Anybody have a box turtle for a pet?

[Dargo]

I let my youngest son keep a box turtle that climbed up on our porch earlier this summer. I built it a "home" as per instructions found online. Her home includes 3" of sterile potting soil, a 2" deep bathing area sunken into the bottom (a paint tray), a fiberglass hollow log (that she sleeps in and constantly climbs up on top of), and a heat lamp on a timer. She has been eating a surprisingly large diet of grasshoppers the kids catch, crickets, worms, spiders, and even the canned box turtle food purchased at the pet store. I was warned to not buy worms at bait shops because they generally come from under rabbit cages and have lots of bacteria.

Anyway, my real question is about what to do over the winter months. The opinions on websites seem to differ on this issue. Some websites say to put the turtle in a dark quite place that is about 50 degrees for a couple of months. Other sites say that box turtles in warm climates do not hibernate and, with a good indoor warm home, they do not need to hibernate. Anyone here have one for any length of time? There is an article in my paper today about a 90 year old man who has had his box turtle for over 50 years, but it doesn't mention anything about hibernation.

 

[RayH]

When I was young, around 8 or 9, I had a couple box turtles. I kept them in a little old above ground swimming pool in the back yard. The pool was emptied of water and filled about half way up with sand. The turtles would dig down into the sand over winter and hibernate. In the spring they would emerge. They did this for several years until we moved. I dont really remember what happen to the turtles when we moved, I know we didnt take them with us though. The pool makes a great environment for the turtles and a cool project for kids if you have the room. Get a cheap little round pool (like a 3' deep by 10' round or so), a couple ton of sand, a shallow bucket to set down in the sand for water and either put some plants or build small structures in the pool for shade.

 

[Jimbrown]

They do not have to hibernate they only do it because they have too because of the cold and lack of food. If you keep it in a warm place it will be OK all winter. You might also try feeding it a few vegtables like lettece or sliced squash or cucumber. I had one as a pet that lived for 8 or 10 years and we finally just let him go in the woods. I left him with my grandmother for 2 years while we were in Europe and she used to put him in her purse and take him on the train and bus when she went to vist relatives. This was back around 1950 or so.

 

[dancer]

One of my ex's was fond of box turtles. On a vacation in Arkansas back in 1992, we found a couple of "terrapins" and smuggled them back to San Diego. It freezes in Arkansas but never in coastal San Diego County, but the turtles hibernated there -- just dug themselves a few inches down into our flower beds. Early in the spring they were up and about again and a few weeks later, the quarter-sized baby turtles dug themselves out also, still wearing part of their egg-sack on their bellies.

We always had plenty to feed them because they loved snails that we'd pluck from our various flora in the yard. I'd swear that a turtle can "hear" a snail 20 feet away!

 

[SkyPup]

Not to be a downer on pet terrapins, but I thought you should be made aware of the real danger of a zoonotic salmonella bacterial infection from them.

Young kids especially should not be allowed to handle them or their water with bare hands.

Turtles as Pets | CDC Healthy Pets Healthy People

 

[RayH]

Isnt that something. Generations and generations of kids grew up with turtles, now all the sudden they are deadly. The government bans turtles because they are dangerous and allows the sale of alcohol and tobacco. What a strange world this has become.

 

[SkyPup]

Salmonellla is a highly infectious disease and public health hazard, if your kids brought it home into your family via any route of transmission, you would NOT be a happy camper....

Ever try walking into a chicken egg hatchery? The fear of Slamonella pullorum or Salmonella gallnarium introduction or transmission into the hatchery is why you gown up first. Not because the chickens are hazardous to you, but because you are hazardous to them!

 

[Logan]

I have also heard of possible salmonella problems with turtles and took precautions when my grandson wanted one we found. I let him (the turtle) swim around in a WEAK solution of water and clorox for a few minutes. It didn't seem to bother him and I doubt it helped much. But no problems developed. I tend to be cautious when it comes to my grandson.

 

[Dargo]

Not to be a downer on pet terrapins, but I thought you should be made aware of the real danger of a zoonotic salmonella bacterial infection from them.

Young kids especially should not be allowed to handle them or their water with bare hands.

Turtles as Pets | CDC Healthy Pets Healthy People

He, oops, she has had a checkup by a vet who takes care of most reptile pets. She came through with flying colors. I received good advice as to what foods to NOT give her, such as worms bought at a bait shop. They are generally raised under rabbit cages and are the largest single source for salmonella infections in this country. Although it is always good and prudent advice to wash your hands after handling the turtle, you stand a far greater chance of getting salmonella from going fishing and handling bait worms.

I didn't post the above to be a smart azz, but because I was not aware that worms from bait shops are far more dangerous than a pet turtle, but you never hear of that danger.

She seems to be a happy camper in her new cage, bathing in the heat lamp for a few hours and then going on the prowl for food. She ate a giant grasshopper yesterday, so I don't expect her to be hungry for another day or so. She ate everything except the feet and wings.

 

[SkyPup]

Just for the record, as bad as enteropathic E. coli is from supermarket Spinach or fast food Jack-In-The-Box hamburgers, Salmonella makes that look like a spring picnic........