Upgrading Box Turtle Home

[CourtneyG]

I am looking to upgrade my indoor Boxies home. I would love to see what you guys have set up for your little cube friend. I was thinking of getting the starter kit from Moss Acres http://store.mossacres.com/moss_starter_kit_s/1823.htm to get some moss growing, maybe plant a Afrikan Violet, and some thing else if you guys have something really cool. Also what lighting do you have on your enclosure beside your UVB light, I just have my MVB on her right now.

 

[dannel]

Can i see a pic of your current enclosure? Looking for ideas.

 

[CourtneyG]

Looking at adding some earth worms and pill bugs to her new one, with some slate stone in there somewhere. I am going to get a bookshelf and convert it for her, might have to make a lid or something to put the lights on, most likely going to have to get a LED for her tank, deff need to get one for my larger pancakes tank since all the plants in there keep dieing much to my displeasure.

 

[CourtneyG]

Can i see a pic of your current enclosure? Looking for ideas.

My current is crap right now, it was an emergency set up for her. It is just a 30gal with sphagnum on one side and a hide on the other.

 

[lynnedit]

Here is a nice blog about converting a bookshelf. You can add the deep tub area or not.
http://tortaddiction.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-build-tortoise-table-out-of.html

 

[CourtneyG]

Here is a nice blog about converting a bookshelf. You can add the deep tub area or not.
http://tortaddiction.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-build-tortoise-table-out-of.html

Thanks for the blog, I might use her steps to put a stronger flooring to the bookshelf. I was just going to put a pond liner in the bookshelf to help make it water tight. I am more interested in plants that people have in their setups.

 

[CourtneyG]

Are Christmas, leatherwood, and cinnamon ferns safe for turtles/tortoises enclosures?

 

[lismar79]

This is a great site to I.d safe plants.
http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp

 

[lisa127]

I have two boxies. My larger one has an enclosure that was made out of an old dresser. We took out the insides and laid it on it's back. I lined it with a tarp I cut to fit. Substrate in hers is coco coir, sphagnum moss, and a little peat moss all mixed together. She has a couple of rocks in there. I also took a clay pot and put in a grass "bush" I bought from the craft store. I then filled the pot with river rock so it is heavy enough that she can't move it around. That is placed in the middle of the enclosure so that the long blades of grass give her coverage throughout most of the enclosure.

My smaller boxie is still in a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tote. His substrate is peat moss and fine mulch mixed together. I did the same thing with the clay pots in his enclosure, but using smaller fake fern plots for coverage - one on each side of the enclosure. He has one large flat rock in the middle of the enclosure.

They both have clay saucers for water. Black moonglo bulbs for heat and Reptisun fluorescent uvb bulbs for UVB.

 

[CourtneyG]

The tortoise table website is not working for me for some reason, I just need to know if they are safe, I feel like they are, but want to be sure before I order.

 

[CourtneyG]

Okay the tort table finally worked, and it was not helpful for me. I think the leatherwood is not safe since it belongs to the same family as the Japanese painted and the table says not safe, but the Christmas might be, same family as the Boston who is safe, the cinnamon is still unknown.

 

[Saleama]

Looking at adding some earth worms and pill bugs to her new one, with some slate stone in there somewhere. I am going to get a bookshelf and convert it for her, might have to make a lid or something to put the lights on, most likely going to have to get a LED for her tank, deff need to get one for my larger pancakes tank since all the plants in there keep dieing much to my displeasure.

I have red wigglers in with all of my turtles and tortoises. You would not believe the difference it makes! I bought a 2000 count bag of them from Uncle Jim's worm farm. Best non-plant purchase I have made. They clean up pretty much everything as long as you keep it warm and humid. I simply dump the left over food under the water dish where the worms hang out and they compost it all. The bonus is the soil is rich with worm poop so when it goes into the garden it is really good for the plants and completly organic. I seed the food fwith ground egg shell so the worms are gut loaded with plenty of calcium as well for when the little bx turtles manage to hunt them up and get an extra meal.
I caught about 100 or so pill bugs and put them in as well but they are great escape artists so unless your turtle is in a glass tank with a lid make sure you don't mind pill bugs crawling all over the house before you go with that option. And box turtles LOVE pill bugs so put them in when the little guy/s are not aware or the resulting massacre is legendary. I only saw three or four of the 25- 30 I put in with my babies make it to cover, lol.

 

[CourtneyG]

I have red wigglers in with all of my turtles and tortoises. You would not believe the difference it makes! I bought a 2000 count bag of them from Uncle Jim's worm farm. Best non-plant purchase I have made. They clean up pretty much everything as long as you keep it warm and humid. I simply dump the left over food under the water dish where the worms hang out and they compost it all. The bonus is the soil is rich with worm poop so when it goes into the garden it is really good for the plants and completly organic. I seed the food fwith ground egg shell so the worms are gut loaded with plenty of calcium as well for when the little bx turtles manage to hunt them up and get an extra meal.
I caught about 100 or so pill bugs and put them in as well but they are great escape artists so unless your turtle is in a glass tank with a lid make sure you don't mind pill bugs crawling all over the house before you go with that option. And box turtles LOVE pill bugs so put them in when the little guy/s are not aware or the resulting massacre is legendary. I only saw three or four of the 25- 30 I put in with my babies make it to cover, lol.

Pill bugs can climb pond liner? They have yet to climb out the wooden tort table I have a lot in. I was planning on getting earth worms from our local bait shop to throw in there as well.

 

[lynnedit]

As far as plants for an indoor enclosure; christmas cactus, prayer plant, spider plant (nice for hiding under as it gets bigger), African violet, Aluminum plant (Pilea). For lower plants, you can put in creeping jenny, scotch moss, sedum. They will all do better with a UV light source.
I sink mine into the soil in pots for extra stability. Rinse off the roots and repot in plain topsoil w/o perlite.
Here is another list:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/houseplants.htm
To minimize plant destruction, you can kind of watch the paths that your turtle likes to take, and avoid putting them in those areas. Or sometimes positioning the pot next to a rock or log helps.

 

[Saleama]

Pill bugs can climb pond liner? They have yet to climb out the wooden tort table I have a lot in. I was planning on getting earth worms from our local bait shop to throw in there as well.

That could be my problem, lol. My liner is level with my substrate. All of my pill bugs were eaten or escaped.

 

[Saleama]

You

That could be my problem, lol. My liner is level with my substrate. All of my pill bugs were eaten or escaped.

could also have the perfect home for them so they are not intersted in climbing out!

 

[CourtneyG]

As far as plants for an indoor enclosure; christmas cactus, prayer plant, spider plant (nice for hiding under as it gets bigger), African violet, Aluminum plant (Pilea). For lower plants, you can put in creeping jenny, scotch moss, sedum. They will all do better with a UV light source.
I sink mine into the soil in pots for extra stability. Rinse off the roots and repot in plain topsoil w/o perlite.
Here is another list:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/houseplants.htm
To minimize plant destruction, you can kind of watch the paths that your turtle likes to take, and avoid putting them in those areas. Or sometimes positioning the pot next to a rock or log helps.

Thanks, I might get a Christmas fern then, the moss starter kit that I bought I was going to plant all near the wet side of the tanks and the violet farther away from the light close to the hide.