Box Turtles!
These three-toed box turtles are two and a half years old.
Three hatchlings, probably 9 or 10 months old. They emerged about one month before this photo was taken. They wintered over in the nest.
Look how much they have grown. This photo was taken 10/99. Cleaning day and some real sunshine!
This is the indoor set-up for the three juveniles. The plastic container is 16"X34". The clear sides are covered with old calendar pages picture side out for our enjoyment. That is a 60 watt regular bulb in the aluminum fixture. The aquarium hood holds a Reptisun 5.0 bulb. There is a plastic flower pot saucer for water and several overturned pots to hide in. Seeds were planted in the upright pots - squash and chard.
At night the lamps are pushed over and a Zoo Med Infrared Heat Emitter is suspended overhead using a homemade stand. I am experimenting with the height.I need to purchase a better thermometer.
I used a human heating pad underneath the last two winters along with the lights but felt that the turtles hid down in the warmth too much. With this heating system, they come out to bask and I get to see them.
Potting soil, peat and sphagnum moss are being used for substrate. I think next time I change the substrate, I will go back to bark as it is neater.
Next winter as 3 year olds, they will hibernate outside like the adults.
As the trees grow in my yard, I keep building new turtle runs. The old ones get too shady.
This is is the newest one. On the right, the cover is installed. We do have dogs and though they never seem aggressive, I don't take chances. I have also seen opossums and raccoons in my yard here in suburbia.
I'll add a photo of the building process, photos and measurements.
Originally, I made a cave reinforced with bricks and wood under the long piece of driftwood but as it settled, I worried about turtles getting buried and decided to let them build their own caves from now on.
The paint pan idea from a list member has worked well for water. It is large enough and easy to clean.
Four adults live here and in two other runs. During early spring I move my female to another private run for rest. The males don't seem to bother each other much with her absent.
They all hibernate in a third run, my first, that is under a deciduous tree. It is much too shady in the summer but seems to maintain a more stable cool temp in the winter. Here in California we get some warm winter days. I'd rather maintain them at hibernation temps than have them waking on those warmer days. I fill that run with leaves and grass and spade the soil to soften it. I keep a water dish in case they wake up. I am going to move them to this location this weekend as they always go down around Thanksgiving. More photos soon.
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