Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My son just received a box turtle from a friend that has had this turtle in his family for 14 years. When we received "Fred" he was living in a 5 gal aquarium with Repti-bark and a small dish for water. My sons friend told his that this was a cold blooded animal, and that he needed to be cold. Even I knew that this was incorrect. Fred was also not in the greatest condition. His nails were extreamly long, his skin was extreamly dry, as is his shell, and his beak is also a little too long.
First I would just like to say that this is a great site, and my son and I learned alot just by reading the posts. We have now had Fred for about 4 weeks, and we have made alot of changes. Fred now is in a 50 gal. aquarium with peat moss on one side and repi-bark on the other. We have also added plants, a bigger water dish (not big enough to swim in),a flat rock to help with his nails and beak which I put his food on and also a basking light. We also let Fred go swimming every night, which has seemed to help with the dry skin. Fred's shell is still extreamly dry and I would appreciate any suggestions as to how to help remedy that.
I know that we need to add a UVA light (the florecent type)to help him even more and will be getting that over the weekend. Fred has a very healthy appetite, and I vary his foods (fruit, romain lettuce, collard greens, crickets, worms, ect.). I have clipped his nails a little bit (my son did not want him to bleed, as a pet store employee told me just to cut them short,that the turtle would bleed, but would be o.k.???) and will cut them a little more every week until a more natural lenght. Fred is more active now that he has more space, plants, and a hiding place to crawl under and to climb on top of. He seems to enjoy digging and making a big mess!
I would appreciate any suggestions to make Fred happy and healthy! My son (9) and I realize that this is a long time commitment, and want to do what is best for Fred. The people at the pet store said they were suprised that Fred was even alive living in the condition that he did for 14 years.
Thanks in advance! This is a great site and my son and I have learned alot!, and look forward to continued learning.
Michele

Oh, I am so happy that you rescued a box turtle! I have done that before, rescued turtles from owners who are too ignorant to read a book and learn how to take care of there animals...
Anyways, what you are doing is wonderful! I have owned box turtles for a long time now, and I feel that the best way to take care of them is to house them outside and let them take care of themselves.
Depending on where you live, you may want to think about building a box turtle pen, that way they can get the natural sunlight which will benefit him a lot. He will be able to eat wild plants and bugs etc...
There are wonderful sites about box turtles you can check out.

http://www.gctts.org/care_sheets/box_turtle/box.turtle.care.txt
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Terrapenecare.htm
http://gctts.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Public/BoxTurtleDiet
http://www.boxturtlesite.org/bxbook.html

good luck!