My son found a Eastern Box turtle yesterday. We are going out of town today for the weekend. I have set up an area that is 4' x 3'. I left lots of food (veggies, worms), water. My husband just called and said he found the turtle upside down twice today. It is apparently trying to get out of the enclosure and standing up to get out and falling over. My question is can they turn themselves back right side up? I am worried that we will be gone all weekend and if she falls upside down, she would stay that way and die. It is a full grown female. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
Need Help, Quick
dannygirl8
Apr 08, 2005 10:58 AM
Replies (4)
Rouen
Apr 08, 2005 11:49 AM
yes box turtles can right themselves it's harder for some because of the shape of the shell, some have more of a dome which makes it easier, if they could not right themselves we probly wouldn't have any on the earth today.
-----
My Site
1.2.1 Terrapene Carolina Triunguis
0.1 Nymphicus hollandicus
1.1 Melopsittacus undulatus
1.0 American Cocker Spaniels
1.0 American Short Hair? Cat
1.1 Rouen Ducks
Laurentha
Apr 08, 2005 09:42 PM
Watch and make sure that she can flip herself back over.
I must ask, was the turtle in danger? If not, please return it to the wild
fireside3
Apr 09, 2005 02:04 AM
yes, sometimes they can right themselves...and sometimes they cannot. just because we have box turtles in the world today is not a testament to how sucessful turtles are in righting themselves. it could be that many more turtles in the world have not been in this position.
yes they will die if to long in this position. their internal organs can be adversely affected when overturned. also they become easy prey for ants, predators, and if stuck in the sun, death from exposure. I think it is irresponsible to go off and leave this obviously stressed turtle in this condition. if you don't plan to be available to care for it properly in it's uncomfortable new environment, you should release it, instead of leaving it alone to get stuck, fatigued and die.
dannygirl8
Apr 11, 2005 11:23 AM
We ended up letting her out of the pen and letting her run free in the yard. I put water and food out so she would have some is she needed it. We live on a busy street and she almost got hit by a car, so I didn't want to leave her out there. When we came home, she was in the back yard still. We may leave her in the yard to run around or make a much larger area for her protection. I don't want to stress her in a small enclosure.
