My Three Toed Box Turtle

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crimsonmoon

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Aug 31, 2008
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Sorry to dissapoint, but no pics. i left my camera in the car on accident and my dad is gone right now, so i will post some up tonight if i can
anyway, i have a three toed box turtle that is the size of two of my fists living in a 20g long. a friend gave him to me because they didn't have the time for him and knew that i would take care of him.
he is growing quickly and as soon as it warms up outside i am going to build him an outdoor enclosure on the south side of my house where he can get a lot of sun, but there are going to be lots of plants and a small bushy tree that will give him shade if he wants it. Also (if i have the cash then) I am going to put a little water feature in there as well so that he can swim (he absolutely loves his swimming time, ive read that that is characteristic of three toeds so it makes sense) and a little island in the middle so ants can't get in his food.
i feed him canned organic dogfood mixed with cherry tomatoes and a little bit of collard greens every two or three days. he loves it. i read that the dogfood was good for them, so thats a plus.
right now in his 20g (which is getting snug) he has a big water rock that he loves to be in, a cave to hide in, and some kind of bark stuff for bedding. There is a fluorescent uvb light for him and a heat lamp with uvb in it. he can get away from the heat if he wants.
Does anybody have any suggestions or past experiences for me? or critiques on his setup now? i know there aren't pics so you guys are somewhat blind in that area, but i will post some later so you can see it instead of reading about it.
Oh i almost forgot, his name is Terrance
 

cam191919

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Apr 8, 2008
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well sounds like you got a good plan for him, see if you can get plants native to where he lives and make sure the cage is completely escape/predator proof. im sure VF will post some pics of his enclosure :D
 

crimsonmoon

Gotta love those cories...
Aug 31, 2008
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thanks! he is from tenessee (my friend lives there, they found him just waltzing around after a big rain) so i think that i am just going to dig up a few things growing in the creek bed on my land.
he doesn't seem happy in his 20g, i worry about him. i don't think that he should be in there much longer.
also, im going to try to let him hibernate next winter.... :/ kinda nervous about that tho
 

Vicious_Fish

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Mar 6, 2007
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I'd definitely recommend an outdoor enclosure at least for the summer. Box turtles don't thrive well indoors and a 20 gallon long is really small for one. You be better off buying a large rubbermaid tub to keep it in. You can buy one for cheap at Wal-mart, Lowe's or Home Depot.

As for your diet, I would really only feed the canned dog food as a treat maybe once a month. It has a lot of fat in it which can give your turtle kidney and liver damage. Feed things like grated zucchini, yellow squash and carrots, chopped up tomatoes and bananas. They really LOVE berries so you can also feed strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and black berries. They should have some meaty items in there diet like earthworms and slugs that are pesticide free. Try feeding your turtle some calcium dusted crickets, I bet it will love them.

Here's the pen I have for my 4 EBT's. I took this pic right after I build it the summer of '07. I have a lot more plants in it now. They live in this all year long. At the moment they're hibernating.






 

cam191919

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my four florida box turtles enjoyed a few strawberries today. i just go in the cage, put a berry up to the sunlight so they can see it, and they all rush in for their share. they are one of my favorite pets because of their tameness...

mice 151.jpg

mice 010.jpg

mice 010.jpg mice 151.jpg
 

Vicious_Fish

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^ They look good!
 

crimsonmoon

Gotta love those cories...
Aug 31, 2008
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wow they look so happy!!! where do you guys get box turtles? im curious because i think i might want to get one or two more so that terrance doesn't get lonely once he's in his huge outdoor habitat. But i refuse to steal them from the wild
how do you let the turtles hibernate? before they hibernate, would it be a good idea to put hay or a bunch of raked leaves and grass on top of them? and when should i do it? im really nervous about letting Terrance hibernate, idk why lol.

Also, what is the plant that is around your box turtle in your first pic, cam?
 

cam191919

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Apr 8, 2008
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all of my turtles i found, and some of them have some pretty messed up shells. one had a missing piece of shell on next to her spine, i think a bobcat or somthing chomped on her. another one has a big crack down the front and some obviously manmade wounds :mad2:. the other two i found three years before the others, and when a male showed up by the cage i had to let him in. even if i did set them to the wild im sure they would find their way back by now. they share their ridiculusly high cage with bobwhite quail, another florida native...

the plants grow with grass, and took over that particular spot, not sure what kind but they grow like weeds
 
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