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Box Turtles - Basic Care
Box turtles belong to the genus Terrapene. These turtles are personable, hardy, and can live over 50 years.
Box turtles have a hinged shell, which they use as a defense mechanism to close up tightly when they feel threatened.
Due to habitat destruction and overcollection for the pet trade, some box turtle species may be protected in your particular area. For example, a hunting license is required to keep the native species of box turtles in Arizona. Check your local and state laws regarding box turtles to ensure you can keep a particular species in your area. If you choose to keep a box turtle as a pet choose captive-bred individuals rather than encouragign continued collection by buying wild caught.
A healthy box turtle should be active, alert, and responsive. A healthy box turtle should also have a good weight to it, roughly about the same weight as an orange of the same size. It's always a good idea to quarantine new box turles for at least 3 months (90 days) prior to introducing them to other animals. This helps prevent infection and disease spread to your healthy estabilished box turtles.
Male box turtles usually have longer tails than females. Males may have a concave plastron and red eyes depending on the species. Males of some species may have a long hooked toenail on the hind legs to help with gripping the female during mating. A box turtle usually needs to be about half-grown before it can be sexed. Some, such as three-toed box turtles, may be difficult to sex until they are fully grown.
Housing
The best place to keep box turtles is outside. An outside enclosure must be secure enough to keep predators out and the box turtle in. Box turtles are excellent diggers and therefore the walls of the enclosure should be buried at least 6 inches below the ground. Box turtles also have incredible climbing skills and a lip should be created over the inside of the enclosure's wall to prevent them from escaping. If you have predators in your area such as raccoons, skunks, or dogs the enclosure should be covered to protect the box turtles. Edible shrubs and plants placed within the enclosure will not only provide hiding places and shade for your box turtles but will also supply an alternate source of food. Leaf piles and logs will also provide additional hiding places and areas for hunting bugs and other invertebrates. Another essential component to a box turtle enclosure is a water dish. A dish with water deep enough for the box turtle to soak in should be present at all times. Box turtles are the most active during the warm summer months, especially in the morning and late afternoon. Placing your box turtle in a location that recieves morning sunlight will provide your box turtles with a perfect place to bask. In Arizona it is important to provide deep shade during the hot afternoon hours of the late spring, summer, and early fall. It is helpful to install a sprinkler system in one corner of the cage. Run the sprinkler for 15 minutes a day to keep the ground moist and refill the water pan.
Box turtles can be kept indoors. They should be provided a large terrarium. Glass aquariums or large storage bins can be used and are easily cleaned. Substrate can vary from newspaper, paper towels, vermiculite free potting soil, indoor/outdoor carpeting, or coconut bedding. Humidity within the terrarium can be maintained by daily misting. Provide hiding places for your box turtle and a water dish for them to soak in and drink from. Keep the box turtle's enclosure clean by spot cleaning daily. Complete substrate changes should be performed every few weeks, if not sooner depending on how quick it becomes dirty. You should change the water in the water dish daily as well, since box turtles often defecate while soaking in their water dishes. Artificial lighting is a must for box turtles. A high quality full-spectrum light that provides both UVA and more importantly UBV should obtained. Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 or Powersun are good choices. It is recommended to replace UV bulbs every 6-12 months, depending on the quality of the bulb, due to decreasing UV output with time. It's also a good idea to take box turtles that are housed indoors outside whenever possible to get natural sunlight. A light cycle of 12 hours of light a day and 12 hours of darkness is recommended during spring and summer and decreasing the light cycle to 8 hr light and 16 hr dark in the fall before hibernation. (It is important to hibernate box turtles kept indoors to ensure a long healthy life.) Box turtles housed indoors will also need a source of heat. A heat lamp should be placed at one end of the enclosure to create a temperature gradient for the box turtle. The temperature under the heat light should range between 88-95 degrees F. Never use heat rocks for box turtles, these can lead to thermal burns. The ambient temperature in the rest of the box turtle's enclosure can range between 70-75 degrees F.
Feeding
Box turtles are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and insects. Animal matter that can be offered to box turtles includes: crickets, snails, slugs, earth worms, meal worms, low fat cat or dog food, etc. These items should be offered at least twice a week. Vegetables and fruits including, but not limited to dark leafy greens, dandelion greens, apples, strawberries, carrots, and squash should also be offered daily. All food should be dusted with a calcium supplement at least twice a week for adult box turtles. A multivitamin can be dusted onto food once a week. Offering a variety of food items helps ensure your box turtles are receiving a balanced diet.
Baby box turtles often will eat earthworms and nothing else until they weigh about 90 gm (3 oz). Earthworms are a very good food but it is important to encourage the baby to try other foods. Offer the same food as you would an adult at least three times a week but you should chop the food into smaller particles. It is very important to provide calcium-supplements with each feeding and a weekly multivitamin supplement to young growing box turtles to prevent soft-shell and vitamin A deficiency.
Hibernation
Between mid-September and mid-October when the weather begins to cool, box turtles will begin to eat less and be less active. Box turtles will often bury themselves under roots, leaves, or dirt to then reemerge in the Spring. Box turtles can be hibernated within a box in a garage that is kept cold during the winter. Hibernation is usually triggered when temperatures start getting below 65 degrees F, and is usually maintained between 45-50 degrees F. Checking on the box turtles and soaking them ever 4 weeks will help them maintain hydration during hibernation. Juvenile box turtles do not need to be hibernated for their first few years to remain healthy and can be kept indoors during the winter in a terrarium. Only healthy box turtles with adequate body conditions should be allowed to hibernate. Ill turtles or those that are underweight may not survive hibernation. It is recommended that box turtles have yearly pre-hibernation examinations by a veterinarian to ensure they are healthy enough for hibernation.
Copyright 2009
Kevin M Wright and Jay D Johnson
Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital
744 N Center Street
Mesa, Arizona 85201
(480) 275 7017
info@azeah.com
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