The most common land turtle is the box turtle. Since
the American box turtle is one of the most widely own
species of box turtles, this care sheet is geared towards
the American box turtle.
Indoor Housing
Maybe you live in the city or in an apartment
where you don't have a yard, or you have neighbors with
pets that may do something harmful to your box turtle.
If I lived in one of those situations, I would definitely
want to have my turtle indoors with the occasional supervised
outdoor time.
For their housing, you can use a wood
or plastic box. Use a box measuring at least 2 by 3
feet by 1 1/2 feet high. The bigger, the better. Box
turtles are great climbers, so make sure the walls are
high enough so that they can't escape. Do not use
a water aquarium. It gets very hot inside, like
a greenhouse effect. Your turtle could suffer from a
heatstroke and die. You can keep the temperature between
75F to 85F degrees by using an incandescent lamp. To
simulate natural sunlight, you should use a full spectrum
light. Your turtles like their house to be warm and
a little moist.
Your turtle will need a place to hide
or sleep. This is a place where they can relieve stress
(since stress can cause disease or even death). You
can use a cardboard shoe box or if you want to be a
little fancier, use a flower pot with a hole in it or
a hollowed out log.
Turtles love to hang out and soak in water,
so they will need a water dish. It has to be shallow
enough so that they can climb in and out easily. Fill
it up with water about 1/2 inch deep. Box turtles are
not very good swimmers, so don't fill the water up too
high. Your turtle will defecate in its water bowl. They
drink out of this some water, so make sure that you
change the water regularly, especially if you see feces
in the water.
How about some bedding or something to
dig in to? You can use a peat-moss based potting soil,
newspaper, or indoor/outdoor carpeting. Stay away from
corncob bedding and wood shavings, especially pine wood
shavings because pine oil is poisonous for your turtle.
You must keep the carpet clean and you should change
the newspaper every couple of days. This helps to prevent
any bacteria from growing.
To see an example of an indoor land
turtle setup click here.
Outdoor Housing
Your turtle that lives outdoors has the
same basic needs as the indoor housing. To prevent your
turtle from roaming off and predators from getting to
your turtle, you will need to have an enclosed cage.
Remember, they are great climbers and they are great
diggers as well. Make sure they can not dig their way
out and that the outside area has been pesticide free
for the past few years.
You don't need to put any extra lighting
for your turtle outdoors. They will get natural sunlight
for their heating as well, although they will still
need hiding places. Just as in the indoor setup, you
can use a cardboard box, flower pot, or hollowed out
logs which you can use for shading. If they need more
shading, you can use plants. Include a water dish with
a half inch deep water and provide a place where your
turtle can bury itself in. Maybe some leaves and grass
clippings.
To see an example of an outdoor land
turtle setup click here.
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If you would
like more information on box turtles,
Amazon.com has this excellent book available for
purchase.
(link will open in a new window)
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Visit our Turtle
Setup and Supplies Section
for all of your turtle care needs.
