iamthepurpleprincess
New Member
Hi!
I first want to say...I'm new at this. Any advice is helpful at this point.
Circumstances lined up in such a way that I became an inexperienced and last minute box turtle owner a few months back.
Some basic and constant Googling has helped us so far, but she continuously throws new things at me!
My most current situation is constantly filthy water. I'm changing it 4 times a day, and no sooner than I change it does she soak again. I think there is a problem with my substrate...is it bothering her, or is it simply filthy?
She went through a very long period of hardly using her water at all. She was quite inactive, I determined a period of brumation? Now she is constantly in the water, soaking for an hour at a time easily, several times a day.
Is this normal?
I use a Eco Earth's coconut substrate. She gets wet and then it sticks to her, I can't imagine that's comfortable, but the problem is that she gets her water to be absolutely repulsive. I don't want her drinking it! The substrate also gets all over her food constantly, though I have staggered her rocks so the food is elevated a bit, but I heard it's really not good for them to be ingesting much of that stuff.
She is in an indoor enclosure. I live in an apartment and cannot do a permanent outdoor habitat, though she goes out plenty. It is 6 feet by 2 feet with hideaways and climbing areas in various temperature zones ranging from 70 up to 100, she has basking spots and a thick layer to dig in. So I can't imagine that temperature is an issue. As her humidity is at 45% most often.
My questions are:
Is she bathing so much out of discomfort or health problem, or is this normal after a period of brumation?
Is it okay that she eats food when it gets covered in substrate?
Is there something I can do to keep her food and water clean? I heard that Eco Earth coconut fiber was great for box turtles, but should I be using something else for ground cover instead?
Thanks!
I first want to say...I'm new at this. Any advice is helpful at this point.
Circumstances lined up in such a way that I became an inexperienced and last minute box turtle owner a few months back.
Some basic and constant Googling has helped us so far, but she continuously throws new things at me!
My most current situation is constantly filthy water. I'm changing it 4 times a day, and no sooner than I change it does she soak again. I think there is a problem with my substrate...is it bothering her, or is it simply filthy?
She went through a very long period of hardly using her water at all. She was quite inactive, I determined a period of brumation? Now she is constantly in the water, soaking for an hour at a time easily, several times a day.
Is this normal?
I use a Eco Earth's coconut substrate. She gets wet and then it sticks to her, I can't imagine that's comfortable, but the problem is that she gets her water to be absolutely repulsive. I don't want her drinking it! The substrate also gets all over her food constantly, though I have staggered her rocks so the food is elevated a bit, but I heard it's really not good for them to be ingesting much of that stuff.
She is in an indoor enclosure. I live in an apartment and cannot do a permanent outdoor habitat, though she goes out plenty. It is 6 feet by 2 feet with hideaways and climbing areas in various temperature zones ranging from 70 up to 100, she has basking spots and a thick layer to dig in. So I can't imagine that temperature is an issue. As her humidity is at 45% most often.
My questions are:
Is she bathing so much out of discomfort or health problem, or is this normal after a period of brumation?
Is it okay that she eats food when it gets covered in substrate?
Is there something I can do to keep her food and water clean? I heard that Eco Earth coconut fiber was great for box turtles, but should I be using something else for ground cover instead?
Thanks!