Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: Eastern box turtle questions

A general forum for those with an interest in land-based turtles.

Post Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 6:31 pm   Eastern box turtle questions

I have some more questions I am needing some help with. But before I ask my questions I want to tell everyone Buttercups, which is my 2-3 year old eastern box turtle, background story. I bought her from a neighbor that was not taking care of her at all. He had poor little buttercup in a 10 gallon fish tank with normal household carpet in the bottom. He only fed her a strawberry once a week, and didn`t have a water pan for her to get in to soak or drink from. He also didnt have any UVB lights, heat or any thing else for her. She was basically in a 10 gallon tank and thats it. He had her for about 2 years before I bought her from him. I also have a feeling that he got her out of the wild as a hatchling but I am not sure. I have 5 other water turtles (4 RES and 1 southern painted turtle) but I must admit I know very little about boxies. I have done alot of research about them but I still have some questions I need help with. I should probably mention she now has a 48"L X 18"W X 18"H custom wood enclosure, with a nice hollow log to hide in and a pool to soak in. She is kept at 65% to 70% humidity and her temp is about 70 to 75. I know its best to keep them outside but I live in a apartment and cant really do that. Okay now back to the questions, I think the easiest way to do this is make a list of the questions I have. Thank you in advance to everyone who helps me out.
1. Buttercup`s substrate layer is a 3" layer of 70% ecoearth and 30% reptibark from zoomed. But she burrows in and covers herself up and dosent come out, except for maybe a hour a day to eat and drink. Is there anything I can do to get her to stay a little more active?
2. The only fruits and veggies I can get her to eat is strawberries. I have tried other berries and just about everything in the produce section at kroger. What can I do to get her to eat more fruits and veggies?
3. Whats the best live foods to feed them? What about live fish? I have tons of guppies I need to get rid of, and I know they live close to creeks and such so I figured she would like some fish.
Thats all the questions I have for now. Thanks again to anyone who helps me out.
RR38
 
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Location: Glendale, Ky

Post Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 7:30 pm   

1) The substrate sounds a little low. Boxies love to burrow (they spend the winters burrowed underground) and i would say 5" would be best.Not familiar with the substrate you are using, but you can use moistened Bed a Beast mixed with peat moss without perlite. Some people use regular dirt or just potting soil.
Humidity level is great.Raise her basking temperature to 85-90 on one side of her enclosure if you want her more active.She will thermoregulate.

2)Recommended diet is 60 % animal matter and 40% plant material. Earth worms, red worms, wax worms, crickets, grass hoppers, slugs are good things to feed. Safe plant matter for box turtles are grated carrots, grated squash, blackberries, blueberries, dandelion leaves, kale, pumpkin, strawberries, mulberries, tomato, zucchini, romaine lettuce, and endive. Vitamin supplements containing minerals and calcium are also recommended.

3)See answer 2. I wouldn't feed fish since i never read anything about that.

Remember boxies can live up to 80-100 years.Good luck.
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jozzep
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:24 pm   

Ecoearth=bed-a-beast (cocoa fiber)

my hatchling box turtle's favorite food is mealworms

My boxie stays buried a lot too. I've been assured over and over, its quite natural, especially this time of year. They somehow know it's winter even though they aren't outside, and they are not very active and don't eat as much.

I'm happy you rescued her, doesn't sound like she had a very nice life before, and things are already starting to look up for her. :)
1.0.0 RES
1.0.0 Russian Tortoise
0.1.0 Eastern Box Turtle
1.0.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Pyxie Frog
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imderanged
 
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 9:19 am   

RR38 you are a good soul. Buttercups is so lucky to have you as a keeper. She is no doubt extremely happy now to be in a safe, nurturing home. Thank you for rescuing her. (Her previous owner is lucky he wasn't reported to the local humane society or aspca. I reported someone once and the societies do take turtles seriously and do take action.)
Good luck!
1 RES - Splat, born 10/06, now queen of the laundry room
SliderGirl
 
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:31 pm   

Especially when Boxies are young they will burrow more... its a way for them to stay safe and hidden from predators... totally natural!

box turtles have a tendency to find something they like and stick to it. she's so used to eating strawberries she doesnt see anything else as food. i know a box turtle who (seriously) will eat NOTHING but buttered toast. the best thing for you to do is a) mix anything you want her to eat with strawberries. perhaps grind the strawberries up into a 'gravy' to pour on top of her other foods and b) tough love, dont feed her strawberries and soon she;ll get hungry enough to eat whatever else you're providing her. however turtles can go a while without eating and can be very stubborn so my guess is you'll cave before she does.

my turtles loved eating meal worms, frozen bloodworms and live nightcrawlers.
- Jessy
"Every breath we take is linked to the sea."
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zoologist
 
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 11:27 pm   

Thanks to everyone who gave advice. I did try mashing the strawberries and it worked somewhat. I will try to get some pics of her on here.
RR38
 
