Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got an adult ornate and it was already too cold to put her outside in the outdoor pen I built, so I put her in a 55 gal. vivarium with all the proper lighting, leaf litter, plants, etc. She was eating and thriving for a month, and now that the weather has gotten clold outside, she has stopped eating altogether, and just dug into the leaf litter, and sleeps all day. I guess she is trying to hibrinate. I got her from some pet store worker who had her, and sold her to me. I don't know if he got her in the wild or not. (probably did) Now what to do....too late to put her outside as the ground here has already froze. I soak her every two days, and she looks good...eyes OK, etc, but then she goes right back down in the leaf litter and goes to sleep. I offered her food..wormes...her favorite..but she doesn't want anything only to sleep. Help....I wish I knew how to send a picture on here, I would post the vivarium .

That's a common problem when trying to keep a wild caught turtle from a temperate region indoors for the winter.

Scroll down to the bottom of the main forum page and look at the posts for Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 titled "Indoor Turtle Won't Eat" and "Photos of Dozer and Indoor Enclosure". Both post originated from Lilypad. You may find some of that information helpful.

Good luck!

Thank you so much. I am new to this posting, and have just started to read all the postings. Some are so great, and the people writing them are so nice. When I was young I had Box turtles...kept them in my yard. Now everyone is grown up and I am back having fun and enjoying them again. I haven't changed any tempertures or settings in the Vivarium, so Nora (ornate) must just know it is winter. Should I still take her out to soak her? How do you post pictures on the message board? thanks again.

Hi,
As Ken mentioned, I had the same problem with my EBT. I brought him indoors in October. He had already stopped eating for a while when I brought him in. I hoped he would start eating immediately once he warmed up, but that didn't happen. After about a month he's now eating (quite voraciously) - I just had to make some adjustments to his environment. Here's what I've done:

- Instead of just bark, I added sphagnum moss and Bed-a-Beast to keep the humidity up in the enclosure. The enclosure is misted twice a day with warm water and a large saucer of water is in the enclosure at all times.

- The temp in the enclosure ranges from 85 on the warm side to 75 on the cooler side.

- Because my house can get cool at night I use a night heat lamp (red bulb) to keep him warm so he still thinks its summertime

- Every morning I keep him on a regular schedule. He is soaked for 10-15 minutes in warm water in a plastic tank (5 gallons maybe), then I empty the water, and offered crickets and fruits/veggies in the same container. Because the crickets are so close, they are easy for him to catch, and hard to ignore.

- Finally, I make sure he gets plenty of exercise by removing him from his enclosure and having him walk around the house. Aside from being good exercise, its also a lot of fun to interact with him

It was very frustrating so I can relate to your problem. Because my EBT was healthy otherwise, I just had to be patient and wait for him to come around. Hope this info helped. Good luck and keep us posted.
-----
1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.1.1 Eastern Box Turtles: Daisy, Dozer, and Magnum
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie
0.2.0 Rats: Clementine and Elsie
0.0.2 Rainbow Cichlids

Thank you ...starting tomorrow morning I am going to do everything that you suggested. She was such a joy and doing so well. I am a nervous wreck. I wish I could show you her set up but I don't know how to post pictures here. Can you tell me how to do it? I'm pretty sure that everyting is OK, but I am open to any suggestions. (don't mind my spelling...never was too good at it..sorry)
Will keep you posted. I am so glad that I found this sit. Anopther one that is such a help is Turtle Tails.They are also so friendly and willing to help with any questions. Thank you again, and let me know how to post a picture.

At the top of this Forum's page there is a column on the left that says "More On-site Turtle Resources". Click on the link for "Box Turtles: Photo Gallery". Next, click on "Upload Photos" (it is on the right side of the screen right above the red bar). Then follow the instructions. Apparently, when you try to post a message, a list of your photos will appear at the bottom of the post. Then you choose what photo you would like attached.

Keep in mind, I don't use this function (yet) but I think this is how it works - I've read these instructions posted on this forum before Let me know if it works.

Also, correction... I wrote in my previous message that I soak my turtle in a 5 gallon tank - I do not FILL the tank! The way I wrote that was misleading. I only put enough water in the bottom of the tank for him to be wet, but still be able to stand on his own feet. Sorry if there was any confusion! Good luck, I look forward to seeing your photos.
Lisa
-----
1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.1.1 Eastern Box Turtles: Daisy, Dozer, and Magnum
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie
0.2.0 Rats: Clementine and Elsie
0.0.2 Rainbow Cichlids

I am trying this out (pictures) Don't know what will happen. Here goes. Thanks for the hlep

No it's not working.

Well, I've never done it before, and I just tried it out. Seems to work really well. Maybe there is something wrong with the photo. Try again.

-----
1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.1.1 Eastern Box Turtles: Daisy, Dozer, and Magnum
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie
0.2.0 Rats: Clementine and Elsie
0.0.2 Rainbow Cichlids

When you press reply to post, and then you type in your reply, on the bottom it says Image URL: What do you type in ther? Maybe that's is
I could e-mail them to you, but I know that some people don't want to give that out. Here's mine: TOconn280@aol.com

the pictures I downloaded were too big I got it now. Here is one of them.

I got it now Here are the pictures of Nora (ornate box) Still hasn't come out of her house. Thanks for the patience and help

In my opinion, the enclosure looks good. It seems like she has a lot of places to hide and she looks healthy. As long as she gets some time to stretch her legs and get some exercise, I would think her situation would be suitable for over winter. The one thing I didn't see was a water dish. When was that picture taken? She seems to be eating well in the photo. What conditioned have changed indoors since the time of the photo?

All I can say is to keep the enclosure warm and humid as if it is still summertime, and try to keep her active. My little guy (who would eat anything and everything during the summer) is now only interested in live foods. I still offer fruit and veggies but he is uninterested. Hopefully, the more seasoned boxie owners can instruct you further. I've only had limited experience with boxies, but I hope I've helped some. Good luck, keep us posted!

>>I got it now Here are the pictures of Nora (ornate box) Still hasn't come out of her house. Thanks for the patience and help
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>

-----
1.0.0 Jack Russel Terrier: Skipper
0.1.0 Miniature Pinscher: Bambi
1.1.1 Eastern Box Turtles: Daisy, Dozer, and Magnum
0.1.0 Red Eared Slider: Rosie
0.2.0 Rats: Clementine and Elsie
0.0.2 Rainbow Cichlids