Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was given a hatchling desert box turtle today, and I was wondering what size enclosure would be the best for it. As of right now, I have him/her set up in a 20 gallon long reptile tank, on reptile bark, and I'm using repti-glo 2.0 20 watt linear light for UVB, plus a heat lamp. Would this be okay for a while? Another option, which I didn't think was the best at this one's size, is to put it in one of the old enclosures outside. The old enclosures are metal livestock tubs, and I thought the baby could get overheated in there. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks, Cliff

The size of the enclosure is fine. Reptile bark, however, is crap. Every box turtle I've ever seen that has spent an extended period of time on it ends up with overgrown nails and shell development problems. It doesn't hold humidity and doesn't allow them to dig and burrow the same way that soil does, so their claws eventually get overgrown. Ornates don't need as much humidity as the easterns do, but they still like to burrow and need a humid spot to hide in. If you use soil mixed with sand, coconut fiber or peat, he'll do better. Bark is neater to look at, but no land turtle lives on bark in nature. They all live on some kind of soil mixture and, try as we might, we can't improve on what they actually live on in their wild habitats. Much of what is sold in pet stores for turtles has nothing to do with the wellbeing of turtles. It has to do with making indoor habitats aesthetically palatable to the people who keep the turtles. Think like a turtle.

Ditto on the bark. And thinking like a turtle!

I'm taking a turtle to the vet for a claw trim later this week: it's been living on bark for many years now, & looks terrible. What really is bad about this is that the turtle has been living in a park system visitor's center all this time. I'm volunteering my time and cash to get this guy looked after.

DH and I just built a new habitat for it, so it has more room, doesn't have to live in a glass aquarium any more, and has peat and leaves to dig around in, as well as a flat piece of shale to help with the claws in the future, and a bigger, deeper water dish that it can climb in and out of easily.

Needless to say that I gave the park 'naturalist' an earful! Apparently he's been telling people for years that the turtle had enough room and was just fine eating dog food. I'll try to get some before and after photos.

Your enclosure size is good. Hatchling deserts need to be treated more like an aquatic turtle than the eastern box turtle subspecies. Meaning, they need a hot basking bulb on one end and a cool, moist retreat on the other. Most keepers of eastern hatchlings do not provide a basking bulb. I have found it very necessary in deserts and ornates. Good job on that one.

I always choose to keep my hatchlings indoors until they reach between 3 and 4 inches in carapace length. Predators, monitoring food intake, and the difficulty in finding a hidden hatchling box turtle are the main reasons for this.

Good luck with the little one. Baby deserts and ornates have such a great personality...they are little beasts!

cb05 This little guy is almost breeding size now.

I use a top-soil/mulch mixture for the adults. Would that be okay for the hatchling? Right now, he's eating soft gel, and hatchling box turtle food, along with mealworms. Is that okay? I plan on giving him some crickets later today. I heard that when they are young, they will eat hardly anything plant material, and mostly animal protien. Is that true

Thanks, Cliff

That is mostly true, though you should still offer vegetable matter several times a week. They will often suprise you.

I'd avoid mealworms. Earthworms, waxworms, and small superworms are much more nutritious. Consider yourself lucky if the little critter is taking prepared foods. I have a difficult time getting my deserts to take anything but live prey for several months to a year. Crickets are ok as long as they are dusted and gut loaded well.