Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A school surrendered this turtle to the petco i work at and i took him home. They said they'd had him for 20 yrs. They also said he was a tortoise.... i was on that forum though and posted this picture and they said its probably a box turtle.

The 2nd picture is his setup he came with. i had to add the lamp and bowls. And if hes a turtle hes gonna need more water than a water bowl right? i'll be looking up care sheets just thought any tips would be helpful thanks.

Welcome to the Kingsnake!

Yes, it is a box turtle. I'm thinking a three toed boxie, but I'm not a good one for ID. I'm sure someone else will come along and give you a more positive ID.

If this is the way the turtle has been living for the last 20 years, it is a very sad turtle!

He needs a dish of water big enough for him to soak in. He needs some hiding places in his enclosure and some rocks and plants would make his home more interesting.

I'm glad you are researching care. There is a lot of good info around. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions about anything!
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
1.0.0 Yellow belly slider
0.1.0 Red belly cooter
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.11.0 chickens
1.0.0 Dutch(rabbit)
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

thanks. I was pretty upset when the guy brought him in in a 10 gl tank. he said hed be bringing another cage they had kept him in the next day but I was like yeah right. so it was nice when he really did bring that in. but I know he still need more.

im thinking I can use a 6in deep, 18in x 30in rubbermaid/tupperware thing as a pool and get some flat rocks so he can climb out and get in easily. then have the substrate flush with rim of the pool.

does anyone have a planted terrarium type theme going on? with 6 inches of soil I think I could get some turtle safe plants going. maaybe enough for the cover he needs on one side on the cage.

is this realistic though or would he end up eating everything? I used to work at a garden store and have an idea on the types of plants that would work in the conditions.he.needs, just need to look up the safe ones.

also they fed him crawlers almost exclusively and im having a hard time getting him to eat anything else except live insects. if I put them on top of veggies he ignores the veggies anyway. any ideas?

Good for you for searching for better care.
A shallow dish of any sort that he/she can get in and out of is good, but something still convenient to clean every day.
Soil or soil and peat moss can be good at the bottom. Yes, they have a tendency to trample most plants inside and eventually they need to be replaced.

You can keep the plants from being trampled by leaving them in the pots and partially burying them so that the lower parts are protected. Are you sure he's a he? Looks more like a female Three-toed from the one picture. If you flip him/her over and take a picture of the plastron and tail, we could say for sure.

im not sure if its really a he. i tried to take a picture but he closed up shop when i tipped him upside down, probably wasnt the best idea....then i couldnt get him to open back up lol

Welome indeed,
I agree, it looks like a female 3-toed box turtle. Yes they need a little more than a tiny water bowl, they like to soak, your idea of the rubber maid would be more than big enough. You might want to use something smaller though to make it easier for you to consistantly take it out and change the water every day or so and thoroughly clean it at least weekly with 10% bleech or just antibacterial hand soap. Hopefully the forum moderater will post her web site for you, there is a lot of good care info there. Also scroll down this forum there is a lot of good stuff here. You might consider down the road, getting her? outside exposure to fresh air and sunlight, but first things first, the diet needs to be varied. There is a lot of good info out there, cudos to you for looking in to it, and doing your homework.
Take care,
Jeff
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Jeff Benfer
You'll get 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
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 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

Definately get the turtle some outdoor time - even a few short trips a week outside so she can walk around would be great. Just make sure the grass hasn't been treated with anything.
There's a lot of great information on this forum (as was already pointed out), and if you want to see enclosure pictures - go through and check the threads that had "Image" next to them. Everyone has been showing off their enclosures lately

There's been past threads about what to do to help get picky turtles to eat - with them, color and smell is a great motivator. So is being hungry, don't give in and feed insects every time or else the turtle will know she can get what she wants.

If you intend to keep her inside you may want to try getting a very large solid colored rubbermaid tub. These have opaque sides and are less stressing to turtles. Or you can try building her an indoor enclosure, such as a turtle table http://www.unc.edu/~dtkirkpa/stuff/table.html.
General rule is 4'x4' minimum for one turtle - though that's honestly not that large once you start adding dishes and hide spots. For the time being, covering the outsides of the cage you have with some paper would even help. She also looks a bit dry, so a better substrate such as a mix of peat moss and sterile top soil would help hold the humidity she needs. You can (and it looks like you really should) also take her out for daily soaks.
As for bad plants - http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/plantsthatpoison.htm

Can you take some better pictures of her in natural or brighter lighting? Get a good side view of her face if you can and a picture of her feet. I'm guessing that she may need her claws and/or beak trimmed.

I also had a picky eater. I found that ReptoMin helped alot. Just make sure you soak it in water.
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2 Taricha granulosa
1 male Terrapane carolina carolina
10 gal. tropical fish tank.

Congrats on taking this turtle home. He/she deserves a good life and I think you will make a good owner-asking the right questions and looking for answers. A good diet and proper housing will do alot to keep pr make a turtle healthy. The housing should be as naturally as possible so think "where does a turtle live?" and "what do turtles eat?". We learn the proper way to keep turtles but looking at their natural world. A great book for that is Dodd's, Box Turtles.

Opps, another storm! I live in the midwest. I'll write more another time
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

OK Tess, you're being way to modest
Fant. check out the website below Tess's signature. Also, Tess just recently released an excellent box turtle book, and while I haven't had the time lately to finish reading it, what I have read so far has been very interesting, well rounded, and informative reading, I would highly recomend that you purchase a copy, which is available at her web site.
Hey, cudos to you Tess for all your efforts and all that you have done for the "boxies" and "boxie nuts" of the world.
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Jeff Benfer
You'll get 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
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.1 Ambystoma tigrinum
0.2 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

Get some baby food veggies, squash is a good one. Dip half the worm in it and feed it to the turtle. Gradually increase the baby food.

Also, mine really liked the carrots from my beef vegetable soup.

Also, try some beef baby food and mix in a small about of romaine lettuce. Gradually increase the amount of lettuce. Try this with other veggies too. Dandelion leaves are a good choice.

Good luck,keep us informed as to how the both of you are doing!
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
1.0.0 Yellow belly slider
0.1.0 Red belly cooter
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.11.0 chickens
1.0.0 Dutch(rabbit)
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband