Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a female boxie in Feb.(Isabelle) She is about 5 inches from left to right. She is very friendly. I quarintined her for about 1 month and put her with my male (Tuga) boxie (about the same size). For the most part they ignore each other. Even in the tub, they do there own thing. In the past 2 weeks she has been acting really different. She is climbing all over the tank and all over the male. She has to be literally on top of him at all times. They are the same size when you look at them, but she weighs 1 lb and 9 oz, while my male weighs 13 oz. He doesn't seem to mind her hangen out on top of him.

They both eat very well and drink well also.

Is he playen hard to get??
Is she gravid?
Is she just being silly??

Thanks for any input.

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Be well
Tiff =)

what kind of enclosure are you keeping them in?
are you sure isabelle is female?

Have fun

they are in a 40 breeder and they get out everyday. I am positive that she is a girl.

thanks
Tiff
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Be well
Tiff =)

Probably ready to lay eggs.

Really?!?!?!

That's great!! I have never seen them mate. They lay eggs even if they are not fertile, correct?

Just incase, can anyone tell me the best way help her out.
Should I move her away from male?
what kind of substrate should I use for her,
Nesting box?

Thanks!!
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Be well
Tiff =)

That wouldn't stop the male from trying to mate with the female. The most likely problem is that they are different subspecies. Sometimes the male of one subspecies won't even look at a female of another subspecies, and some times they just don't care.

Bill G.

Why don't you get either a female eastern, or a male three toed. This would make it easier for you to breed them, plus, you wouldn't be breeding hybred box turtles.

Bill Griffin

I just happen to have a female and a male box turtle. My question is not about breeding. She is acting weird and someone suggested that she might be getting ready to lay. My question was regarding what to do to make her comfortable.

Thanks again
Tiff
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Be well
Tiff =)

it sounds like she just wants out of her enclosure, and your male sounds depressed, my turtles never let the other one climb on top of 'em, course I'm no expert..
have fun

Well, I keyed in on the " Playing hard to get" statement. Anyways, can you describe your enclosure a little better? It may be that she is just trying to escape, which could be because

1) she is gravid
2) she is afraid of something in her environment i.e. the male eastern, which can be aggressive, or she is a recent wild caught, and she is trying to escape, because she has not acclimated to her new home.

Thank you!!

I have been looking to get another 40 breeder to give them each more room. Them male is not aggressive at at. He would rather sleep then deal with her. I will pick up another 40 breeder tomorow and set her up in her own enclousure.

Thanks again
Tiff
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Be well
Tiff =)

a 40 breeder is not a suitable home for adult box turtles. It is barely adequate for a group of hatchling box turtles. If you can't move them outdoors you should at least find a way to build an enclosure that gives them a minimum of 10 square feet of floor space each, at minimum. Ideally they should have huge areas to run. And for best health they should live outdoors.

Glass tanks also tend to shut down box turtles. They can see out and for a while they will stress trying to escape, then they give up and sit and stare, slowly fading away. Large enclosures with lots of plants, logs, rock piles, and all sorts of obstructions to their vision, as well as solid opaque walls, mean they must adventure around and will stay stimulated.

Thanks!! I posted some pic tonight of Isabelle. I tried to get a few different shots.

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Be well
Tiff =)

Isabelle is a three-toed box turtle and may be a male rather than a female. At the very least, they are separate subspecies and it's not generally considerred desireable to have mixxed hatchlings, as people purchasing them seem to invariably want a specific sex and not mutts (I have separated my subspecies now because of this).

If we can get some good shots of isabelles plastron, maybe we can help you be certain of "her" sex. Mounting behavior from females is rare, but in males it is normal, even male-on-male, male-on-vaugely-turtle-shaped-rock, male-on-dirtball, male-on-baseball, etc.

Three-toeds are the most tricky of the north american box turtles to sex, but hopefully we can help you out.