3 toed box turt care

[Lrptls]

i myself dont know alot about box turtles but i am researching them to help my friend. he has a female three toed and i do not think the cage set up is right, plus her eyes look like they may have an infection in them.

i was reading about the substrate, it should be a moist substrate, should the whole cage be full of a moist substrate or just most/half. right now he has pebbles.

i also read they need to be able to get into water. his turtle does not have a very big water bowl, only about an inch or so deep. his turt is about 6 inches, what size water bowl would be good for it?

i didn't really ask what he was feeding her and i can not find much info on diet, arn't they omnivores? what plants and bugs can they be fed?

i read they do not like high temperatures, he has no light on the turts cage so its just at room temp, what temp is right for them just to make sure the turtle isn't too cold/hot?

do they need uvb light? i do not think his has one

last but not least, the turtle is housed in (at my guess) a 30 gallon tank. what size is best for a full grown three toe?

[LISA127]

All box turtles should be housed in cages they cannot see thru. Never glass cages. The very large rubbermaid storage containers work great. His cage needs to be at least 3 feet long, and hopefully about 2 feet deep. They don't like very high temps, but do need a heat source on one end. Room temp on the other end. I would say the warm end would be adequate at about 85 to 90 degrees, provided they have a room temp cool end. And they do need UVB lighting on one end only. The water dish does not have to be very deep at all, but it has to be big enough to soak in. I used the 8 inch glazed saucers that go under plant pots. Those work great. Yes, they are omnivores but they lean toward the protein more. I always fed about 75% protein and 25% fruits/vegies. They prefer fruits over vegies, tho. Nightcrawlers are a favorite and very good for them.

Remember, your friend needs to get that turtle out of the glass tank. See thru cages stress box turtles.

[red bootz]

Poor Turtle.

The puffy eyes are a symptom of dietary insufficiencies or lack of an appropriate environment. The eyes will "seal" themselves shut and appear puffy for a number of reasons, including a lack vit A in the diet (depending on what your freind is feeding this is unlikely), Conditions that are too dry (more likely in his case), Too cold (also applies here), and perhaps an RI. In any case, these all are not good things and the set up HAS to change for your freinds boxie to thrive.

Get him off the pebbles. Box turtles like to dig. A soft humid substrate (I use a combination of cypress Mulch, Top Soil, and Peat moss) is an absolute must. How would your freind like it if he had to sleep without any blankets?

A heat source is also neccesssary. I use a basking spot during the day and an infared heat lamp during the night. The turtle will decide to use the heat gradient as it sees fit. remember that heat stress is just as deadly as too cool a temp so provide for a cool area as well.

An area to hide, an area to soak effectively as well as trip to the vet are also in order.

Good luck. I hope the boxie recovers. They are very resilient creatures.

Oh, and get her outside when the weather wrms up.

[Lrptls]

thanks for your help every one, i'm sure he will change the problems asap. but the eyes arn't puffy and shut, i'v gotten a turtle with that problem before. this turtles eyes are have pink in the corners. but i'm sure he will help her out right away.