Box turtles also require a hiding area or shelter.There are several incandescent bulbs that provide heat and UVB such as, Active UVB bulbs and Zoomed’s halogen UVB bulb.Lights should be on for 12 hours daily, and UVB fluorescent bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months (even if they still work).Make sure there is NO glass or plastic between this bulb and your box turtle as this filters out the useful rays.Provide a full-spectrum (UVA/UVB) light source for optimal absorption of dietary calcium.The safest substrates are cypress mulch, newspaper, indoor/outdoor carpet, and recycled newspaper products such as Carefresh.

Soak your box turtle in shallow warm water for 15 minutes 1-2 times weekly to aid in hydration.Box turtles are not good swimmers so the makeshift pool must be easy to exit and enter. Liberally mist the enclosure once or twice daily with water. Box turtles require a relative humidity of 60-80%.The nighttime temperature should decrease to 70-75☏ (21-24☌). The daytime temperature gradient should range from 75-85☏ (24-29☌) with a basking spot that reaches 85-90 F (C).

Substrate should be at least 2-3 in (5-8 cm) deep. Box turtles require a large area of dry land for basking and burrowing. The minimum size enclosure adults can be housed in a 20-gallon (75-L) aquarium.

Box turtles may be kept in an enclosure with tall sides and no top.

For these reasons, if you are looking for a pet, you should try to find a captive-bred animal or consider a different pet. This journey causes the turtles to encounter many dangers, such as roads, predators, and humans. As a result, when box turtles that have been taken as pets are returned to the wild, they will head straight for their natal grounds. Additionally, box turtles have a homing instinct that causes them to try to return to the place of their birth if they are moved.

But, if box turtles are taken from the wild to become pets, or are killed by human activities, they are removed from the overall breeding population, the number of offspring drops, and the overall population declines. These offspring will eventually replace their elderly parents, allowing the population to remain at a stable size. Over the span of their lifetime, female turtles will lay hundreds of eggs, but only 2-3 of these offspring will survive to adulthood. The impact of taking turtles from the wild can be devastating to local populations. Another concern is the capture of box turtles for the pet trade. These qualities make them particularly susceptible to damage due to human activities. Box turtles are slow growing, have few young, and have exhibited delayed sexual maturity. Although questionable, some sources even report box turtles topping 100 years of age.Īlthough box turtles are still fairly common over much of their range, their future is uncertain. Box turtles commonly reach 25-30 years of age and there are well-documented cases of them living to 40 or even 50 years. The eggs are left unguarded and hatch in the late summer or early fall when hatching occurs.

Once mature, a female box turtle will lay between 3 and 6 eggs each spring in a shallow nest. Box turtles generally grow slowly, reaching sexual maturity at between 7 and 10 years old and 5 or 6 inches in length. It is thought that these young turtles spend most of their time concealed in brush and leaf litter and feed primarily on insects. Little is known about the lives of young box turtles because they are so secretive and hard to find. The western box turtle is superficially similar to the eastern box turtle but is typically smaller and has a shell marked with radiating yellow lines.īox Turtles are some of the longest lived and slowest reproducing species in the world. A key characteristic of box turtles is their hinged plastron (bottom of the shell) that can be shut completely to exclude predators.īox turtles in the United States are divided into two species, the eastern box turtle ( Terrapene carolina), and the western box turtle ( Terrapene ornata). They are small to medium sized turtles, attaining a maximum length of about 8 inches and having a highly domed carapace. Free-ranging box turtles spend much of their time burrowing in the mud or hiding beneath rocks. Box turtles are indigenous to North America.

Western box turtle