Box polo-neck guardianship can often seem like it ’s a no - brainer , but while these reptiles are undestroyable and long - lived in nature , they are often overlook when they are hold back as pets because most multitude just do n’t know the right ways to wish for them . bang how to take precaution of box turtle is all-important to their well - being and longevity , as these polo-neck can subsist up to 60 years .
Habitat Requirements
If you have abox turtle as a pet , they require and need some infinite to move . While it does n’t seem like a turtle travel around a circumstances , this animal does ask way to work out . If you do n’t provide it , the turtle will start to endure .
A20 - gal aquariumshould be the minimum sizing nursing home for a individual box turtleneck , but in truth , the great the place , the better . Thebest enclosurefor a corner turtle is one that is large and built outside , weather condition permitting . Sandboxes , mixing tub , kiddie pool , or impenetrable - duty plastic memory boxes are good alternatives than a glass tank .
Some corner turtle can be frightened easy by apparent movement in the room when they are house in a glass aquarium . So in some cases , a habitat made out of plyboard or charge card may be a better option .
Substrate
The substratum you put on the floor of your box turtle ’s habitat is as important . The best roll in the hay is a humid substratum cloth , such as intermediate to big orchid bark mixed with a moist constituent likepeat moss . A intermixture of George Sand and stain also works well for box turtleneck , but it should not be fully dry . A ironic substrate will induce the turtleneck ’s skin to crack , and this will affect their wellness and well - being . For optimum care , health , and puff , the habitat ’s substrate should be cleaned out on a hebdomadary base .
Temperature
Like most reptilian , box turtle care to bask in the sun when they sense like it , so it is a respectable musical theme to localise up a dual - temperature zone in their habitat . Ideally , one side of the habitat should admit a 75 to 100 - W incandescent light with a reflecting telescope flange for basking . This side of the habitat should be hold on between 80 and 90 degree Fahrenheit . The other side of the home ground should be hold back slightly cooler , between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day , and no cooler than 60 degree Fahrenheit at night .
All lights should be turn off at nighttime , so an substitute source of warmth may require to be used to keep the habitat warm if the temperature dip below 60 degrees at dark . heating plant pads or warmth tape study well for boxwood turtleneck , but heat rocks should never be used since they can burn the turtle ’s feet and underbelly .
Diet
When kept as darling , box turtle unremarkably stick out from malnutrition because theirnutritional needsare seldom meet . In club to prevent your box turtle from developing a chronic nutritionary inadequacy , they should be fed awell - balanced dietthat put up a muckle of variety .
sparge Ca carbonate , citrate , lactate , or gluconate lightly over the box turtle ’s intellectual nourishment every other feeding . If vitamin - fortified teetotal chow is being brush off by your turtle , dust the food that the turtle is eat up with multivitamin pill about every four workweek . Be careful not to overuse the multivitamins , as too much vitamin supplementation is not tidy for the polo-neck .
The good solid food ratio for a loge turtle ’s diet is 75 percent vegetables and 25 percentage equal portions of protein and fruits . Adult box turtle should be feast in the dawn , three times a week or more , whileyoung turtlesneed to be fed on a daily cornerstone . If your turtle is showing a lack of appetence , essay spraying the habitat with water , because box turtles naturally increase their natural action during rainstorms . This may rush its appetite .
Fruits and Vegetables
The bulk of the box turtle ’s diet should be veg . These reptiles like greenish , leafy veg , admit spinach , kale , romaine lettuce , broccoli , and dandelions . They also tend to love boodle , bok choy , sweet white potato , mushrooms , and carrots .
Box turtles love eating fruit , but regrettably , fruit do n’t leave the necessary mineral to the polo-neck . So while it ’s OK to feed fruit on occasion , these should only make up a modest serving of the dieting . advocate fruits let in strawberry mark , orchard apple tree , snort , grape , peaches , pear , and banana tree .
Protein
Animal or high-pitched - protein foods that would ordinarily be in the turtleneck ’s natural humans should also be included in its dieting . This admit earthworms , grasshoppers , crickets , snails , and punch . They can also be feed very diminished baby mice or whole - skinned chopped mice . It ’s all right to fertilize teetotal , vitamin - fortified chow , but it should only make up about five percent of the turtle ’s diet . quash feeding cat food , because it is too high in fat and protein for the polo-neck . When feeding teetotal turtle food , souse it in water for 30 minute of arc to soften it before you feed your polo-neck .
Water
Water is a vital aspect of a box turtle ’s wellness . The habitat should let in a shallow body of water smasher large enough for the turtle to take . The depth of the bowl should be no deeper than the turtle ’s chin when their school principal is part retracted . If the water is too inscrutable , the turtleneck will drown . The piddle also needs to be modify frequently because loge turtles have a wont of defecating while resting in their watering looker .
Baby Box Turtle Care
Caring for a babe box turtle is not too different from caring for an adult , with a few exceptions . Baby box seat polo-neck demand more regular feedings than an grownup . A baby box turtle should befed once a Clarence Day , whereas an adolescent box turtleneck can eat up two to three time per week . They requireslightly more proteinin their diet than an adult turtle . infant should have a ratio of50 percent proteinto 50 percentage fruit and vegetation in their diet .
Baby box turtles should be kept exclusively indoors , so if you ’re project on have got an outdoor enclosure , you will postulate to wait until your turtleneck is an adult to move them out of doors . They should be kept separately for thefirst six months . After that , they can be kept together in one tank , provided there is sizable way for them to move around . However , males will have to be housed one by one when they strain adulthood .
While this is a business concern for owners of adult polo-neck , baby box polo-neck owners should be even more acutely cognisant of therisk of salmonella . Because owners tend to want to treat babe turtle more often than adults , this increases the risk of infection , so be sure to wash your hands ofttimes and take other safety precaution to avoid thetransmission of salmonella .
Health
Box turtleneck can live a long meter with right food and care , so it ’s important to install a relationship from the start with a veterinarian who has experience working with reptilian . Your turtle should get a check - upat least once a yearto canvas them for health job and any parasitic infections . Typical aesculapian problemsyou will see as a loge turtle owner let in :
Observe Your Box Turtle Every Day
Get to know your turtle by drop time observing them each mean solar day , and this will assist you cursorily spot any changes that might sign a decline in their health . This direction , you could make straightaway change in the attention you provide and give your pet a better habitat and a healthier diet . This will facilitate your turtle live a longer and more content life .
