heat?

Discussion in 'Tortoises' started by scooterjay, May 26, 2009.

  1. scooterjay

    scooterjay Embryo

    Messages:
    1
    Ive had a box turtle for about a year now and she has always eaten well till this past month.

    Could the tempurture of 64 to 72 not be enough for diggestion?

    She lives on wood chips and sandy dirt.
    Eats tomato,lettus,apple,caned cat food (sometimes)

    Shes verry hearty and dousnt mind being taken out for a stroll in the yard evry now and then.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

    Messages:
    5,483
     
  3. Rick78

    Rick78 New Member

    Messages:
    90
    There is a lot wrong with your setup to be honest.

    If she lives indoors I would like to know what you are keeping her in. For indoors I prefer large rubbermaid containers. Use a mix of bed a best (eco earth) and spahgnum moss. Make sure the substrate is slightly damp becuase humidity is important to box turtles.

    For the temperatures you need a gradient which means one side should be warm and the other side should be cooler to allow the turtle to choose. Get a fixture and add a basking light. For best results get a Zoo med Powersun bulb or a Mega Ray. These bulbs will also satisfy the REQUIREMENT for UV lighting. Only way around not using a good UV light is daily sunshine. Make sure that these lights are a minimum of 12" from the turtle. The temps under the lamp should be 90 or so with the cool side of the enclosure in the 80's. Put the light on a timer and have about 14 hours of light. Let it cool to room temp at night.

    Also have a water dish that the turtle can get into and be half covered. Change it daily as they often poop in the water. You also need hides. One on the warm side and one on the cool side. These can simply be a small wooden box turned over or some plants that are thick.

    Feel free to PM me if you want. I am highly experienced in raising box turtles.

    Here is a pic of how I do an indoor setup. Ignore the strip light as at this time I was using a cheap basking light that did not have proper uv levels and the strip light had a reptisun uv light in it to fulfill that requirement. Either way will work. My box turtles right now live outdoors which is ideal if you can do it.

    [​IMG]


    My outdoor pen at time of construction:

    [​IMG]
     

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