Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I responded to an ad for a box turtle on craigslist. We purchased this turtle for 25$ only to find out that it's actually illegal to have this kind of turtle where we live. Now that's not much of a problem, what our problem really is, is that we're not sure he's able to eat. We think his beak might be badly overgrown. Today we bought a nail filer and tried to get a bit of his beak filed down, obviously he did not like this. Not only is his beak overgrown, but his nails are terribly overgrown as well, to the point of curling back. The people who had him before kept him in a 10 gallon with no heat, no humidity, and have only fed him crickets. I also believe that his under shell might be cracked, and weak. Can that be a problem?

Please take a look at my pictures, and let me know what you think.

http://ruudgoedhart.nl/fotos/IMG_3173.jpg

http://ruudgoedhart.nl/fotos/IMG_3171.jpg

http://ruudgoedhart.nl/fotos/IMG_3172.jpg

http://ruudgoedhart.nl/fotos/IMG_3174.jpg

http://ruudgoedhart.nl/fotos/IMG_3175.jpg

We named him Monty btw.
Thanks for any information.

great pix.
yes her beak looks overgrown, as do her nails.
I bet those who know more than me would suggest that you either take it to a vet for trimming, or provide cuttlebone for the beak and some surface for those nails other than the bottom of a glass aquarium.
Otherwise, soak that girl. Provide a source of clean water for her to climb in/out. She looks a little dry.
There are some books on most online stores that would help for care/feeding and also Tess's site:http://www.boxturtlesite.info/bxbook.html
keep us posted,
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Patsy

That turtle doesn't look too bad at all. I'd cut the nails with a clipper. I don't see any problem with the beak or shell. I think if you set it up right with the proper diet, lighting, thermal gradient, etc., it will be fine - it looks pretty healthy.

Tim

Third Eye

Monty looks generally healthy. If you clip the nails and put her on a substrate she can dig into (soil mixed with peat or mulch) to keep the nails worn down, she should be fine. And mix up the diet, of course. Worms, fruit, veggies. Dry Reptomin pellets would actually be very good because they're hard and will help to gradually wear the beak down. Monty looks to be a young (maybe 6 yrs.) female Three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis), still growing. Some regular exposure to UVB light or direct sun (not filtered through glass) would do her a world of good too.

Hey, thanks for all the responses to my last post. We're thinking definitely a vet, so Monday we'll be calling around to find one that cars for reptiles. I've included some pictures of the under section of his shell that worries me. It seems to be cracked, and very weak. Is there anything that can be done for this?
Today we gave her(him) whatever it is! Monty some food that our painted turtle eats, and he tried to eat it, but he really can't open his mouth at all. It worries me, how long can he go without eating?
Thanks

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Sorry, did that linking thing wrong

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I wonder if what you are calling a crack is the small growth ring that is forming between teh scutes. If so that is normal and you will see it on the carapace as well as the plastron. When they are small the growth rings are more noticable, but as they age they become smaller and smaller until you can't really see them anymore. Very old turtles have shells that are nearly smooth.

Below is a picture of my 3 toe with a super large growth ring. You can clearly see the spaces that I am talking about.

I agree the turtle looks dry and would benefit from a 20 minute soak in warm water for several days.

Monty has an unusual plastron. Some of the scutes are malformed, but not in a way that is harmful in any way to the turtle. On that second shot, the second transverse seam from the top is what would normally be the seam that forms the hinge and allows the turtle to close the shell completely. The seam is kind of jagged and doesn't look like a typical hinge. The scutes above and below the seam are irregularly shaped and have an odd growth pattern that is unusual, but again, probably not a health issue of any kind. Some turtles are just born with atypical shells. Can Monty close her shell?

He or she will be fine, add a little sand to the substrate to help wear the claws and "beak" down will help too, that way if you throw a nightcrawler down they will get a little sand crunch, cruch to keep the beak worn down just as in the wild.
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0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
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Monty is lucky you came into his life. Now he will be cared for properly. I hope you now have him in a larger, moist, warm habitat with UVB light.

The beak is overgrown but is likely not what's keeping him from eating. Since his diet was so bad he probably has a food fetish. Please read the diet and health sections on my on line care book to see how you can break him of this. It's at www.boxturtlelsite.info/bxbook.html.

Give him nice long soaks, cuttle bone to chew on and try giving him earthworms and grated sweet potatoes, carrots and apples. A trip to a good herp vet is in order too Tell us the state you live in and we can tell you if we know of any good vets.
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Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

I rescued a 3 toe that had very similiar nail problems. I directed my attention only to the curved nails. I trimmed only the smallest amount off twice (a few days a part). I also provided her with things that would file them down. I made a ramp with wood and heavy duty sand paper attached for her to climb as well as some 12 x 12 clay tiles. I fed her worms on the tiles which also helped with her beak. The curved nails are still evident three years later but not a problem because of her naturally wearing them down.

Hey,

Monty is really improving. We took her to a vet, got her examined, got her nails and beak trimmed... And today we actually saw her eating (crickets, quite brutal, I might add).

So she'll be fine

Thanks for all the help