Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased 2 Ornate Box turtles. One is 1 1/2" and the other is 1 1/8". They are eating small meal worms and crickets. I dust their food with a calcium powder twice a week and they have both a UVA and UVB bulb on in their enclosure for about 10-12 hours daily. One of the turtles has an extremely soft shell. Is there anything else I need to do for the turtle? I am concerned because the other turtles shell is not as soft. Plesae let me know. Thanks

How old are these turtles? The size is not much bigger than what newly hatched turtles would be. The fact that one's shell is harder is not necessarily important. Hatchling box turtles have soft shells.

How old is the UVB tube? For growing turtle they should be changed at least every 6 months.

Feed them other inscets as well-earthworms, waxworms, pill bugs and superworms.

Is the turtle with the more soft shell eating well?

I raise hatchling ornates and deserts. I have actually had better results using the new self-ballasted mercury vapor bulbs like the Zoomed Reptisun and the T-Rex Active UV bulb, as opposed to the usual flourescent tubes that I use for my Eastern subspecies. The ornates really seem to appreciate the extra heat output. The higher UV output seems to be beneficial, which makes sense since ornates and deserts are from highly sun-drenched plains and arid scrublands, but I can't verify that...it's only my personal experience. They will still hide quite a bit, and need a cool and moist retreat to escape the strong radiant heat. I buy the lowest wattage bulb available.

If you decide to stick with the flo. tubes, be certain to add a basic basking bulb on one end of the enclosure.

Young box turtles kept in excessively moist conditions can sometimes seem much softer.

You can add some cuttlebone to the enclosure and allow the turtles to munch on calcium when they'd like. Mine do frequently.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

When I got the turtles about 3 months ago, they still had, what looked like, an egg tooth on the front of their mouth. Both of the turtles are very good eaters. I will try feeding them the other insects you mentioned. I will also get a new UV bulb. The one I have is about 4 months old. I have the enclosure set up with the UV light at one end and a moist "hide spot" at the other end. They always seem to be at the end that has the moist hide spot though. Should I set up the enclosure differently? Thank you for your suggestions so far!

I made sure mine always got some UVB exposure by putting the water dish and food dishes right under light. I'd change the water every night before I went to bed and when I got up (lights were on a timer) I'd have a dirty water dish to clean out - proof they had been up and about, and under the light.