Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all, I was just given what I believe to be a 3-toed box turtle from someone who could no longer care for him. I have 15 years of experience in colubrids, iguanas & geckos, but none in box turtles. I have gathered info from other boxie sites and read the FAQ provided here under the features tab, but toook it w/ a grain of salt as it hasn't been updated since 1997.
I'm attaching some photos, you can see this poor guy really needs to be cleaned up. I won't go in to detail about the horrors I found in the cage that was provided for him, just that everything was cleaned w/ both bleach and chlorhexidine (seperately). He's got 2 hides, a large water bowl & a couple of river rocks to climb over. My temp gun shows his basking spot to be 88, and the cool side to be 76. I don't have any way (yet) to measure the humidity, but it's high enough that condensation forms on the glass.
I would really appreciate any advice that you can give, especially on beak & claw trimming and ideal substrate for his cage.

Sorry about posting a novel, but thank you for reading!

Wayne

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You know, there's a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you.

Its very hard to take care of a box turtle that is keep inside. box turtles are one animal that does much better if keep outside in a large pen. It sounds like you are doing your best to inprove his housing, but if its at all possiable keep him outside. The pictures of my turtle pen are now 2 years old. I will try soon to take some new pictures. The plants in the pen have grown lots since these pictuers were taken.

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Jack

I agree, it would be a great idea to build an outdoor cage for him. I have rescued several box turtles with long, dry, brittle nails and beaks. They also usually have terribly dry, flaky skin. Trimming is good, but the real cure is getting them outdoors with natural sunshine and a good diet.

You can use the regular dog and cat clippers for the nails. Just watch for the blood vessel within. It may be a good idea to have one of those coagulant powder products available at the time of trimming. The beak will have to be done with a file or a dremmel tool. In my experience, the speed of the dremmel really cuts down on the stress from being held. You will have to pinch the head behind the skull in order to do this.

I'm still loading my coffee tank, but I didn't see anything relating to enclosure size. Due to the need for the turtle to go between hot/cool, wet/dry conditions, you will want to make sure that he has a good sized enclosure. I've kept other herps, and turtles just need WAY more space. One adult box turtle needs an indoor tortoise table of about 4' X 4'. They can survive in much smaller, but to really thrive, bigger is much better.

Well done. He looks to be in better hands. Good luck with him.

Definitely in need of a mani-pedi and beak trim!

Thank you to everyone who replied with advice!

I would love to do an outside enclosure for this little guy, but we live only about a mile from Mt. Diablo State Park, so we get all kinds of wanderers (Racoons, opossums, wild rats, foxes, coyotes) thru our neighborhood. I even pull my dogs in @ night after my lab/shar pei lost a chunk of his ear fighting w/ who knows what in the back yard.

The boxie came w/ a 32x16x20 cage. I've cleaned the hell out of it and have tried to make him as comfortable as possible for the time being. My plan is to build a pen of some sort in the garage that will have UV lighting and gradients for both heat and moisture.

I found out that his diet previously consisted of nightcrawlers and yogurt. I cringed. He's been on a steady diet of leafy(collard & mustard) greens, strawberries, carrots, apples, and boiled chicken since he got here. I'm going to get him some meal worms and a cuttle bone to help keep his beak worn down once I trim it. I also plan on trying my hand at those 'boxie food balls' that Boxienuts posted.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Wayne
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You know, there's a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you.

Even if you can take it out in a rubbermaid bucket to get some early morning sunshine would be something. But don't overlook that you can build a pen with a secure lid. I keep mine in a night pen because we have racoons and opposums. I know several others on this forum that do as well. Trust me and everyone else, outdoor enclosures make keeping boxies SO much easier.

Wayne, I am happy to think this turtle (yes, a three-toed) has finally found someone willing to find out what he needs and who will make the effort to give him good care. I don't know what he has eaten before, but he may be fixated on only a few food items, in which case you will need to work long and hard with him to change his habits. I have info in my online book about picky eaters.

Please go to my website and look at the link on the left side that says "Box turtle care A to Z". There you'll find up-to-date information about diet and housing.

Take it slowly, even though he needs his beak and claws trimed. He is likely dehydrated and has not been fed well. Once the turtle has had a few months of good humidity, food and water, you can address his beak and nails-unless you see he cannot eat properly due to his overgrown beak.

Once he is adjusted to your care and the good food and humidity has helped moisturized his beak, you can begin to trim them. I use a dremel tool on beaks (clippers are NOT good as they can crack the beak). The claws can be cut with a dog nail cutter-care taken not to cut the quick.
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Tess Cook
www.boxturtlesite.info

I currently a 9 month old baby box turtle and they're easy to keep as long as you have the proper size tank and lights. The tank needs to be misted couple times a day. I would suggest maybe 3 times. clean water must be in at all times since they defecate in the water. A large enough bowl for soaking and easy access in and out of it.