Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: Plan...

[Aqua8]

Ok this is what I plan Squirt's home to be... 20gl tank, with dirt, water dish, dry leaves, worms, a geranium, a log, and some venous flytraps. So any advice for extra stuff I should have, and what type of lighting do you all recommend. What could accomplish UVB and heat together??

[Starchick]

What kind of turtle is Squirt? Do you already have the tank? If not, go for a rubbermaid instead. It's much cheaper, and it's actually better for the turtle because they get stressed if they can see out.

If you have a large enough enclosure, you can use a mercury vapor group for both heat and uvb.

Everything else sounds good, but I'm not sure about the venus fly traps. Several folks on here have carniverous plants, they might know for sure.

[DavidY]

lol! I love your drawing especially the venus flytraps. However the VFT's will probably get squashed by the turtle as they are pretty delicate. And I second what Starchick said about using a tub instead of an aquarium. If the boxie or tortoise can see outside it will pace back and forth endlessly trying to get through the glass and could be unhealthy.

[Terryo]

If you use a virvarium, make sure you cover three sides. I also put plants across the front (you could see in, but they can't see out) Also put lots of leaf litter, and a small flat rock. Helps keep their nails trimmed. This is a 30 gal that I keep Pio in for now anyway. (redfoot cherry head)

[Terryo]

Oh forgot....cover the soil with moss so he can't dig under. What kind of turtle is he anyway?

[jenaero]

Oh forgot....cover the soil with moss so he can't dig under. What kind of turtle is he anyway?

Actually, the substrate should be nice and deep so he CAN dig under and bury himself. They do that for security.

Any plants you have in with a boxie should be safe to eat. I don't know if geraniums are safe, you'd better look that up. I have hostas in my enclosure.

As was already mentioned, you'd be better of housing him in a large rubbermaid.

[Terryo]

I only really keep this set up for hatchlings. And I copied every thing from TurtleTails.com I love that site, and that is what he recommends for hatchlings. He has lots of pictures. According to Tom, at that site, hatchlings need a lot of humidity, and they also need an interesting environment which is similar to their natural habitat, which is the forest floor. Once they are juvie's they go outside.
I have a redfoot hatchling now, and she cannot hibernate outside, so I have to figure out what I am going to build for her inside. Haven't though about it yet as I have time. For now she will stay in the virvarium, which I set up to mimic a tropical forest. This worked for my Ornate. She is living outside now. Also geranium's are on the list for tortoises. But thank you for the advise. I am always willing to learn more.

[DavidY]

Terry, do you find your boxies digging in the dirt and burying themselves in their outdoor pen? I've read that they like to bury themselves too, but then it's hard to enjoy them when you can't see them.

[Terryo]

During the hot summer months, Nora only came out in the early AM and evening. That's when I would interact and feed her. There was two hidey houses on eather end of her pen. She would mostly go into the one under the fig tree during the day. In the fall I would cover her whole pen with 6 inches of dried leaves. (I usually saved a few bags from the previous year) I stopped feeding her and about two or three weeks later she would bury under for the winter. I covered the fig tree. This is Nora on one side of her pen, in the fall of last year. She was 30 years old.

[Terryo]

Some people will tell you they love land turtles. My friend raises them and has boxies, and tortoises. She loves them. I have had both, and find that water turtles are much more fun if you want to interact with them. Land turtles mostly do their own thing (not if you talk to a land turtle lover). Now I have a tortoise...my first.

[Aqua8]

Yeah that's what I was leaning towards a virvarium!! Now Terryo I have a baby box turtle, and he/she's about 2inches long... So yeah I wanted a virvarium due to it's size... So what did you use to cover the three sides of the tank, just some of that aquarium paper stuff they sell?? And what about lighting?? What do you recommend I'm leaning towards starchick's idea of a mercury light bulb... Do you recommend it??

Thanx 4 the help!!

[Terryo]

I have Pio in a 30 gal long. There is a three way hood on the top. On one side I have a UVA, UVB combination lamp. On the other side I have a reptile day bulb for heat. This is the same set up that I have my three toed baby in. At this age they do not need a lot of light. They shy away from it. There is very little light on the forest floor. The reason that I put moss on top of the soil is so she can't dig under the dirt. There is leaf litter and her two hide logs if she wants to stay hidden. This way she stays clean, and I can keep checking on her to make sure she is OK..in good health. The plants are pretty big, and she can hide under a leaf. There is plenty of places for her to hide. I cover three of the sides with aquarium background paper. In the front there are lots of plants . This works for a few years, and then she should go outside. I am no expert, but this works for me.

[Aqua8]

okidokie sounds awesome thanx terryo, plan to have my tank up and on by this weekend!! Yes...

[Blue Flamingo]

If you want to use a aquarium, but you don’t want to stress the little dude out you could always use that one way mirror film stuff. I know someone else on here used it for their above basking dock, so the turt would not have to be disturbed while basking. They used it on plexi-glass so it didn’t work out that well, but since it will be a glass aquarium it should work out better. I’ve also heard that a MVB will heat up a tank too much, so you should have a minimum 40 gallon tank. Correct me if I’m wrong on that.

[Terryo]

I know someone who keeps his very young turtles (he has ornate babies and three toed's) on a table in his living room. He has them in virvariums. Also set up like this. He believes in interacting with them from the start. His adults are so friendly, and will just come over to you when they see you coming. They all eat out of his hand.
I use a 10.0 UVA- UVB combo. It doesn't give off much heat at all. This way there is a cool side and a hot side. They have options where they want to go. The cherry head usually stays on the hot side....The three toed will stay on the hot side in the AM and go over to the cool side in the afternoon. I mist daily. Like I said, I am no expert, and I don't claim to be one. I just try to do the best I can so they stay healthy. I am always looking on different sites to see what others are doing. Most people say to keep them in the plastic containers. I just prefer the virvarium for the babies.