Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My family has recently found a turtle on a family trip. We named the turtle Donatello (after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, of course) and he seems to be in good health. He has a brown shell with gorgeous bright yellow markings that look like little handprints. His eyes are a brilliant red... actually, a little unnerving. He's started eating less and less... is this normal winter/hibernating behavior?

Today at St. Francis Xavier, this guy found a turtle. Someone in the family made the mistake of mentioning that we had one ourselves, and somehow it ended up with us. This turtle is probably a box turtle, too, like Donatello, but we're afraid it might have health problems that would spread to our first turtle. Is shell rot contagious? How do we identify contagious diseases? I believe it is probably female. Is there a way to know for sure? How can we tell if it's pregnant?

PLEASE HELP!

Desperate,
Catherine_Draconia

First of all, we need to determine what type of turtle you have. You believe them to be box turtles? Check out these links along with the pictures to see if you have a box turtle.
http://www.anapsid.org/box.html
http://www.tortoise.org/general/boxcare.html
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Terrapenecare.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/TerrapenecareSZ.htm

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/TerrapenecareSZ.htm
Check out this one, it has lots of pictures. Explain to me how you are keeping them, what are you feeding them, what temperature are they at?
The egg laying season for box turtles is over right now, so she probably wont be laying eggs anytime soon.
If you can get a picture it would help.

Wild-caught box turtles often go off their food the first fall of their captivity in preparation for hibernation. However, I do not recommend trying to hibernate them, not knowing the condition they are are in at this time. Keep them warm and well-lighted (greater than 12-hours of illumination) and offer them enticing live food, such as live earthworms or live "pinkie" mice. Eventually, they will begin eating again, but it may take several weeks. Keep them well hydrated and they can easily tolereate a very long fast (months, if necessary). Keep on offering enticing food, however. The second fall in captivity, they usually abandon their natural cycle and continue to feed.