A Pet Lover’s Guide to Box Turtle Care

The box turtle is one of the many kinds of turtles distinctive by its high convex shaped shell and a movable hinge at the bottom, thus allowing it to retract and to escape from its preys. Turtles, in general, grow slowly but have a long life expectancy. Though this seems to be good news, unfortunately, they are also one of the slowest reproducing species in the ecosystem.

Box Turtle

Box Turtles are adorable creatures of the wild now sold as household pets.  Taken away from their natural habitats, most of them do not survive because of the unfamiliar conditions they are forced to adapt. Outmost concern over these animals is not enough to prevent them to reach extinction. If you are a pet lover, read on to know few pointers about box turtle care.

Temperature and Lighting

Temperature and lighting are two very important aspects to consider in box turtle care. Unlike common family pets like dogs and cats, box turtles are cold-blooded animals. This means that they can’t regulate their own body temperature and would greatly rely on its environment to seek warmth or coldness. Because of this, it is important that you pick a shelter that is supplies both abundant sunlight and shade. In addition, temperature and lighting acts as triggering aids of your turtle’s appetite. Without their appetite, turtles would grow sick, weak and eventually die.

Box Turtle

Food

Box Turtles are omnivores and they eat almost anything that smells edible. But this doesn’t mean that we should be negligent of their diet. Maintaining a healthy diet still plays a crucial role in box turtle care. You could feed your turtles a wide array of vegetables and fruits but make sure that it is pesticide free. Examples of vegetables and fruits that your turtles could eat are mango, clover, strawberry, apples, melon and corn. Since box turtles naturally hunt for their own food in the wild, they also eat certain types of insects like earthworms, snails, caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers and slugs.

Shelter

Box Turtle

Another important thing you need to know about box turtle care is providing good a shelter. A good shelter would also allow your turtles to receive the right temperature for their daily activities. It is also important to consider that most animals upon captivity die because of certain environmental changes. As much as possible, provide shelter that would give them the feeling that they are still home.

Place them in the areas where the sun rises; preferably in large garden areas for a more spacious habitat. Box turtles also like skinny dipping in the water. But it is not recommended to keep them in enclosed aquariums or narrow water containers. You could install shallow ponds outside your house but make sure that the water level would not drown them.

Box Turtles are only few of the captive creatures fragile to human destruction. They could become a very good pet as long as you give them your time and attention. The more you know about box turtle care, the greater chances would they be able to live longer and happier.

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