Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A local breeder gave me a pair of hatchling eastern box turtles in september. At time of aquisition, they were 1 week old. X, the larger hatchling, Y is the small hatchling. Both were "quarter" size and still had the egg tooth on their noses. I was told to keep them in shallow water and offer chopped up earthworms. I did not house them this way. They enjoy burrowing into moist substrate (in my case a mix of oak leaves, jungle mix, spaghnum moss and dirt from my yard). Water is offered in a shallow bowl and they do seem to enjoy a soak. There is a bulb above the cage with a warm area in the mid 80F. I offer slugs and earthworms daily, whole and live. The smaller of the two did not begin eating until 3 weeks after they were set up at home. The larger has eaten since day 1, voraciously. The larger is almost 3 inches SVL, the smaller is 1/2 the size. I will continue to give updates if you want to read them, has anyone here raised hatchling easterns or can offer any more advice? Your thought are appreciated. I find these turtles very entertaining. Thanks, J.A.

Can you post photos of them?
Thanks!

I'd love to keep reading your updates as well. Amazing how different they can be, just like kids!

heres a pic of them from last week. as you can see, the smaller has some growing up to do. they are 2 months old. the larger is well over 2 inches and seems to grow over night.

both are feeding daily on slugs and earthworms (slugs favored).

i plan on housing them safely outdoors in spring.

cheers,

-john a

ps, the link is my water monitor lizard website. check it out if you like. the forum has some pics of my captives.

sorry, heres the link. these are my favorites but the box turtles are a close 2nd.

i am thinking of creating a page on my site for box turtle enthousiasts, other than ks.

regards,

-John

cybersalvator.com

You may want to consider separating them at feeding time: sometimes smaller ones turtles do better without the presence of significantly larger competition.
You did the right thing by changing to a substrate like sphagnum...it amazes me that you were advised to keep them in water!

I'm told this a lot by people. I often notice that the box turtles at shows will have a little water mark a few centimeters up their carapace that goes all the way around...even ornates. "Oh yeah", they say, "I keep them in water and feed them Reptomin(or Mazuri, or whatever)." These are typically very young turtles, so they haven't really suffered the consequences yet. One guy, when he could see the disapproval on my face said, "Well, you know who the box turtle's closest relative is, right?...the Red-eared Slider." I simply walked away. Of course, as I typically do, I thought of a comeback several hours later. "Oh, ok, well since our closest relative is a Chimp why don't you go live in a tree?!"

>>I'm told this a lot by people. I often notice that the box turtles at shows will have a little water mark a few centimeters up their carapace that goes all the way around...even ornates. "Oh yeah", they say, "I keep them in water and feed them Reptomin(or Mazuri, or whatever)." These are typically very young turtles, so they haven't really suffered the consequences yet. One guy, when he could see the disapproval on my face said, "Well, you know who the box turtle's closest relative is, right?...the Red-eared Slider." I simply walked away. Of course, as I typically do, I thought of a comeback several hours later. "Oh, ok, well since our closest relative is a Chimp why don't you go live in a tree?!"
>>

OH good gosh.. I can't even imagine keeping a little ornate in water. That's a good comeback - about living in a tree.
When I look at the landscape here I just can't even fathom that an ornate should be sitting in water full time.
Yes they like to soak in water for a few minutes each day but then they want to get out when they're done.
-----
PHRatz