From: melanie@cayman.amd.com (Melanie Typaldos)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp
Subject: Re: Need Box Turtle info
Date: 10 Sep 92 20:51:25 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin, Texas

In article <3691@execu.execu.com> lml@execu.execu.com (Linda Lovin) writes:
>I hate to post this request since it looks like someone just asked about
>box turtles but I didn't see any replies posted so excuse any
>repetition.
>The following is posted for a friend.
>
>I recently acquired a box turtle (found it in our yard). My daughter
>wants to keep it but I'm not sure about proper care for it. A look at
>books in the library and some calls to pet stores all yield conflicting
>advice. If there are any turtle fans out there who have experience,
>please share any wisdom you might have on these questions:
 
The two species of box turtles, T. carolina (Eastern or three-toed) and
T. ornata (Western or ornate), in the U.S. are easy to tell apart.
The eastern box has a distinct keel down the center of its carapace
(top shell), although this may wear down with age.  The western box
has a distinctive yellow/dark-brown striping pattern on the plastron
(bottom shell).  I don't know where you are located but the two
species do overlap substantially.  I believe that any box turtle
found east of the Mississippi is going to be an eastern box though.

>
>1) I've got it in a 40" aquarium tank with bark mulch and a water bowl
>s/he/it can drink from and bathe in. Is this a decent environment? Am I
>lacking anything? I take it out in the fresh air and sunshine for at
>least 30 minutes at a time, several times a week.

Box turtles are very active animals.  The eastern box has been shown
to have a home range of about 17 acres.  Probably won't die from
being in a 40 gallon tank but it's not going to be happy.  The 
water bowl should be large enough for the turtle to get in and
soak, they love to do this.  Don't place food directly on something
like bark or they may ingest it.  A common (and possibly fatal)
problem with captive turtles is obstruction of the digestive track.
For adult turtles direct sunlight is not so important, however it
is definitly a possitive thing.  Don't let the turtle overheat.
Always be sure that there is shade available.  For a young turtle
this is not going to be nearly enough.  A vitalite or black light
on a timer would be absolutely essential.

>
>2) Is this turtle (I believe it is a plain Eastern Box Turtle, not
>Ornate) a vegetarian or does it also eat meat? I've had mixed replies on
>that from local sources. I've been feeding it leaf lettuce, corn, peas,
>beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and fruit. 

A good variety of vegetables, some fruit, worms, crickets et cetera
should be feed.  Don't feed iceberg lettuce (unless your turtle is
thirsty!).  Some people feed a small amount of canned dog food.
Don't give them anything that is cooked or fatty.

>
>3) It spends a lot of time either buried in the bark mulch or pacing the
>perimeter of its tank. Does this mean it's unhappy or is this normal?
>
>4) How can I tell if it's eating/drinking enough? I never see it drink
>and it eats very little - on the other hand this beastie weighs less
>than a pound and measures about 4.5" in length, so I'm not expecting it
>to gobble up capfuls of food.

I have three box turtles (two western, one eastern) out in my
greenhouse right now.  They love to hide amoung the plants.  I have
also set up some little dens for them made out of cinder blocks 
turned on their sides so that the turtles can walk into the holes.
I put dirt in at the bottom of the blocks so they don't scrape
their plastrons.  Every time I go out there, they come running
out to see if I'm going to feed them.  Anyway, the point is that
they need someplace to hide, they like a little privacy.

From my experience, you actually can expect a healthy box turtle
to eat like a pig!  If he's not eating much, something is wrong.
Make sure he is warm.  Put a heating pad under one end of the
aquarium (on the outside).  Give him a place to hide.  Try live
food.  A wiggly worm can really excite a box turtle.  Remember
that they are most active in the mornings, then evenings, so
feed him accordingly.

>
>5) Is it harmful to remove the turtle from the terrarium and let it roam
>around in the house (supervised, of course)? One book said moving it
>from the terrarium to the floor and back would shorten its life span -
>true or false?

I wouldn't let a turtle roam around the floor.  There can be drafts.
There can be things turtles shouldn't eat.  Do you use any pesticides?
Don't.  Like all reptiles (that I know of) turtles are very sensitive
to these.  So swat your flies, don't spray them.  

>
>6) Will it hurt the turtle to be handled frequently? My child doesn't
>give it much peace, although she is gentle with it. It gets taken out of
>the terrarium 2 or 3 times a day.

Once the turtle is acclimated, this may not be too much.  For an
animal just becoming accustomed to captivity, this is way too much.
This may be part of the reason that it is not eating.

>
>7) When will the turtle be ready to hibernate (southwestern US climate;
>pretty moderate - it stays warm into October) and what should I do about
>that - let it go outdoors? Build a hibernation terrarium, etc.

A lot of people hibernate their box turtles in boxes in their garage.
This is kind-of complicated and I'd rather not get into too many
details here.  You can keep the turtle awake all year if you keep
it warm enough.  The main thing is, either hibernate it or don't
but don't keep the temperature just cool enough that the animal
won't eat but just warm enough that it won't hibernate.  Then it`
would starve or become sick.  

By the way, if your turtle does become sick, please *do not* return
it to the wild.  Captive turtle populations sometimes carry a 
disease called URDS.  This disease found it's way into wild 
populations of desert tortoises and has drastically effected them
in some areas. 

>
>8) Do box turtles carry diseases that people can catch, or vice versa.

The only disease that I know of that turtles carry and humans can
catch from them is salmonela.  I don't think box turtles carry it
and I wouldn't expect it in a wild turtle.  Don't let its cage
get too dirty though.

>
>In summary, we enjoy this little guy a lot but want to do the right
>thing. If they don't do well in captivity we will let it go. If it's
>possible to keep it as a pet, without a huge amount of special care and
>without doing it harm, we'd like to try. Thanks for any advice.

Hope this helps.  There are quite a few good books on turtles
and tortoises available now.  You should probably read one, there
is a lot more to know than can easily be said on the net.

----Melanie

Melanie (Melanie Typaldos)        melanie@cayman.amd.com  
AMD 29K Systems Engineering
Newsgroups: rec.pets.herp