Husbandry
Introduction
Not a true aquatic turtle, not a tortoise... this little evolutionary niche is filled by the Box Turtle so named due to its ability to close its shell up like a box using the hinged plastron.
Box Turtles are a particularly intelligent chelonian and do make fantastic pets. Those shy hatchlings soon learn to trust, and grow a bond with, their keepers and will readily approach you for food and allow themselves to be hand fed. The adults have a much more cocky and confident personality and due to their small size they can be accommodated in most homes and gardens in the UK.
This section is a broad guideline for the type of habitat you will need to provide for most Terrapene Carolina and Cuora species. Terrapene ornata (Ornate Box Turtles) require drier set ups and Terrapene coahuila require a largely aquatic set up.
This section can also be applied to many species of Wood Turtle, with the addition of a little extra heat.
Individual care sheets will be provided.
Accommodation
Box Turtles live in the forests and wetlands of North America and Asia (with a few exceptions) in the wild and it is important to try to replicate this in captivity. A tortoise table will not keep the humidity levels high enough so a terrarium is better. I use the Habistat glass terrariums as wooden ones will rot with the dampness required. The sides are blacked out to reduce stress and the top is ventilated with mesh to allow airflow. Always make sure you provide the largest terrarium you can afford.
A large aquarium or Laguna type tub can also be adapted to make a suitable enclosure.
You need to provide multiple hiding spots around the enclosure so the tortoise can hide and feel safe. Bark, plant pots and other items are great for this.
Substrate
The substrate is the best place to hold the moisture and keep humidity high. I use a mixture of coconut coir and sphagnum moss which I keep damp with daily mistings. You will need to keep an eye out for mould, make sure you replace any spoiled substrate promptly.
Baby box turtles should be kept almost wet to promote smooth shell growth, this can be reduced to just damp or humid as the animals age.
Box Turtles love to dig and bury themselves, so give them plenty of depth of substrate.
Heat and Light
A large part of your turtle is its shell. It may surprise you to learn that the shell is made of fused ribs, in other words the shell is the turtles ribcage! Therefore the turtle has to grow a lot of bone and needs the tools to do so. The turtle needs to be able to turn the calcium in its diet into bone, to do this it uses vitamin d3 - which is primarily found in sunlight. In the forest there is less sunlight, but some still does make it to the forest floor. In captivity we need to provide it artificially.
The part of sunlight which provides vitamin d3 is called short wave ultraviolet, or UVB. There are a range of UVB bulbs available to buy. There are long T5 or T8 tube fluorescent bulbs, a smaller compact type fluorescent bulb with an E27 screw fitting or there are all-in-one Mercury Vapour Bulbs such as the Arcadia D3+ bulb range. UVB does not travel through glass, so putting your turtle by the window is simply not enough, we must provide these bulbs. Without UVB the turtles will develop metabolic bone disease and die.
Mercury Vapor bulbs cannot be used with a dimming thermostat and run a risk of overheating a glass terrarium. Box turtles don't seem to bask as much as turtles like sliders or cooters so I find a T5 tube at 12% works fine with the ambient background temperature of my house, supplemented with a heat mat fitted under the tank in the winter. Do not put a heat mat inside the enclosure due to the dampness required causing a risk of short circuiting any electrics.
If you want to add a separate heat lamp an appropriate fitting, such as an Arcadia Clamp Lamp, should be suspended vertically above one end of your turtles enclosure to enable the turtle to regulate it's temperature and choose where to bask. Utilise a thermostat to avoid overheating your enclosure. Adjust the height of the bulb so that the temperature at the ground is 32 - 35 degrees Celsius at the warm end.
The light should remain on for between 10 and 12 hours a day to replicate daytime. I recommend using a 24 hour timer plug to automate this process for you.
Water
Box Turtles love water and humidity and most will like a good soak and even swim quite well. A water dish should be provided which is deep enough for the tortoise to climb in and bathe, but sides not so steep as it can't get out. You can use shop bought water bowls, or I like to use roller paint trays for their deep section and grooved ramp which provide grip for your turtles feet. If you build a large enclosure you can incorporate a small pond so long as it has sloped sides for the turtle to walk out.
A daily misting with a water sprayer will keep humidity high.
Turtles will drag food into and defecate in the water! This is normal, so remember to change the water in your bowl regularly.
Diet
In the wild, most box turtles live in forests and boggy water margins, full of plants, fungi and life. They are omnivorous and eat a large variety of different foods, insects, plants, mushrooms and even carrion.
In captivity we can feed them live food like woodlice, cockroaches, slugs, snails, worms etc. always being careful to collect them from pesticide free areas. They will also take aquatic turtle pellets which have been dampened. Feeding constantly live food tends to spoil them and means they won't touch their plants leading to vitamin deficiencies. I get round this by making my own "Box Turtle Dinner Balls" from the below recipe
500g of lean 5% fat beef
A carrot
A hard boiled egg
A handful of aquatic turtle pellets
Seasonal veg (green beans, squash etc)
A large field mushroom (or a few smaller ones)
A table spoon of reptile vitamins (like Nutrobal)
Calcium powder
Grate the veg, carrot, mushrooms and finely chop the egg, shell and all. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and divide into small separate 1 inch balls. These balls can be frozen and defrosted when needed.
Don't overfeed the turtles, baby turtles every other day, adults every two to three days.
Serving the turtles food on a rough dish or piece of slate is another great way to keep their beak in good shape.
The Great Outdoors!
Although from warmer countries than ours, during the the summer you can allow these turtles some time outside and even set up a permanent outdoor enclosure. There are some definite health benefits to the outdoor life, natural sunlight is the obvious one as well as access to wild food provided no one uses pesticides near them. When you create an enclosure outside for your box turtle, make it large enough for roaming and make sure it is escape proof as they do climb quite well. Provide plenty of hiding areas to provide refuge from the summer sun and a large water dish or small pond. You can plant it with safe plants to be grazed on.
Box turtles can dig, so make sure it has a bottom or the sides go deep into the ground. They can also climb, so add an overhang to the walls. Be wary of rats, cats and foxes as well as your pet dog. All can stress, attack and kill your turtle.
Even though they are more resilient than most species of tortoise, do not let your box turtle get too cold in the spring or autumn, they will likely catch a respiratory infection which can be fatal.
Example BOX TURTLE Setup
An example box turtle habitat with damp substrate, water bowl, UVB and hide