Box Turtle Care

I know, it's very much not knitting, but I just spent time on an email to a woman interested in keeping turtles as pets, and I get this question quite often it just would be kinda nice to have a place it's already written somewhere. So if you are not interested in the care of Box Turtles, please just skip this here post.


I would suggest an internet search. Unfortunately the books the library probably has will be quite out of date, with very little information on keeping turtles outside, which is where they do best.

The basics for keeping them outside are pretty...well, basic. If you don't
want them to go anywhere you need to build a wall. It doesn't have to be
tall, ours are about 1' tall, but it does need to go about 1' into the
ground, as turtles can be diggers if they get the gumption. They also need
to have a water dish that they can get in and out of easily. They will go
in and soak in the water to drink, and it can be deeper then them but not
too deep. Plants are nice, but be careful to get plants that aren't
poisonous (you can do a internet search for poisnous plants for animals).
Hibiscus is one of our favorites, lambs ear and hosta's are good too.
Strawberries would be fun for the turtles. A nice mulch/dirt/leaf pile is
good, so they have a soft place to dig and bury. This is also good for
winter hibernation.

A food dish is good to have. You want to feed a good variety of fruits and
veggies. You can "stock" the area with earth worms. Plus any other bugs
that wonder in on their own. But be careful...if you live in an area that
uses chemicals on lawns or gardens, bugs could carry that poison to the
turtle! There's not much you can do to stop it, just be aware of that. We
don't use any chemical anywhere on our property, to keep our turtles safe.
You can also supplement with diet dog food on occasion, for protein. But
you don't want to use that too often.

For baby turtles you will want some sort of cover. We used chain link fence
pieces on hindges secured with bungie cords. They let plenty of sun and
rain in, but no bird or mammal can get in and eat the babies, which does
happen if the babies are not protected. Once they are about 3-4 inches,
this isn't as much of a worry.

We usually do not hibernate our babies the first winter. We bring them
inside and keep them in a tank of mulch with a water dish. After the first
year they are left outside all year long. They hibernate through the
winter. We do check on them before they go down though, to be sure they are
well (no runny noses, ear abcesses, or gloppy eyes). And if the winter gets
all funny, like it did this year, keep an eye out for babies who are fooled
by the warm weather. They should be brought inside for the remainder of the
winter.

Adults are usually a bit easier to keep for a beginner. Babies can be
finicky. We lost 2 this winter. Unfortunately it just happens. Adults are
a bit more hardy, less heartbreak.

Also, be prepared to be the sole care taker of the turtle. We usually tell
people who are thinking about getting a turtle for their child that if they
themselves don't want a turtle then don't get one. If the adult doesn't
enjoy taking care of the turtle, it usually doesn't get taken care of.

Most of all, do research and learn and get everything set up before you get
the turtle. You'll know what you're doing, and the turtle will thrive
because of that!


*pictures added specifically for blog*