To view ornate box turtles for sale, please visit our "ANIMALS FOR SALE" page or click here.
ANY part of the directions described in the video and care sheet below NOT followed exactly, WILL cause your baby turtle to become ILL. FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS EXPLICITLY!
READ CARE SHEET IN ADDITION TO WATCHING VIDEO!
*Note: I no longer recommend using cocoa peat (coconut fiber) bedding as stated in the video. I now recommend using Peat Moss. see SUPPLIES link. Read care sheet below for reasons why.
**Questions sent to which the answers are discussed in the care sheet, will be referred back to the care sheet. Please read entire care sheet and watch the video before emailing questions about how to care for your turtle.**
**Due to popular demand, Mynewturtle now offers many of the turtle and tortoise products needed to maintain a happy and healthy pet. We supply specialty items that are often not sold in pet stores, at competitive prices! ** see SUPPLIES link.
DIET:
Babies: 90% earthworms, red wigglers, slugs, snails 5% live insects (crickets, roaches) 5% veggies **shaved pieces of cuttlebone (calcium) daily!** see SUPPLIES link.
Adults: 50% veggies 40% meats (worms, insects - never raw chicken or beef - cooked is fine) 10% fruits
Insects: ONLY FEED OUTSIDE BUGS IF YOU ARE 100% SURE THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SPRAYED WITH PESTICIDES!!! (Outside bugs are best as long as they do not have pesticides)
Ex) worms, slugs, snails, rollie pollies, crickets, etc.
Earthworms / Red Wigglers (cut into size appropriate for your turtle)
· Earthworms and outside bugs are best for your turtle. My baby turtles eat earthworms/red wigglers almost exclusively!
· NEVER FEED your turtle store-bought turtle pellets... even if it says for Box Turtles! These pellets are nutritionally unbalanced and will make your turtle grow quickly, irregularly and may lead to health problems.
· The smaller the turtle, the smaller the bugs
· Other live insects, such as crickets, mealworms, rollie pollies (pill/sow bugs), roaches, etc. are acceptable - in a pinch. Feeding these as the main diet will cause shell deformities. Earthworms, slugs, snails and other “goo-y” bugs will keep your turtle healthy and promote proper growth.
· Anything other than what is listed may or may not be appropriate. I do not recommend anything else, but you can check with your reptile specialist veterinarian first.
· Change your turtle’s diet gradually as it ages. A baby turtle may not like veggies for the first year or two of life. Just try and see. It depends on the individual.
· NOTE: Crickets especially like to nibble on your baby turtle while it sleeps. Removing any remaining insects (crickets/mealworms) during the night will prevent tiny cuts that could turn into larger cuts. In general, feed your turtle until it stops eating and is full. If there is extra food in the cage, remove it. This point should be irrelevant, as you are not feeding crickets or mealworms anyway.
· You can choose to sprinkle calcium powder on your turtle’s food. I use shaved pieces of cuttlebone (see care video). Some veterinarians say it is necessary, while others say it is not if the turtle is getting a well-balanced diet. If you use it, make sure you buy only calcium powder. Do NOT use calcium powder with D3!! D3 helps the body to absorb calcium, but with turtles, it is too much. Studies have shown that using D3 with turtles will calcify their bones to the point that they can no longer grow or even move and this can actually result in death. Instead, use natural sunlight and a UVB light to help the turtle absorb calcium without causing problems. D3 CANNOT be used in place of a UVB light or natural sunlight!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRs4rtTqRFg
FRUITS/ VEGGIES:
NO lettuce!! (Has no nutritional value!)
Dark greens – Kale, Collard greens, Endive, Bok Choy, Spring Mix from the grocery store (These are excellent!)
Tomatoes, Grapes, Berries, Squash, Apple, Cantaloupe, Grated Carrots, Peas, Bell Peppers, Thawed Frozen Veggies from the grocery store
· Keep a BALANCED diet. Do not feed any one of these items all the time.
· **REMEMBER** Baby turtles should not eat fruit. I do NOT feed my hatchlings fruit, but I do give them greens on occasion. They start getting fruit in small quantities, when they are years older. Too much sugar from fruits has been found to cause deformed shell growth as well as other health issues.
· There are many other options of foods to feed your turtle, so look in a book or on the Internet. (Make sure it is a reputable site!)
· Try to stay away from too many fruits or veggies that have “empty” calories. An example would be melons. These consist of mostly water and do not provide enough nutritional value. Items such as peas, berries or kale are much healthier.