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Location: Glendale, Ky

Post Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:28 pm   

Thought I would give an update on my easter box turtle. I got her to finally eat a couple blueberries. I tried mealworms and crickets but she didnt want anything to do with them. I tried giving them to her in a shallow water pan and on dry land, both were a no go. Also replaced the red light heat bulb with a 150watt heat emitter. Raised temps in her enclosure 5 degress on one side. But she is still very inactive. I took her to a vet and he said she has a clean bill of health. Maybe with time she will become more comfortable with me and wont bury in her substrate all the time.
2 RES-Josie and Wilma
2 Midland Painted turtle - Spike and Penelope
2 Eastern Box turtle- Buttercup and Betty
1 Tiger oscar
1 Albino oscar
2 Jack dempsys
1 Red Devil
1 green severnum
1 Red spotgold severnum
2 Festivums
1 Jaguar cichlid
RR38
 
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Location: Glendale, Ky

Post Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:30 am   

I seems like any box turtle you aquire is a "rescue mission". I have 2 Easterns that I bought from pet stores. The first one "Leonardo", had an "overgrown beak" due to an unbalanced diet. We couldn't figure out what species he was until my wife did some research and found out he was an Eastern with an overgrown beak. We took him to a vet and got his beak and nails filed down. The vet said we might have to do this more than once because it's an irreversible difigurement. Our second one "Rafael" was in a tank with 2 huge Red Foot Tortoises. The water dish in the tank was way too tall for him to get in and one of the Tortoises was usuing him for a step-stool. We had to get him out of there. I'm a little torn. I know the purchase of these animals leads to more being caught and ending up in pet stores, but they are treated so badly by pet stores and people like RR38's neighbor. Turtles are the most underestimated pets as far as cost and responsibility are concerned.
nukejohnnyo
 
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:44 pm   

I put lots of plants in my indoor enclosures. They love to sit under them if they don't go into their hides. I also put leaf litter on one side of the enclosure for them to bury into and I throw worms in the leaf litter for them to find. No matter what you do this time of year they will slow down. As the weather gets warmer they will start to become more active. If you make your enclosure as natural as you can they will be more at home inside. If there is any way you can take them outside in the summer just for a half hour a day for natural sunlight it would be so great. I bring in my younger boxies for the winter, and keep them in planted vivariums. I use a mix of peat moss, and soil and top it off with Cyprus mulch (forest floor by zoo med). I use a heat emitter on one side and a long tube 10.0 UVB on the other side. The plants keep up the humidity and make it more natural for them when inside. Good luck and post some pictures if you can of your enclosure.
Terry
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Terryo
 
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:26 pm   

You can try guppies in the water dish - some box turtles have been known to go fishing in shallow water. You can also try Reptomin in the water pan - some box turtles like it that way, and some don't. Try keeping an artificial silk plant over the water pan, so that she can soak and feel hidden at the same time. The artificial silk plants are great as hide spots because they're cheap (you can get them at dollar stores) and they can be cleaned and disinfected, and they can still let in some diffused UVB light while making the turtle feel hidden. Rince them off well before adding to an enclosure.

Have you tried earthworms yet? How about pre-killed pinkie mice? Keep trying to mix other foods in with diced straweberries. Plain baked sweet potato is good to try like that. Rep-Cal (calcium with vitamin D) and Herptevite (reptile vitamins) might be something to consider adding to the diet. Don't use both at the same time, as Vitamin A can interfer with Vitamin D.

Tess Cook has a really good box turtle book out, and most pet stores sell it, if you want to try to get it. It's a paperback.

Katrina
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 10:30 pm   

Katrina wrote:You can try guppies in the water dish - some box turtles have been known to go fishing in shallow water. You can also try Reptomin in the water pan - some box turtles like it that way, and some don't. Try keeping an artificial silk plant over the water pan, so that she can soak and feel hidden at the same time. The artificial silk plants are great as hide spots because they're cheap (you can get them at dollar stores) and they can be cleaned and disinfected, and they can still let in some diffused UVB light while making the turtle feel hidden. Rince them off well before adding to an enclosure.

Have you tried earthworms yet? How about pre-killed pinkie mice? Keep trying to mix other foods in with diced straweberries. Plain baked sweet potato is good to try like that. Rep-Cal (calcium with vitamin D) and Herptevite (reptile vitamins) might be something to consider adding to the diet. Don't use both at the same time, as Vitamin A can interfer with Vitamin D.

Tess Cook has a really good box turtle book out, and most pet stores sell it, if you want to try to get it. It's a paperback.

Katrina

thanks for the advice. I have had buttercup for a while now, and she has really turned around. She has gotten used to captivity and has started eating regularly. She is a pig now! She eats a "salad". It has strawberry, blueberries, romaine lettuce, dandelion flowers and leaves, and cut up earthworms in it. I actually built her a 60+ gallon wooden enclosure and put in a waterfall and pond system. It has a some fake ivy over the pond. I also have a strawberry bush in her tank with her, and she loves to hide under that too. Buttercup is really doing great. Here are some pictures of her and her setup, but they are a little old
Image
Image
2 RES-Josie and Wilma
2 Midland Painted turtle - Spike and Penelope
2 Eastern Box turtle- Buttercup and Betty
1 Tiger oscar
1 Albino oscar
2 Jack dempsys
1 Red Devil
1 green severnum
1 Red spotgold severnum
2 Festivums
1 Jaguar cichlid
RR38
 
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Location: Glendale, Ky

Post Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:29 pm   

I don't see any hide in your enclosure. I don't use a hide. I just put a lot of moss and leaf litter on one side for them to dig under. Maybe that's why she is sitting in the water dish....to hide under the plant.
Terry
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Terryo
 
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