Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, before I joined this forum, I DID know that box turtles need a heat light and a UVA/UVB light, and a pool of water. Didn't know a baby should spend the first bits of his/her life in moist Sphagnum - but how long till I change to something else?

I've read some of the old posts - from long ago - but have not seen an answer.

Bill

Quite a few people eventually house their turtles outside, and therefore don't necessarily switch to something else for their indoor setup. Or they graduate their growing turtles to larger quarters and introduce more variety to the larger setup: hatchlings don't remain hatchlings forever. Growth rates among individual hatchlings vary considerably, so flexibility on your part is important when it comes to adapting their housing for them.

How do you konw when to put them outside?

By sphagnum, do you mean the stuff that really does look like and is moss, or do you mean peat moss that looks like dirt?

I don't think there is anything set in stone on substrate.
I put hatchlings on damp paper towels until their platrons heal, then I use bed-a-beast.

I mean Sphagnum that still looks like moss. (I took bryology in college, and could not tell you more than just the genus itself, Sphagnum, when I used to be able to distinguish quite a few species.)

Plastrons healing? I didn' tknow they were born with problems with the plastron. Can you explain what has to heal before moving him/her to Bed-A-Beast?

When they hatch, they have a yolk sac coming out of their plastron.

The yolk sac is absorbed back into the abdomen over a period of a few days. But it takes 3-4 weeks for the plastron to completely heal up, so I like to keep them on something clean so dirt doesn't get into the opening.

Kind of like the way the umbilical has to heal on a baby.

"When they hatch, they have a yolk sac coming out of their plastron.

"The yolk sac is absorbed back into the abdomen over a period of a few days. But it takes 3-4 weeks for the plastron to completely heal up, so I like to keep them on something clean so dirt doesn't get into the opening.

"Kind of like the way the umbilical has to heal on a baby."

I don't think I see any hole or weakness in my turte's plastron

There's really no hard and fast rule on that one. The issue is that hatchlings can dehydrate very quickly, and should be kept on a fairly damp substrate. The actual choice of substrate really comes down to personal preference.

At about 3 inches, my turtles' shells are nice and hard and their skin is more tough due to the development of their scales. This is typically when I place mine outdoors, but it could also be a good benchmark for moving to an easier and drier substrate. That's just my opinion. Experiment, and find out what works best for you.

I'm experimenting now myself.
I tried the sphagnum moss, worked fine the first time then I noticed that the baby is staying as far away from it as possible so out with that.
I tried sand from outdoors because that's where the baby will be eventually.. it's ok but the baby winds up with sand in it's eyes so I tossed that. Right now I have the baby on an old towel same way I do the adults until I can find something I like.
With daily baths so far baby isn't looking dry but I'm on the hunt for a decent substrate.
I used the bed a beast with my frog once but ended up tossing that because it kept sticking all over his slimy body. I watched a pac-man using his back legs trying to scrape it off all the time. For a frog that doesn't move much I thought constant scraping is a bad thing so I tossed it out & put him back on moss.
I dunno what I'll end up with for the turtle but I'll keep looking & reading suggestions here myself.
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PHRatz