LIGHTING:
First and foremost, I have found it best to keep baby turtles indoors (turtles LESS than 2 years old). There are many people who disagree, but I do that for several reasons.
· Outside your baby can be killed very easily by any of the following: HEAT, birds, cats, dogs, raccoons, etc.
· Outside you do not know how much, or even if your baby is eating.
· Outside you are not as in tune with your baby turtle’s health, and you may not notice if it becomes ill.
BUT… it is absolutely necessary for your turtle to get NATURAL sunlight. The vitamins from the sun are ESSENTIAL for your baby to live.
· Purchase a 10.0 UVB light (see care video). 10.0 = 10% UVB (the higher the percentage the better). The long tube lights are better than the bulbs because they cover more area. see SUPPLIES link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRs4rtTqRFg
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT UVB LIGHTS:
- Light must be kept 6 inches above the turtle, or less. Keeping the light at the top of a regular aquarium does nothing!
- Use a short cage, like a plastic tub and stretch the UVB light across the top.
- If you must use an aquarium to keep children or other pets out, put the light inside your aquarium propped up on something, like soup cans.
- Make sure there is NO PLASTIC COVERING over your UVB light. Some light fixtures are sold with this covering… this will filter out all of the vitamins you are trying to provide.
- These lights emit UVB for 6 months. After that, they look ‘on’, but are not emitting UVB and must be replaced.
- Six to eight hours of artificial UVB lighting is equivalent to about 20 minutes of natural sunlight. So, keep your light on all day, and off at night. Keeping the light on at night will stress your turtle.
- UVB from the sun does not penetrate window glass. Keeping your turtle by the window does nothing.
- Taking your turtle outside for natural sunlight is good. However, you must supervise! Also, make sure the temperature outside is the same as the environment inside. Otherwise, you will shock your turtle. Your turtle still gets UVB from the sun, in the shade. You do not need to keep it in the hot sun to get natural UVB.
- If you never take your hatchling outside for natural sun, but keep a UVB light as described above, your turtle can still be healthy. It is good to take your turtle outside. Be careful. I have heard too many stories of heat/cold shock or owners going inside for a few minutes and something eating their turtle because it was not protected.
****Please remember that while natural sunlight is important, baby turtles CAN go all winter without going outside. Your turtle will be in his/her house inside with the temperature around 80-95 degrees. If you go to give your turtle natural sunlight in the winter, you will be suddenly placing your turtle into 50 degree (or colder) weather! That kind of shock can kill your turtle within minutes. Please do NOT do that!
- VIEW CARE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRs4rtTqRFg
HOUSING:
· 10 gallon tub or larger – a tub is easier to clean than an aquarium plus you can get your UVB light closer!
· Mesh top so that air can get in the tank, or no top if you do not have other pets
· Use peat moss for bedding. see SUPPLIES link. I used to recommend cocoa-peat or coconut fiber bedding which comes in solid bricks from pet stores and you just add water. However, I now recommend peat moss at is has better water retention, is 100% organic and it prevents bacterial growth. While there have only been a few, there have been reports of turtles and tortoises dying of gut impaction on cocoa fiber bedding. There have been no reports of gut impaction on peat moss. I now recommend using peat moss as a substrate.
· Do NOT use any of these substrates…
NO sand! No gravel No wood chips No pesticides
· Keep your peat moss shallow so your baby does not stay buried all the time. If your baby is hiding all the time, place him in front of his food every morning so he learns where to find it.
· Keep a heating lamp on during the day and off at night ~ heating lamp should be on opposite end from water area.
· Use a mist bottle to spray down the inside of the tank at least once a day ~ three-toed box turtles like it humid! (Peat Moss helps a lot with humidity!) This is more important during summer.
· It is important to soak your turtle in a shallow tub of luke warm water. Some people do this daily just before feeding. This stimulates your turtle’s gut causing waste excretion, keeps them hydrated, and wakes them up for food. Put enough water in a tub so that your turtle can still touch the bottom with its feet but have its head above water. For more information on soaking, visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~rednine/soak.htm
BABIES (Hatchlings – 2 years old):
· I keep my yearlings in a tub with about ½ inch to 1 inch of peat moss. see SUPPLIES link. This is good because it holds moisture very well and therefore keeps the humidity high. I no longer recommend cocoa peat bedding sold in bricks from pet stores. Cocoa peat (coconut fiber bedding) is not as good at holding moisture, can allow bacterial growth and has been shown to cause gut impaction, leading to the death of your turtle or tortoise. Be sure to keep a shallow level of peat moss for hatchlings, as they will dig down and stay buried if it is too deep. Usually, yearlings know enough to dig their way out to get food. This area is misted daily and shallow food and water dishes are provided. Part of the tub is under the heat lamp and the whole area is covered with a UVB light.
