Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my three toed box turtle since she hatched in August 2003. I've noticed her underside is curved..like warped maybe? Not sure how to describe it. What am I doing wrong and how do I fix it? Please Help. Squirtle's counting on ya'll!

a good quality picture would help...
are you sure it's not a male with the characteristic concave
plastron?

Mick
fireside3@hotmail.com

No. I'm not sure Squirtle's not a male. The only way I know to tell is eye color. Right now they're brown. Do they change when they get older?
I read something about box turtles tat only eat meat when they're young having domed shells and thought this might be an extension of that because until very recently Squirtle has refused everything but worms, although fruits and vegetables have always been offered.
My baby is so spoiled, by the way that he/she will not touch a worm dug up outside. They have to be bought worms. Don't know what the difference is, but Squirtle says there is one.
I'm not good with a camera so I'll get the picture up as soon as I can get someone smarter than me to take it.
Thanx
toni

eye color is sometimes unreliable in identifying sex with certainty. is is a good general rule if used with a couple
other characteristics though. it can be hard to tell the difference sometimes in what is brown and what is a dark or subdued red. there can be some variations in the eye color as
they mature, the color may become more pronounced.

some other ways to guess more reliably with eye color are:
1. plastron-( bottom shell ) males:concave ( curved inward )
2. tail length-males:longer/thicker
3. front claws-males:longer
4. rear claws-males:may have the inside claw curved inward
5. carapace-( top shell ):males flatter & more oblong/females:
more domed( rounded )
6. vent-(anus) females:farther under the tail

young box turtles prefer live prey like nightcrawlers, snails,
and crickets. as they get older they usually begin to show interest in fruit and vegetables. you should start introducing new things now to get started. I recommend collard greens as a big part of the vegetable diet, as they are high in calcium.
do your research on the diet. not everything is good to give very often. it should consist of about 60% protien, 30% vegetable, 10% fruit.

stay away from the worms & insects you get from outside if you can. unless you know there is little chance they've been exposed to pesticides & other chemicals, or you know how to purge them. I just buy them, or catch them when I'm way out in the country. why take a chance the way I see it.

one last thing...do you have a light that you know specifically puts out UV-"B"?
shell deformities (metabolic bone disorder)can result from improper diet/calcium intake/and inadequate UVB.
it is usually more apparent on the carapace (top) though, which is why I guessed first your turtle may be male.

see link by Melissa Kaplan and various links on her page:
http://www.anapsid.org/mainchelonians.html

Mick

The way I got my boxie to start eating veggies is this: I dipped the worm in vegetable baby food!
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0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
3.2.0 children
1.0.0 husband

hmmm...facinating.

did the flavors you give closely enough resemble the actual veggies you gave later...if you know...I guess if you happened to taste it yourself???...ROF. anyway, I guess the turtle recognized the fresh veggies later due to this, or are you still presently giving the baby food?
I might just for ha-ha's take a look at a jar and see what kind of processing chemicals or steriods might be in it. I don't wanna give to my turtle what sometimes passes for your baby's food!

seriously though, sounds like a great idea if you can find stuff without a bunch of added un-natural ingredients.

do they make a flavor for collards?LOL

Mick

Lol! I didn't see any collard greens flavor, but they do make natural baby food...without all that add stuff.

I also dipped veggies in meat baby food! That works too!
-----
0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
3.2.0 children
1.0.0 husband

Thank you! I never would have thought of it. We are eating tomatoes now and som apple.
1 box turtle
1 peninsula cooter
1 betta
1 african clawed frog
1 ball python
1 pitt bull
1 boyfriend ( can only handle one of those at a time)
grand kids

have you been able to make a better guess on whether you have a male or female?
and I have to stress the UV-B light or direct uniltered sunlight again...this is VERY IMPORTANT.

