Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI all, I am looking to get a box turtle, can anyone make a suggestion on whats a good starter and a hardy species? I am by all means am not new to reptiles, but have only had experiance with sulcata's! Also I live in AZ, so I dunno if that would have a effect on what type of box turtle I could have! so any tips,s uggestions, opions etc is very much appreciated. thnx!
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---> ROBERT

I Fear Two things in Life.GOD and MY WIFE!!

Are you planning on keeping indoors or outdoors? The major diff. in boxies and sulcatta's is the tolerance for low humidity. This will be more difficult to control if outdoors in Arizona. Of course, other differences like diet are biggies, but need to be tackled where-ever you live.

Since you're not new to reptiles, you already have the avenues to find species specific care information. You'll have to create a suitable habitat for whatever species you choose, so one necessarily isn't better than the other, although to make it easy on yourself, I might stay away from the humidity loving Florida box turtle.

Did this post help? It's late, perhaps I'll be more reflective tomorrow

Ian

Robert,
I live in the west TX desert, from pictures & videos I have seen this region is similar to the AZ desert but where I am is more sub-desert than that of the AZ desert.
Meaning from what I've seen it's hotter & drier there than it is here. We are on the very northern end of the Chihuahuan desert so it's a little cooler here than it is south of us.

I didn't get box turtles on purpose, mine were needy so I took them in which means they are native to this area. I think why it is they are so easy to care for to me is because they are native. I've read over & over that western ornate box turtles are difficult to care for, I don't see that. I find them to be much easier to care for than our aquatics and our sulcata. In warm weather they can stay outside with no problems because this is their natural habitat.
My point is, I'd guess that if you took in native species then they'd be easier for you to care for too. You might check with local herp societies to see if they that have some you could adopt.
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PHRatz

Hi. My family has kept box turtles outdoors in chandler arizona for 17 years with great success. We have mostly 3-toed box turtles and a couple of ornates. By now we have probably 30 turtles, and that is after finding homes for many of them. In order to keep them, we had the side-yard of our house blocked off so they have that whole area. Recently we made sure the fence was well blocked off in all areas, and they now have free run of the back yard (becuase they were getting too crowded in the side yard). We have lots areas of plants and vegetation, so there are many hiding places and much of the yard has timed sprinklers so the moisture stays higher in patches around the yard. We have a several lilly pond's (with pots turtles can climb onto to get out) that several of the turtles like to swim in, and several other shallow water dishes around the yard. Every other day, we put out mixed veggies/fruit/ and any melon rinds, etc that we have to supplement their food, and they catch crickets, worms and other insects in the yard. They breed like crazy, and we ahve had very few medical problems with them. I've never kept turtles indoors (besides hatchlings) so I can't comment on their care indoors, but for outdoors, with the right yard and setup, they are quite easy, and very fun. Its great to have turtles wandering past while you are out enjoying the sunshine. the only problem is getting too many, and having to try to find good homes for them-which are few and far between!
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