JUVENILES (2 years +):
· I have found it best to keep turtles less than 2 years old inside in the environment described above (Babies). All my babies are born during late summer. The second summer after they are born (about 2 years old) the turtles can be moved to small outside enclosures. There should be plants, hiding spots, lose soil for them to dig, food and water dishes and a mesh covering to keep out predators. Small garden beds work well. I have found that hatchling turtles should stay awake, inside, their first two winters to continue to eat and grow. However, by their third winter (about 2 ½ years old) they should hibernate. If the turtle has been moved into a dirt-filled enclosure outside, they will hibernate on their own. Just make sure they can dig down deep in the soil.
**These ages are estimates. I go more on size and health than age. If your turtle seems too small or too weak to go outside or hibernate, then don’t do it. If your turtle has not grown to about 2-3 inches in length by 2 years old, it should see a reptile specialist vet. You may need to change something with the habitat or diet.
**** Remember: When you transition your turtle from inside to outside, make sure the outside temperatures (night and day) are close to your inside temperatures that your turtle is used to! You do not want to shock your turtle! That can result in death. I transition only during spring.
Many people purchase a small thermometer from their local pet store and keep it on the bottom of your tub. This will give you a general idea of the air temperature. However, these are not very accurate and do not tell you the temperature of your animal or the substrate. Using a Infrared Thermometer will tell you the temperature of the animal and you can check them in the warm and cold areas of the cage, as well as night vs. daytime temperatures. I recommend using an IR temp gun to help you create the perfect conditions for your pet. see SUPPLIES link. Keep the temperature between 75 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The range should be between about 85-90 degrees at the hot end of the tub during the day, and down to about 75 degrees at night in the cold end. The temperature will naturally go down at night when you turn off the heat lamp and UVB light and the turtle will go to sleep. I use a 60-watt bulb placed about 10 inches above the babies to provide heat.
*DO NOT USE a heat pad under the tub.
*DO NOT USE a heat rock.
Once your turtle is approximately 2-3 inches, you can keep it outside. Make sure that you acclimate your turtle slowly to the temperature change. This is most easily done in spring. Don’t forget that turtles hibernate in the winter if they are kept outside. So, do not decide to keep your turtle outside for the first time during winter. Also, when making this transition, make sure that your turtle’s new house is secure from predators. A small, enclosed garden area covered with mesh is perfect. There should be lots of small plants to hide in and to help keep up the humidity. The soil should be soft enough for your turtle to bury in. A drip system will help keep fresh water for your turtle and your plants. The shade, plants and water will also attract bugs for your turtle to eat! A garden area has most of this already and once covered in mesh, will be a perfect place for your small turtle.
ILLNESS:
Most illnesses seen in box turtles are a result of improper housing conditions or inadequate diet. Below is a video link of a turtle with many of the common ailments seen as a result of improper care. Some issues, such as infections, can be treated and cured. Others, such as shell deformities, are permanent.
Do not attempt if your turtle is a baby, weak or ill. It is best to allow only healthy, older turtles to hibernate on their own, outside. A couple weeks before my adults bury outside to hibernate, I check to make sure they are of good weight and health. If they are, I let them bury into the soil on their own. I then cover the entire area with hay and then old carpet. This keeps them insulated during the cold winters. If a turtle is not burying down during the winter, it should be brought indoors and warmed up for the winter, as it is probably ill. Some turtles will refuse to eat because they think they should be hibernating, even though they are too ill to do so. You may need to trick them into thinking it is summer by keeping your heat and UVB lights on timers that turn on and off in correspondence to summer hours. see SUPPLIES link. Keep the turtle away from an outside window where they would be able to tell that it is winter. It is actually the shortening day length (photoperiodism) that tells turtles to hibernate and not just the drop in temperature. Hibernation can be tricky. Consult your local reptile specialist veterinarian if you are having difficulty.
If you are having difficulty with your reptile, please call your local reptile specialist veterinarian.
Remember, this care sheet is not intended as a guide for 'do it yourself' medical care. If you think your pet is ill, please call your local reptile specialist veterinarian.
All turtles and tortoises sold under 4" are for scientific and educational purposes only.
All pictures on this site are of animals owned by or produced by Mynewturtle. All images copyright owners of Mynewturtle 2009.
