Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone! This is my first ever posting on this forum .. I just joined this morning.

I recently purchased an Eastern Box Turtle, Sheldon. He is about 5 inches long and according to the pet store 10 months old. He is also male .. red eyes and slight curve to his bottom shell.

For the first week I had him he would only eat mealworms, I couldn't get him to eat food pellets, cat food or strawberries .. just the worms.

A week ago he went into hiding .. he burrowed down into his bark so only the top of his shell was showing. I figured "Okay he is trying to hibernate now." I live in Canada and winter is definintely coming! It seemed logical. I read up on hibernate quickly .. making him fast for at least two weeks before "planting him".

Well now he is awake again .. noticed him tunneling two nights ago under the bark with his head extended .. you could notice how the bark was moving. I thought perhaps he was hunting.

Came home yesterday to find his head out his shell looking at me .. tried a few more mealworms and he gobbled them up. He is still not that active so I am very confused.

Is this normal? What does he want / need?

His cage is normally around 75F but if I turn on his heat lamp it gets to 95F under it. I also have a UV light which I turn on in the morning before work and off at night before I go to bed.

He has been hiding out in his little cave under the bark.

What am I doing wrong?? I am seriously confused by all of this.

Thanks,
Marc

First of all, there is no way that your turtle will hibernate at 75 degrees, or at any temperature you keep your house during the winter.

If it has been getting chilly outside, it is reasonable to assume that your house has been dropping in temperature, and in response your turtle will begin to slow down. He may take a nap for several days at a time, or just kind of sit there. This is fine. It is not hibernating.

For those who keep their turtles indoors, you have two choices. You can let your turtle respond to your house temperatures and be sluggish, or you can heat him properly and keep him active. The latter is a better and healthier option.

If your turtle is 5 inches long, there is no way that he is 10 months old. He is likely 2-4 years old if not yet full grown. What pet store in Canada can legally sell an Eastern?

All turtles are a bit shy about eating when you first get them. They often will eat only those items which elicit a strong predatory response, such as a squirming worm. Keep offering a variety of foods and your turtle will respond.

He is about 5 inches long and according to the pet store 10 months old.

well this is about as likely as that santa caluse brought him to the pet store owners. he may have been in the store for 10 months but he is likely much older a few years probably. if he grew to 5 icnhes in only ten months that growth rate woud be phenomenal (and not good) and i'd be worried about his kidneys liver.
To acclimatea box turtle well indoors you want to offer it a lot of room (not for instance a small aquarium) wherein he can have access to warm wet, cool wet warm dry and cool dry areas. (the warm wet should be the largest)
he should have water he can freely enter and several hiding places ( 3 or 4 )
If this is your first year with him, you should definitely keep him "up", that is, keep the tank varying between 60 and 85 degrees not cooler and there will be no fear of hibernation. Do not let him get excessively dry or too hot (95 F is really unnecessary for an eastern box turtle). Leave the lights on for 12 - 14 hours as the shoter (natural) days will trigger a hibernation type response but artiifcially lighting the cage will help counter that.
First meals are likely to be only live foods for a while. try to dump wax worms, earth worms, red wigglers, crickets etc on top of a slad this may help get him interested in different foods. You may have read suggestions of "tough love" wherein the turtle id offered only greesn or vegetables until it eats them. this is a god plan for some turtles but not for a new one who is not used to its home. I would allow him the bugs for a while. You can dip them in pureed squash sweet potatoe or low sugar baby food (of the pumpkin, sweet potatoe carrot and sqash varieties) and add a calcium supplement now and then to the mixture.
Try to give him as large an encosure as posible and fill it up with plants (real are best) and caves and logs and different hiding places. spray at least one large area daily to keep it mooist (you may need to spray more often if your house is very dry due to home heating.
If he is given lots of cover and kept moist and lights are on for a long time , he will begin to become more active. the food may take a long time.