Box Turtle Supplies

Our household knows nothing about small land turtles. The Internet informed us the rescued animal is a box turtle, the terrapene ornata.

The rescuer started immediately with gathering the supplies that would make the turtle comfortable. He started with a big white plastic bin from Target. He put water in a bowl and torn newspaper on the bottom of the bin.

Some research was the next step because this turtle ignored all the tasty vegetables from the refrigerator. We did not want a starving turtle.

All the blurbs included with the turtle supplies are by Paperfacets.

Zoo Med Eco Earth Brick 3 Pack

The box turtle likes to dig and rearrange his environment. This bedding is what we have for Nacho.

Zoo Med Dual Thermometer and Humidity Gauge

Track humidity levels in your turtles aquarium for comfort and health.

This is an example of the indoor shelter for a box turtle. This is a female box turtle that someday will be introduced to Nacho.

She is about two inches smaller and does not display the red eye and red spots on the legs, as the male does. The females carapace is more ornate, showing brighter markings.

a/o April, 2011 Both turtles have been under their shell house or hutch since about the end of October. Not moving at all. Couple of times each of them awoke and moved around a bit than retreated to the hideout.

We are in southern California and box turtles are not native to this region. It is not legal to take a desert turtle home, for example. It is best to leave your box turtles in the wild of you live in the Southern States of the U.S.

Nacho was probably an escaped pet and may of lived fine in the area he was found, because there is a semi-natural stream next to the road. The road is very well traveled, though.

If you are thinking about a turtle for a pet, get one from a good source that raises them in moderation for interested and responsible pet owners only.

This story about Lousiana boxes turtles is very interesting. It is also sad that some young people have developed very twisted urges.

Box Turtles of Louisiana

Nacho has been a wonderful source of information and family conversation. He was a little afraid of people at first and liked to bite fingers if they came close. His eyes were yellow and now they are a bright healthy red. He may have been an escapee because he has become used to us and seems less angry when we get near.

I have found that his beak has a surprisingly hard bite. During his beak filing (see cuttle bone above) I also found out that their carapace and plastron clap together with strong force.

He likes to swim and he gets water exercise in the family pool under constant watch to give him a good hydration. This swim lasts about a minute.

He used his sleeping hut to lift himself out of the Rubbermaid bin and he landed with a load crack on the cement. Thank goodness we were there to witness this and knew exactly how he got out. He now has an identifying chip on the back edge of his shell and his hut is always in the center of the bin so that this will not happen again.