RumWeatherReptiles
Active Member
It was a wild box turtle summer here in South Jersey. Winter is a time where I can take a breath and gather my thoughts while most of my herd is blissfully sleeping… and Growing!
It also gives me time to focus on my indoor animals. This time last year, I had suddenly and inexplicably lost my pair of Florida Box Turtles (my first attempt at keeping the species). This summer I brought on a pair of Flavomarginata (Chinese Box Turtles). These little monsters have been THRIVING. I also was contacted by a friend in the hobby. Someone he knew (friend of a friend- you know how it goes) that bought a hatchling Sulcata, not realizing the gravity of the commitment, and no longer wanted the animal. Knowing enough about Sulcatas to know i should not take one, i decided to take one. I figured it was better off in my care than the 10gal aquarium it showed up in.
On a sadder note, i was contacted by a man who had actually surrendered his collection of LTC eastern box turtles a few years back. He found a small male box turtle on a job site in an industrial complex. This poor turtle was severely underweight. Lethargic. With eyes swollen shut and discharge coming from it’s nose. Opening its mouth to breath. Telltale signs of a raging respiratory infection. I would assume it was a turtle taken from the wild that got sick in captivity and was dumped. It was not near any habitat at all. I drove 2 hours to pick it up and got an emergency vet appointment for the following day. We gave it the first dose of antibiotics in the office, and after some training on how to inject them i left with a full course of meds. Unfortunately the turtle did not make it through the night. Quite disheartening.
We had quite a few ground hatches in the Eastern Box Turtle enclosures! And although every year we lose a few hatchlings within the first few weeks as they just simply fail to thrive. This year every hatchling was robust and healthy.
I finally took the time (and lumber) to build a rack system for my indoor animals. Topped by my Toad Ranch Cages closed chamber that houses my Cherry Head Tortoise from Tortstork (who is also Thriving). My goal was to make it as sturdy as possible, and now i am pretty sure if my house gets hit by a meteor, this shelf/rack will still be standing.
This system has made it possible to easily house my animals and even hide my cat’s litterbox. There are tons of photos on my instagram @RumWeatherReptiles but i will post some here.
It also gives me time to focus on my indoor animals. This time last year, I had suddenly and inexplicably lost my pair of Florida Box Turtles (my first attempt at keeping the species). This summer I brought on a pair of Flavomarginata (Chinese Box Turtles). These little monsters have been THRIVING. I also was contacted by a friend in the hobby. Someone he knew (friend of a friend- you know how it goes) that bought a hatchling Sulcata, not realizing the gravity of the commitment, and no longer wanted the animal. Knowing enough about Sulcatas to know i should not take one, i decided to take one. I figured it was better off in my care than the 10gal aquarium it showed up in.
On a sadder note, i was contacted by a man who had actually surrendered his collection of LTC eastern box turtles a few years back. He found a small male box turtle on a job site in an industrial complex. This poor turtle was severely underweight. Lethargic. With eyes swollen shut and discharge coming from it’s nose. Opening its mouth to breath. Telltale signs of a raging respiratory infection. I would assume it was a turtle taken from the wild that got sick in captivity and was dumped. It was not near any habitat at all. I drove 2 hours to pick it up and got an emergency vet appointment for the following day. We gave it the first dose of antibiotics in the office, and after some training on how to inject them i left with a full course of meds. Unfortunately the turtle did not make it through the night. Quite disheartening.
We had quite a few ground hatches in the Eastern Box Turtle enclosures! And although every year we lose a few hatchlings within the first few weeks as they just simply fail to thrive. This year every hatchling was robust and healthy.
I finally took the time (and lumber) to build a rack system for my indoor animals. Topped by my Toad Ranch Cages closed chamber that houses my Cherry Head Tortoise from Tortstork (who is also Thriving). My goal was to make it as sturdy as possible, and now i am pretty sure if my house gets hit by a meteor, this shelf/rack will still be standing.
This system has made it possible to easily house my animals and even hide my cat’s litterbox. There are tons of photos on my instagram @RumWeatherReptiles but i will post some here.
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