Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your help on this poor box turtle I took in.

I am thinking of a larger enclosure for her until a good
home can be found and I was wondering if I could give
her run of 1/2 of a bedroom. I am afraid if I ask my
husband to build another enclosure he will kill me,
and I understand that box turtles really like freedom.
I thought I would set-up a home box which will be a rubbermaid
contained with cypress mulch and for the rest of the area
maybe some astroturf with some potted plants and water dish
etc. If you think this isn't ideal I could have another
enclosure built. My husband this year has updated all of
my reptile enclosures from my Redfoot tortoise all the way
to my Iguana. This in itself is 5'x3'x6 1/2 foot tall. It
is beautiful though, all wood and tempered glass. He is
a great guy for putting up with me

Thanks
Linda

I've found astroturf to be a nightmare to clean in an environment with humidity and dirt it gets mold or mildew and is just a pain.

For a large enclosure, still remember you want to be able to clean it easily, and you want to be able to maintain humidity throughout. I tend to prefer either enclosed ones (if mine are indoors for sickness or are in their first year of life) or the use of a thick loose substrate kept moist with LOTS of potted plants like ferns and ivys growing all over, helping hold down the humidity. Covering portions of it helps as well.

(what do you change out husbands every year???)
Sometimes more space is harder to care for the animal. The setup you have is fine as long as all it's needs are met and it is also easier to monitor the animal.
Ed

I have always found that the single most-used structure that I supply to any and all of my land turtles is a “cave”——some sort of an enclosure, with only one “door,” where they can retire and feel really secure.

In my outdoor pen, I took a plastic garbage can and cut it in half lengthwise and laid each half on the ground to make a sort-of quonset hut. I placed one cave at each end of the pen, and the turtles choose whichever one they want at the time.

Indoors, you can do something similar, though on a smaller scale. Just make sure that the cave is big enough for the turtle to turn around in.

AS far as smaller, indoor caves go, I use big cheap plastic mixing bowls from the dollar store. I flip them over and cut an entrance on one side, making sure there are no sharp edges. My guys love them.