planning on a huge upgrade to his indoor enclosure(2 levels!) but I've no idea what substrate to use.
Organic soil and....?
I know a bit of things like you can put pill bugs and worms in the enclosure to help keep the soil/substrate clean and get rid of the spring tails (ew).
Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Maro2Bear]

For our boxies new indoor enclosure, i went out into our woods and picked up about 5 five gallon buckets of leaves, forest ground litter, soil, humus, etc. and a bunch of everything else that mimics EBT outdoor conditions. Some stones, an old log or two, moss, ferns, etc. and mixed in some garden shredded sphagnum peat moss as well. You can see some of this in these photos.

 

[crissyshine]

View attachment 105621 View attachment 105620 For our boxies new indoor enclosure, i went out into our woods and picked up about 5 five gallon buckets of leaves, forest ground litter, soil, humus, etc. and a bunch of everything else that mimics EBT outdoor conditions. Some stones, an old log or two, moss, ferns, etc. and mixed in some garden shredded sphagnum peat moss as well. You can see some of this in these photos.

That looks great!
Unfortunately I live in the city, downtown raleigh.
Not sure I'd be allowed to dig anywhere and there aren't too many woods around here (could possibly dig some stuff up from a friends back yard but he also lives in the city).
I don't mind getting soil from a store though. Fortunately, this is the Coty of Oaks and there is a bunch of leaves all over the ground, some of which are in his enclosure already, that he loves.
Where can I get the sphagnum moss?

Also, do you have bugs in the enclosure? And how often do you change the soil?

 

[Maro2Bear]

You can get large bales of peat moss at any garden store, smaller bags of peat and sphagnum too. How large of an area do you have?

Yes, there are all kinds of bugs and i really dont change it out. This is their home until Spring when they will go back outside. Ill keep adding fresh peat moss n leaves throughout the Fall n Winter.

 

[crissyshine]

You can get large bales of peat moss at any garden store, smaller bags of peat and sphagnum too. How large of an area do you have?

Now I have him in a 40 gallon Rubbermaid.
His new enclosure, well, I'm not quite sure how big it's going to be. Pretty big though.
I have space in my room to go about 2x5 (I think) and I wanted to give it a good sized second level that will have a place he can burrow I into

 

[dmmj]

If he goes in himself, then I would say no to the soaking. Box turtles are often considered semi-aquatic. What I mean by that is they love to dive into a pool of water, if you have a big pan for him to dive, you will have a happy turtle. Just make sure it slopes on all sides, so he can get out easily.

 

[crissyshine]

If he goes in himself, then I would say no to the soaking. Box turtles are often considered semi-aquatic. What I mean by that is they love to dive into a pool of water, if you have a big pan for him to dive, you will have a happy turtle. Just make sure it slopes on all sides, so he can get out easily.

I have a China bowl? That he can easily get in and out of. Often times he spreads out his arms and legs in it as if he's sunbathing!
And he loves to stick his head under the water (the water isn't deep at all)

 

[dmmj]

Head under the water is the turtle drinking. Apologies if you alerady knew this. But box turtles love the water, just like red foots.

 

[crissyshine]

Also, are your indoor enclosures open at the top? I want an open one but I'm really worried about bugs crawling out.
I plan on lining the enclosure so the wood won't get messed up and if I ever need to change the substrate, I can just pick up the liner.

 

[leigti]

You can use a plastic paint tray for a little pool, just put rocks or slate in it so that he has some traction and can get around easily. I use a stock tank for my indoor enclosure, it is not the prettiest but it is definitely functional. I also plan on making a second-level using a large Rubbermaid bin. This will be my winter project I have worms and pill bugs in my enclosure. Nobody has escaped yet as far as I know.

 

[EP429]

I went with the plastic paint roller tray for my redfoots, I can barely keep them out of it now
This was a $1 liner, not quite as sturdy as a full on tray but it had a good floor texture, they come and go with ease.

 

[dmmj]

Paint trays are a good idea, why didn't I think of that. They slope, and have good traction.

 

[tortdad]

Paint trays are a good idea, why didn't I think of that. They slope, and have good traction.

I keep one in with my boxies