Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK,

After much research, posting questions here and getting some wonderful feedback by the community, I took the plunge today. I purchased 2 juvenile EBT's. They are no more than 3 inches from the front of shell to the back. They were very active when I bought them and also when I put them in their temporary home, a plastic tub, while I prepared their actual home.

I have a 40 gal breeder with about 2-3 inches of Bed-a-Beast, live moss, a hide, a water "pool", a food dish, rocks, dry wood, a basking lamp, and a sunlamp.

The EBT's went into their new home and almost immediately one went into the hide and the other tucked it's head into it's shell and hasn't moved since.

Is this normal and typically how long will it take for them to acclimate and feel comfortable. I bought them at a repltile show and there was all sorts of noise and dozens of people walking around. They did not seem shy at all. When I picked them up at the show they didn't immediately tuck into their shells.

When should I expect them to start eating and exploring their surroundings?

Is it alright to add some leaf litter from outside to the tank? We have snow on the ground right now (60 miles west of Chicago), but are expecting a warm-up tomorrow so I should be able to find some of last Fall's leaves.

Thanks to all.

Baby box turtles are often shy. Even those that aren't spend a considerable amount of time semi-buried. I use leaves collected from the outside in my box turtle enclosures. I think they help in keeping the substrate underneath them moist.

When I feed babies, I usually take them out of the enclosure and put them in a container with 1/4 to 3/4 inches of water (depending on the size of the turtles). This way I know they're getting hydrated. In the feeding container (which is usually a tub of some sort) I'll give them worms, mealworms and Reptomin. When feeding fruits and vegetables, I'll set them in a dish in the tank.

You did not mention if the turtles that you bought are captive bred - if they are, they should have an easy time making the adjustment to their new home. I'd expect them to eat within a week.

Your turtles may have been active at the show because they were looking for a place to hide.

Tim

Third Eye

Yes they are captive bred so hopefully they'll get accustom to their new home soon.

Will they become more stressed if I handle them to move them to a "feeding tub"?

I plan on putting some leaf litter in today.

Yesterday they spent 12 hours burrowed under teh Bed-a-Beast. Is this normal.

Thanks

I, too, feed my box turtles in a separate container. It eliminates a lot of potential problems. Any stress is short-lived, and in the long run this usually helps the turtles bond with me by associating gentle handling with a meal. It is also a great opportunity to scrub shells and examine eyes, toes, and other sensitive areas.

Box turtles, especially when young, do tend to hide quite a bit. Combined with stress of the new environment, this may last from a week to a few months. Just make sure that the temperatures are ok. Too much or too little heat can cause excessive hiding. 75 to 80 F is usually good.

Hope this helps. Good luck. I'd love to see pictures.

Thank you all VERY MUCH!

I was away for most of the day and when I got home I checked on the turtles. Much to my suprise and pleasure, one of them was actually up on top of the half log that serves as it's hide. The food dish also seemed to have fewer carrot pieces and less lettuce - it appears as though at least one of them is adjusting.

I got a temp/humidity monitor for one side of the tank and a strip themometer for the basking side. My temps look good and I've got humidity of approximately 45%.

Later this week its off to home depot to gt a few ferns and low plants for the environment.

I'll post pictures in a few days.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Don't feed them lettuce and be careful of the tropical and other plants you buy they can be toxic to a turtle.

They may eat a colorful plant that mimics and color of a food and the results could be death.

The tank you have set up sounds fine but personally I would encourage you to consider an outdoor set-up for the spring, summer, and fall if that is a feasible possibiltiy for you , for the long term health of the BTs, also consider letting them hibernate next year in the winter months. I live probably not too far from you in eastern Iowa, similar climate issues non the less. More sleet and snow last night,this winter is really getting old.
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Upon catching her breath she took a deep gulp and said,"you certainly have been blessed with an impressive set of regius's"
1.0 pastel Python regius
0.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
0.2 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
1.4 Kinosternon baurii
1.0 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
1.1 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.1 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
1.1 heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus

what kind of turtles are these? Thanks.
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Patsy