Mick

No. Still not sure of Squirtle's sex. Plastron seems thin to me. Edges curve slightly downward. Have a pic. How do I put it up here?
Got to see 2 of Squirtle's siblings. 1 raised inside that I don't think has grown at all & 1 raised outside that is not quite half squirtles size. I have that one now, but they wouldn't give me the little one. Squirtles carapace is very domed so I guess maybe female and if I'm going by that this new one is probably male. Don't have the light rite now so we have to go outside in the early mornings before it gets too warm. Squirtle doesn't really like sun so I don't give her(?) a choice.

if you can email the pic I can put it up for you...if it's in the next few days, cause I'm heading out on a road trip to california for a week. I'm going to stop along the way and search for reptile habitat also. otherwise, you may go to the photo gallery & in the upper right of the page select "upload photo". follow instructions to upload to the gallery. once you do that you can then go back to the forum and type a response. when finished typing, just above the post message button, click "select image from gallery". the gallery pictures you uploaded will show up from here to post to attach to the message.

about the size...I got a male/female pair of box turtles that were both 1 year old at the time, but the male was more than twice the size of the female, as was many of her siblings. the reason was "Dwarfie", as she's now called, had gone into hibernation after hatching, whereas the others had stayed up and continued to eat and grow thru the winter. now at about 2 1/2 years, she is just over average size for a 1 year old who did not hibernate after hatching. the breeder had another, who was even smaller she had named "Peanut". "he" was no bigger than a quarter, and the breeder wouldn't adopt him out to anybody until he was larger. the reason is the one's that are very much smaller than normal are usually more prone to illness and other difficulties, and, always get the short end when housed with others that are larger. though they may be cute, unless you have considerable experience, they are at great risk to be adopted out.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, about your last post, DO NOT...REPEAT...DO NOT PREVENT YOUR TURTLE FROM MAKING HIS/HER OWN CHOICE IN REGARDS TO THERMOREGULATION IN THE SUN!!!!LET THEM DECIDE.
I CAN'T STRESS THAT ENOUGH.

I have lost 2 reptiles in the last year to heat stress. the most recent one just last week. the outside temps were only in the mid 80's, there was a full water bowl available, as well as two shade hides, and a shade tree. and, this particular reptile was a Horned Lizard which frequents desert areas! he had just come out of hibernation and I had trouble with him the first 2 weeks getting him to eat. so when I did get him to voluntarily eat and drink, I attempted to give him a boost on his D3 metabolism by regulating outdoor UV exposure for him, and thus, stimulate his activity and appetite. believing that it was too early in the season for the temps to be a problem with additional exposure. in so doing I violated one of my own long standing rules; reptiles usually know what's best for them in most situations. thermoregulation is one such situation. 5-10 minutes of unfiltered sunlight exposure on a clear day can equal the benefit of all day under most flourescent UV lamps!
you must provide an open enclosure that can get air circulation ( not an outdoor aquarium, they will cook to death in an aquarium outside ), and offer sufficient shade and water. otherwise sit with them outside maybe long enough to have some coffee, and bring them in or put them where shade is abundant. your little one knows what she needs in this regard, trust her instincts....

Mick

Don't believe its the characteristics of a male boxie - too young. If you had a photo, I would agree that would help alot. But if it is curved in, believe it or not, I would increase the meals you give it. It's that simple. However, Don't overfeed to the point where it "bulges out". After a meal, it should be "flat" especially for a boxie that is under a year. Good Luck, Turtle88(a)

ok Toni sorry about the delay...I just flew back to Houston from San Diego yesterday, after an 1800 mile drive out. when I got your email I was wireless at a truck stop in NM. didn't have time right then

looks like a gurl to me...but digital pic that has a little better close up without the blurriness, with outdoor lighting and no flash would show better. tail looks pretty short and stubby. carapace is high domed. concave areas that I can see along the fringes of the plastron ( bottom ) should straighten up with time, proper calcium rich diet, & UVB.
a pic from rear of the vent/tail area and side profile would be even better. just like to see a better pic anyways, but I'm pretty sure Squirtle is a her...congratulations!

Mick

Thank you so very much for everything! Hope things went well on your trip. I am in the procrss of moving right now. In about 3 weeks or less, my Squirtle will have EVERYTHING she needs. Thanks again.

pic #2