Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I have been a lurker here for years and rarely post, but this one I'm gonna have to give my opinion....
I have kept 3toed boxies for about 8 years. None have died. I have a colony of 5.5 (and climbing, many babies )that live in a predator proof 8x22ft pen. They were wildcaughts when I bought them. I live in Antioch which is in the eastern San Fransisco Bay area in California. They hibernate Nov-March. First, they had the run of my backyard, but I didn't see them enough to enjoy them, so I put them in a pen. My parents before me kept wild caughts in their backyard too, with no deaths.
The secret to acclimating wild caughts to their new surroundings is to give them everything they need to feel secure and to survive. Food, water, sunshine, shelter, various microclimates, and nesting places. They can't resist Snails/slugs, worms, and strawberries. Once you've got them eating, the chances of their survival are excellent, unless they have some underlying health problem to begin with.(which you can usually treat)
I think you should build her a sunny, predatorproof pen alongside of your mountain house. Once she is acclimated to the pen, and settled in really good (robust eating, good weight and general health) then you can decide what to do with her. There's three ways to go...keep her in the pen, release her in an area near your mountain home, or release her right outside of your home.
Let me elaborate on each one of these methods:
Keep her in the pen: The pen is designed with native flora and fauna, so that she can survive with as little human interaction as possible, leaving you with freedom to go on vacation ect...
Release her in an area near your home: Pick a spot that supports other boxies and seems like it's perfect to you. Introduce her to this area as much as you can. When you see that she is comfortable, meaning that she has found the water, actively hunts(successfully mind you), has found hideouts, maybe even other boxies...let her go there. Come back and check on her. If she's not doing ok, put her back in her pen, and find another place, until you find one that suits her.
Release her right outside of your home: The outside perimiter of your home is landscaped to support boxies and not for visual appeal. Native bushes, groundcover, small pond, strawberry plants, compost pile, predatorproof hideout, snail/slugs everywhere....And there is a lot of this right outside of her pen. She is introduced gradually to the area immediately outside of her pen. One day, when you feel the time is right, you cut a hole in her pen to let her out into the place that she is famliar with. As she wanders, she only finds suitable habitat. She can go in and out of her pen when she wants to. Heck, once you have that kind of habitat going on around your house, they'll be other boxies that will show up as well.
Now if all this sounds like something you don't want to do...then please give her to someone who will give her a good home.
I think she has a better chance at survival with your help. Letting her go into a wild area that she is not familiar with is a 50/50 chance IMHO. With your help almost 100%. But it takes comittment.
I'm not sure that letting her hibernate this year is advisable, unless she is absolutely healthy and a heavyweight. She may have to overwinter in your home. Not so hard to do...I did it with some of mine, and they did just fine.
If I had a mountain home like that, it would be a boxie sanctuary. I would spend hours outside playing with them. I'm sure some of them would end up on the porch, waiting for some food that that big animal always flips their way...

oh jeez, previous message was for Severa's boxie situation...guess I didn't get on the thread...

N/P