Urgent help needed identifying specie of this rescued box turtle.

Team BiGi

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Hi everybody!
Please I need help identifying this box turtle that a friend of mine found on the street and saved. We are familiar with tortoises species however not very familiar with box turtles. We know that there are many different species of box turtles but we also know that they all don't require the same care and conditions. W quickly need to find out his exact specie or sub-specie, so we can take proper care and set proper habitat, and offer correct feeding.

Please we need to find out this information soon, because the turtle is being kept in a bathtub, (no inside water) in a little hide box for the last couple of days.
Any information will be really appreciated. We need to keep this precious turtle safe and healthy.
Thank you!

IMG_2629[1].jpg IMG_2630[1].png IMG_2631[1].png IMG_2633[1].png
 

Yvonne G

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Looks like it might be a luteola - not native to California. Terrapene ornata luteola or desert box turtle.
 

Team BiGi

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Looks like it might be a luteola - not native to California. Terrapene ornata luteola or desert box turtle.
Thank you yvonne! I have looked at as many different box turtles as I can find on line, there are many, and my best guess was also a desert box turtle. But I the only pic I found so far had some yellow on its head. I see your posts a lot and I always respect and agree with you and Tom. Thank you for your quick input on the matter.
 

Gillian M

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A cute little tort. God bless.

Sorry - don''t know what species it is.

And welcome to the forum..
 

Yvonne G

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Thank you yvonne! I have looked at as many different box turtles as I can find on line, there are many, and my best guess was also a desert box turtle. But I the only pic I found so far had some yellow on its head. I see your posts a lot and I always respect and agree with you and Tom. Thank you for your quick input on the matter.
Your turtle is older, thus the colors are faded and worn.
 

Team BiGi

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Your turtle is older, thus the colors are faded and worn.
Thank you!! Still learning about this lol one, he/she is not totally cozy yet because it was bad timing. My friend who rescued it has a human baby due tomorrow, Oct. 17. Mean while I have another recent rescue of my own. Non stop work at this time of year. A little Russian tort. Heavy rains a day after I built her burrow, and life in general. I think I'm gonna have to handle her and one of our desert tprts indoors this winter, the ground is to wet.
 

Team BiGi

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I'm also concerned about he, or her beak. Seems to me way to over grown, but again, I'm not very familiar with box turtles, only desert torts, sulcatas, lepords, and now Russians due to our last rescue.
 

Team BiGi

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We have 10 acres here in the desert native to our cal desert torts with nothing on it, or was just an investment years ago. We really want to start a tort sanctuary asap, but utilities to be ran, and water might have to be ran from a well, then finding,food ,ect. When we can establish housing, we will need funding for all, not sure how to go about that, and not willing to take on more than we can handle. It defeats the purpose of we can't afford to care for them all properly. Any suggestions should be great!!
 

Team BiGi

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We have 10 acres here in the desert native to our cal desert torts with nothing on it, or was just an investment years ago. We really want to start a tort sanctuary asap, but utilities to be ran, and water might have to be ran from a well, then finding,food ,ect. When we can establish housing, we will need funding for all, not sure how to go about that, and not willing to take on more than we can handle. It defeats the purpose of we can't afford to care for them all properly. Any suggestions should be great!!
Funding, not finding. Sorry this phone is a mess
 

Pastel Tortie

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I'm also concerned about he, or her beak. Seems to me way to over grown, but again, I'm not very familiar with box turtles, only desert torts, sulcatas, lepords, and now Russians due to our last rescue.
I was wondering about that beak too, from the pictures you posted. If the beak isn't too overgrown, you can help wear it down naturally by feeding the turtle on a slate tile, upside-down tile (rough surface up), or similar hard, textured surface, so the turtle's beak strikes the surface with every bite. You can also provide a piece of cuttlebone or tortoise calcium block for the turtle to nibble at will. Some eat it, some ignore it, some oscillate between periods of liking and eating it, and ignoring it. It's worth a shot, though.

Hopefully someone more experienced with box turtle beaks will weigh in soon.
@Yvonne G - Any thoughts about the beak?
 

PJay

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The beak does look overgrown, but from those pictures looking down on the turtle its really hard to determine how badly. Please post some pics of the turtle from the front and side where the profile of the beak is plainly seen. You can try the rough feeding surface, but if after a year or so its not getting better, beaks can be trimmed with clippers or high speed rotary tools (dremel) with just a little bit at a time taken over a series of several trimmings. A vet can do this for you.
 
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