Box Turtle and Tortoise Discussion :: Finally Found Box Turtles!!!

[RunninWideOpen]

Thanks!! I feel more confident that I'm giving them a good home now that I've gone over it with someone with more experience.

Hadn't thought of a food dish..... I was just layin the worms on the dirt. lol Probably why they were getting away so easy.

[jenaero]

lmao..probably

I know it's a lot of info to absorb. I was there once too

[RunninWideOpen]

well my wife and i had something come up and we have to go away for 5 days! argh.

my mom is going to come by and take care of all the turtles, but there's no way i'm going to get her to dig around looking for the boxies for 20 minutes and then put worms in there. do you think that if I try and load up the dirt with some worms that they will dig around and find them? and get enough to eat? i'm thinking mealworms and earthworms.

i've got a couple weeks to come up with a good solution. at least i don't have to go right away.

[jenaero]

Are the lights on timers? I think if you put some earthworms in there (dirt has to be moist for them) they'll be fine. Just make sure they get fresh, room temperature water every day. If I were you, I'd also get some small crickets, take the back legs off, and chuck them in too. That way they'll be visible to the turts, and be easy to catch because they can still walk around, but they can't jump.

[RunninWideOpen]

No, I don't have timers yet. I wish I did. I went and looked at em last week and they're so expensive (especially since I need 3). My mom will be turning the lights off and on for all 3 of my setups. She'll also be spraying the dirt, watering the fern (found out its some kinda green fern), and putting fresh drinking/soaking water in.

I hate breaking the legs off of crickets, lol. Used to do that for my ornate boxie. But, I agree that is a good idea. I tried getting the canned crickets this time so I wouldn't have to do that, but the turts didn't show any interest in them at all. Guess they like the thrill of the hunt.

[jenaero]

Not only that, but canned crickets are gonna get really funky/moldy if left in the dish for 5 days.

I don't do my own. I get the guys at the pet store to do it

[RunninWideOpen]

Hey, that's a good idea!! You're a genius! I'm gonna try that.

[DavidY]

you can get some light timers at a hardware store (home depot or lowes) for like $5. Don't bother with the ones at the pet stores. They are way over priced and unnecessary. I use one light timer and a multi-outlet power strip (another $5) so I can run several lights off of the same timer.

[RunninWideOpen]

Hm, thanks Davidy. That's much more reasonable. I'll do that. I'll still need 3 of each, non of my setups are really next to each other......but $30 is much better than $100-$150!

[RunninWideOpen]

so I have more good news. I just adopted a rescued adult Ornate boxie!! It was found on the side of the road walking around, taken to the turtle rescue place in Bakes, and they gave me a call. No charge either. So excited!

Still haven't determined the sex. He seems completely healthy so far other than a minor chip on his shell in the rear that seems to have healed. I've created an outdoor pen. I've named it Diego.

I will post pictures soon!

[SpotsMama]

Can't wait to see the pics!

[RunninWideOpen]

Alrighty, brought Diego in for a photo session. He/she wasn't too excited, but here they are. Comments, observations, suggestions would be much appreciated. He's been through quite a lot it seems and I'm trying to identify all the potential problems he may have. Also, not sure if it's male or female. I am not good at determining sex on ornates. Maybe someone can tell by the pics?











I'll get pics of the outdoor pen I set up tomorrow. No light out there now.

[SpotsMama]

What a sweet little boxie! He/she has a nice face. Pretty patterns on the shell!

[steve]

Very pretty! I can't tell either, though the rescue should have told you before hand. Seems like you are starting to build a nice collection.

[RunninWideOpen]

The guy at the rescue said he is not good at telling the sex on ornates, but he thinks it's a female.

Yep, my collection is complete for now....I hope. Need a house before it grows any more.

Here is my setup for Diego and a tail shot.