Reptile & Amphibian Forums

CB October Ornate Boxie; I am new to the turtle care thing... My box turlte has a pale edje to each of the scutes, is this discoloration a result of growth that is healthy or signs of other environment needs? It is eating well, variety of vegfrute and dusted worms, including pre packaged boxie food. day 85-95 night 70-75. moist and humid... thanx for all answers.

It sounds like normal growth especially as it is uniform. What type of packaged food are you feeding him? How old is he?

I have an ornate box turtle, it is an 05 october so only a few months old. I am feeding it wax worms crickets (dusted)and some fresh veg/fruit. The pre preped food it I think reptimin box turtle food, it was recomended by the breeder. should I be moving it to a more fresh diet?
On another note, is it recomended to mix species in the same environment? Id like to add a three toed or eastern to the set up.

My Ornate loves little red worms that I order with my crickets. Wax worms are on the fatty side and should only be given as an occasional treat. More like reptile candy.

How big is your setup? What is it like? 3 toes and eastern box turtles like a more humid environment than does the ornate.

My ornate is housed in a 24 inch rabbit cage that has a large plastic bottom (like a tote). jurrasic wood chips as a substrate and moss on top about 4-5 inches in total deepth. We have plants for cover, a bascing slate and h2o dish. The cage is sprayed regularly(hope its not to humid). We have self balested uvb and uva lights timed for 12 hours. Planty of room for the little guy to find the right space to hide and dig. It is very active comming out when hearing the sprayer or food dish. My kids get a kick out of watching it burrow and dig tunnels. Is it possible to keep the environment right for both sub species, Three toed and Ornate?
I suppose I should feed him some red worms... are they earth worms? I think my boxie is going to get fat from the wax worms. Can this cause adverse side effects, eating to much wax-fat?

I honestly think that your setup is too small to have two or more turtles. Especially when you consider that they will each be about 6-7 inches along the carapace shortly. Also they are too hard to sex when they are hatchlings. You don't want to put 2 males together for sure. They will fight and you'll have blood.

The red worms look like small earth worms. I get them from Southern Cricket, which is also where I get my superworms and crickets. Too much fat is not good for any animal. I would use the wax worms as a treat once or twice a week at most.