3 toed box biting wood

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weird2u

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Mar 31, 2010
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I have had my 3 toed box turtle for 20 years next month. Recently she has started biting wood more frequently. Is this something I should be concerned about? I recently had her beak trimmed.
 

Vicious_Fish

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That is pretty odd. I too have had the same box turtles for over 20 years and I've never come across this. How do you keep her? Indoors/outdoors? Is she biting wood substarte, decor or her cage? What are you feeding her? How was her beak trimmed?
 

weird2u

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How do you keep her? Indoors/outdoors? She is kept indoors as we now live in a condo.

Is she biting wood substarte, decor or her cage? wood furniture and wood decking (substrate?) used in her cage

What are you feeding her? she eats super worms, meal worms, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, grapes, occasional peas, corn. romaine, butter lettuce.

How was her beak trimmed? I was not there when it was trimmed but it looks like it may have been with clippers.
 

Vicious_Fish

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Do you have a pic? It sort of sounds like she's unhappy with the way it was trimmed. What you can do is buy a cuttlefish bone that they sell for parrots to gnaw on for trimming their beaks. Hopefully she'll bite that and get her beak how she likes it.
 

pbeemer

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i have a very large clay pot for my tortoise to live in; (night-time housing -- her cage is much larger!)

she started off chewing on the cuttlefish bone -- probably both for calcium and beak wear -- but in the past year or so has evolved to chewing on the clay pot. i assume that this is to trim her beak
 
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weird2u

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3 toed health issue?

OK, so I had new furniture delivered, the next day my turtle had her nails clipped and her beak trimmed. The vet clipped a piece of her skin near her mouth and she now has a skin tag (?). She then started biting on the furniture/wood. No she did not ingest anything. Then the weather turned unbareably hot and humid. She is kept indoors the majority of her life but is now acting quite strange. She hides under a quilt, as far as I know ALL THE TIME. I have pulled her out every few days to force her to get some water and have been offering her food but she stays deep in the quilt darkness and will not eat. Actualy that is not true a few days after vet visits she ate a little bit of melon and lettuce. When I put her by her water she does drink, take a QUICK dip and then wants to go back to the quilt.

Any thoughts? opinions? suggestions? comments? It has been a few weeks now.
 

Vicious_Fish

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So.....do you keep her loose in your condo or something? If so I would change this and move her into a rubbermaid tub or something where you can see and control her environment. Can you get us some pics of her skin tag?
 

weird2u

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Yes, she roams the condo freely and LOVES to do this. Her favorite spot is in front of the patio door. I like it cause it allows her to get lots of exercise. I will try to remember to take a photo tonight and post tomorrow sometime.
 

weird2u

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What is the largest tub I can purchase? I think I have a 36 x 24 but would like her to have more room.
 

Vicious_Fish

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What is the largest tub I can purchase? I think I have a 36 x 24 but would like her to have more room.

I know Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot sell pretty big ones of at least 50 gallons or larger. The footprint is more important than the height. Until you can get her back to her old self you should keep her in this to monitor her and see that she's being kept warm enough and is eating. Do you put vitamins on her food? If she's kept inside do you have a UVB light for her to bask under? Both these are very important for box turtles.
 
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