Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I recently adopted a South-East Asian Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis) from my local Petco. The manager thought he looked unhealthy, so thought I might care for it better... actually he looks really good..just wont eat..

I need info on how to care for him better. I do have a boxturtle book, and it has 3 whole pages on them(wow)... BUT it has pic and latin name for my new guy... Which really helps.

What is a good setup? How big of a water area does he need? Is the lighting/heat about the same as the American Boxies?? and At any time, can this turtle ever be kept with my 3-toed boxies?? I have only ONE outdoor setup, and during summer would love to give my guys natural sunlight.(I live in tiny apartment, with tiny patio)

Right now, I have him in a 20g long tank, long water pan, and UVB bulb, and room temp. He has not eaten yet, But I think when I get him the proper setup that will change..

Any Advice would be very helpful...

Thanks in advance,
Harpy
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Have You Hugged Your Herp Today?

They do have similar care to an american box turtle, except they require alot more water. I would acctually suggest putting him outside if you already have an outside pen, just because all turtles do better outside. Maybe it will start eating if you house it outside. But if you do decide to put it outside, get a large dish of water for it. If you want to keep it inside I would do a half land/ half water setup. Go to this website, it will tell you more..
http://www.turtlepuddle.org/cuora/caresheet.html

Good Luck. Keep me updated on how he does!

you will want to keep him much warmer than a north american box turtle would likely appreciate.
outside is okay if the night time temsp aren't going to drop below 75 F

There are a few threads on ambos in this forum....scrol down and read or use the search feature.

What is it eating so far?

Try to limit fish to small amounts.

Lean heavily on fruits, dark green veggies and water plants and earthworms.
See if it will take alage wafers or a sinking pelleted food.

These guys seem prone to respitory problems and serious parasite blooms.
Keep the air and water warm, keep the water shallow (a few to 6 inches is plenty) and make the access to the large well palnted land area smooth and gradual.
And of course changing the wate ras often as possible and filtering it ALSO is the best thing you can do for any water turtle besides giving it some natural sunlight.

You may want to consider a vet check as de-worming frequntly helps a lot with ill ambos.

Once they recover they usually perk up and develop quite a bit of personaility.

you all ready go some good advice. i just want to say that there not much like american box turtles when you think about it, except that there turtles that can close up. american bts are land turtles that swim a little. they like cool temps. there omnivors that eat a little more meat than plants. malaysian box turtles are very aquatic and need lots of room to swim around. they cant be kept cool because there tropical turtles. they live where it nevers gets below 75. in the wild they eat mostly plants. alot of ppl who keep them feed them too much meat. you can use a little, but mostly feed plants, all kinds. when you have the turtle living in warm water, about 80, i bet it will eat all the plants you put in there. these guys are pigs around water plants or green or fruits or anything like that. ill give you the starting webpage for the best amboinensis info on the net......
all about cuora amboinensis

Thanks for all the help. I hope I can give this turtle what he needs, until I can find him a better home. I know very little about aquatic turtles. And I do not want to him to stress anymore than he already has...with capture, importing and stuff...

Thanks again,

Harpy
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Have You Hugged Your Herp Today?