Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I am a school teacher and avid herp lover. About 2 weeks ago a student brought me a small baby box turtle (appears to be female, 3-4 inches long). He found it in the woods and has kept it ever since. It just infuriates me when people remove pets from the wild, I just HATE it! Because this poor little turtle has hardley eaten in months, and lived in a rubber maid bid filled with an inch of water at all times. The student thought that all turtles lived in water.......So i've got the turtle now in a proper enclosure with the rights lights and all, but I'm having a hard time getting her to eat anything. I tried to give her some JumpStart (a high calorie supplement) but she keeps hiding in her shell everytime I try. I've got canned box turtle food that I got from our local petstore. What can I do to try and save this little turtle? I'd hate to see her perish because some families are ignorant and robbed her of her wild state. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.

i've had all kinds of reptiles and amphibs, even bred chameleons for 6 years, but i've never had a turtle.

It sounds as if you've rescued the turtle from certain death with the former keeper.

Young box turtles eat almost exclusively live prey. Earthworms are by far their favorite. Some won't eat the European redworms offered at most bait stores, but garden worms and nightcrawlers are eagerly consumed. Superworms, waxworms, and crickets should also be offered. Gradually, the turtle should begin to associate you with food. At that point(or even now), you can begin to add in other food items such as cucumber, squash, tomato, apples, cantaloupe, and all kinds of berries. You can mix in chopped dark, leafy greens with more desirable items. The list of appropriate food items is very large, but this is just a short list of those items I have had the most success with.

Do you know what type of box turtle this is? We can help you identify it if you give us the basic area in which you live. A picture would be great. There are some dietary and husbandry differences between the various box turtle species.

It sounds as if you are confident in your other husbandry methods. Just to be safe, you may want to outline some of the basics. There are many very different theories on raising young turtles, and some information on web "caresheets" is very bad.

I think it is great that you are making this effort!

I will try some waxworms and see what she does with them.

I can post a pic tomorrow of her.

I think she is an Eastern Box Turtle? I live in southwestern virginia.

I really want to give her a chance! It just makes me sad that she was taken from the wild, tried to make a "pet", and starved in the process......

thanks

If the animal itself is from Southwest VA then it is for sure an Eastern box turtle.

I really like the area where you live...it is gorgeous there. Great trout fishing!

Ken,
Should releasing it back in the same spot that it was found not be considered? I know there are arguements both ways, but perhaps that would be the turtles best chance of recovering to full health, or at the very least get it eating and active and a good bill of health and then release it back where it was found.
Jeff
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You got your regius's to the wall, man!
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
4.1 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

I honestly don't know, man. The original poster seems knowledgeable, and I know that the State of VA would rather captive animals stay captive rather than being released without proper planning and precautions. This is a huge area of debate. I thought about bringing it up, but it seems to me like goneXenopus has reasons for not releasing. I don't know if it is permanent or temporary.

Most States now view the release of captives as more damaging to populations than the "small scale" collection by individuals...in general.

Last I checked, it would be illegal (in VA) for a box turtle to be released if it were kept in captivity for more than a month (don't quote me on that, though).

Given the time of year and the condition of the turtle, I personally think that the smartest thing would be to try to get it back to health before considering release or housing it outdoors. It's still pretty cold out. I'm in Central VA where it's a little warmer, and mine haven't emerged from hibernation yet. I would certainly not release one at this time of year, good health or not.

How would you all suggest heating that little guy up. Slowly? What temps? For how long? Cool at night? Under cage heater or heat lamp?..How long after heating do the start to eat?....just curious.

My understanding of the original post was that the turtle had been neglected by former keepers (kids).

It was not that the turtle was woken up out of hibernation.

In any event keeping the turtle warm (about 85F on the warm side of the tank low 70F on the cool) and giving it regular soaks will help stimulate the appetite. The heat source could be ceramic heat emitter or light bulb depending on the type of set up. (UVA/B is this little guys case would also be important as it may further stimulate the appetite as well as help with calcium absorbtion.) My little one started eating nightcrawlers in the water while soaking in warm water. I agree that the moving prey is really important to getting them to eat.

I hope you'll keep us posted about his progress and I wish you the best of luck.

If the turtle was kept at room temperature it would be fine to bring it up quickly to the preferred optimum temperature of about 78-80 degrees. What that means to the owner is they would need to provide an area in the housing that is about 84 in one end and 75 in the other and allow the turtle to self regulate. I like to put a large, shallow water pan under the heat lamp(s) and extra spaghnum moss on the cooler side for hiding.

Under tank heat strips or pads are not recommended for box turtles. An over head lamp is best. I use regular incandescent light bulbs for heat. If the housing is large use several or you can move up to a heat lamp.

I use UVB light AND a plant light (UVA). For young, growing turtles change the UVB blub every 4-6 months and every year for adult turtles. Give the indoor turtles as much time outside as possible-keeping in mind they can escape from unsecure pens and overheat in containers of any kind.

Once core body temp is warm enough, turtles will begin to eat-- IF there are no health problems. Every new turtle should be seen by a vet so its health can be documented. Good luck with your turtles!
Tess

>>How would you all suggest heating that little guy up. Slowly? What temps? For how long? Cool at night? Under cage heater or heat lamp?..How long after heating do the start to eat?....just curious.