Ornate Box Turtle Care Guide

(Terrapene ornata)

Quick Facts

Appearance & Subspecies Variations:

• Shell: High domed & Rounded. Usually dark brown with bright yellow spots or starburst lines. Unique pattern to each turtle. Usually 4-5 inches in size.
• Plastron: Hinged, allowing the turtle to close its shell completely for defense. This is why they are called box turtle as they can box up.
• Subspecies:
  • T. o. ornata – typical ornate box turtle (more northern range)
  • T. o. luteola – desert box turtle (more southern/arid range; lighter coloration)
• Sexual Dimorphism: Males tend to have red eyes, concave plastron for mounting, and the tail is longer and skinnier. Females tend to have green or brown eyes, flatter plastron, and shorter stubbier tail.

Enclosure & Setup:

Indoor:

• Great for hatchlings, young, and juvenile box turtle.
• Minimum I like to have indoor is 4x2ft. in size. Bigger is better.
• Have a hot size, cool size and a good temperature gradient.
• I like to use a closed chamber style enclosure. This helps keep humidity up and easier to maintain.
• Basking area is need so your turtle can heat up.
• Use the right lighting and heating. Use timers to help keep things consistent and easy.

Outdoor:

• Best for Ornate box turtles that are 4 inches or bigger. Adults should if possible be kept outdoors.
• I like to go at least 8x4ft in size as a minimum. Box turtles roam so bigger is better even though they are a smaller species.
• Always have the enclosure in a section of the yard that gets sun and shade.
• Provide shade using plants, this will also help keep microclimates throughout.
• Ornate box turtles like water and I like to provide big shallow water dishes or even shallow streams in my box turtle enclosures.
• Hides are needed for safety and to have your box turtle feel safe. I like to provide at the minimum 2 hides per turtle. More hides the better.

Heating, Temperature & Lighting:

Heating:

• Heat emitter & deep heat projector are great and what I like to use. I also use a thermostat on them them to keep temperatures consistent.
• MVB (mercury vapor bulbs) are also great if the enclosure is bigger or taller. It is a heat bulb as well as puts off UVB light.
• Normal house bulbs and Halogens– These are getting harder to find, but reptile companies like zoomed still make them for reptiles. They don’t put off UVB but made to put out heat for basking.
• Heat pads & Head panels– These can be used but a little harder to use on a box turtle. They come in many sizes and should be used correctly.
• Outdoors make sure there are spots that let full sun in allowing for a basking area.

Temperatures:

• Basking Spot– 87*F-95*F is what I like to have for a ornate box turtle.
• Warm Side– 80*F-87*F – Warm side is pretty warm and made to relax and keep body temperature high. It is important the whole enclosure isn’t this temperature.
• Cool Side– 70*F-75*F – A good temperature away from the heat and on the far side of the temperature gradient.
• Night Time– 60*-75* – They hibernate but for average these temperatures are good norms for night.

Lighting:

• UVB Lighting– This is a must for indoor enclosures. This allows reptiles like turtles able to create d3 and calcium. I like to use the Tube 5.0 or 10.0 uvb bulbs. But there are other styles like coil, led, and MVB types.
• Basking– Like mentioned above. A heat source like a basking bulb is great. This creates a great day and night cycle too.
• Nighttime- A lot of people ask if they need a night time light. I never use one, but some people will use a red bulb for heat, or a blue bulb to try and mimic moon light. I use no light and never had a problem.

Substrate & Humidity:

• Substrate indoors- I use a mixture of Soil, Coconut coir, sand and moss. This allows to hold moisture as well as gives the box turtles something to dig into.
• Substrate outdoors-I like to put peat moss, soil, sand mix as the top layer of my outdoor enclosures. I also will let leaves and any organic litter build up.
• Bioactive Substrate- all my indoor enclosures are bioactive meaning they have isopods and springtails that help clean up the soil and keep things healthy. I recommend this and it has been a game changer.
• Humidity Indoors– I use closed chambers so I keep humidity up around 60%- 90%. This is great for hatchlings and young box turtles.
• Humidity outdoors- this is harder to keep up, but I use plants and let things grow out to keep humidity up. Also you can use humid hides to provide humid areas. If you live in a area with high humidity that is perfect. 40%-80% is fine outdoors with microclimates.

Diet, Feeding, & Water:

Diet: (Omnivores )

• Protein: (60%-80%)- Nighcrawlers, earthworms, eggs, chicken, beef, mazuri turtle diet. Many insects can be fed I like to mix it up,
• Vegetables: (20%-40%)- Dandelions, Leafy greens, Flowers. Its a little harder to get box turtles to eat their veggies, but Mixing it up into protein helps a bunch.
• Fruit: (10%-20%)- Apples, Blueberries, Bananas, Pears, mangos, strawberries, etc. Box turtles love fruit and will eat it more than most other species. I like to mix it into the diet but no more then 20 percent.
• Supplements: Calcium powder is good to use 2-3 times a week for indoor and younger turtles. I use it less with Adults. Multivitamins can also be used but shouldn’t be needed if the diet is a good variety.
• Commercial: These are great to add to a diet. I use mazuri turtle diet and will mix it into a plate of food. Also flukers make good turtle food pellets. Pellets should be used as part of a diet, or in emergency when food is hard to get.

Feeding:

• Hatchlings, Juveniles, Young Adults: I like to feed them every day when they are sub 3 months. After that I will switch to every other day. I feed as much as they can eat in one sitting.
• Adults: I like to feed my adults every other day or every three days depending on what part of the year. I feed them as much as they can eat in one sitting. Outdoors has a lot of natural bugs so I see them hunt as well when its a non feeding day.

Water:

Box turtle are semi aquatic and love water. They can swim but not well. Provide small shallow water dishes for them to soak in. Change water daily

• Indoors: I like to use a small shallow dish indoors. Easier to clean and it will evaporate quick so easier to keep fresh. Indoors is for small box turtles so this works perfect.
• Outdoors: I like to use dish’s big enough for the turtle to fully get in and soak. Make sure they can reach the bottom and get out without flipping.
  • Paint trays, Plant saucers, small pet pools all make great water dishes.
  • Ponds- A shallow pond using pond liner, small kiddie pool, or mixing tub also works great. Use a filter, and keep it no deeper then 6 inches.
• Soaking– for hatchlings and young box turtles you can do a warm soak for 10-15 minutes every other day. This is a great way to be sure they are hydrated and a great way to check on them.

Behavior & Daily Care:

• Diurnal -most active in morning and late afternoon. Less active in the midafternoon. Finds a place to bunker down and sleep once the sun goes down.
• Burrower– Love to dig down during the hot days, or cool winters. They will dig down to sleep at night as well.
• May brumate (semi-hibernate) during winter if kept outdoors in appropriate climates.
• Handle minimally—Like most reptiles excessive handling causes stress. I usually never handle my turtles unless I’m checking on them for health reasons, or if I need to move them.
• Daily – Spot clean daily; full substrate changes every 4–6 weeks if not bioactive. If bioactive You just need to be sure to replace substrate as it breaks down. Clean water dishes daily or as needed.

Health & Common Issues:

• Respiratory Infections: Caused by cold drafts or overly damp conditions. Cold and wet is bad, cold and hot is not that bad. Just be sure your box turtle can dry off.
• Shell Rot or Injury: This is caused by bacterial or fungus on the shell. If the turtle cannot dry off or clean off. Or if their water is dirty all the time they can get shell rot.
• Parasites: Regular fecal checks with a reptile vet to be sure they do not have worms. Usually happens when they are stressed or already sick.
• Dehydration: Provide water dish and occasional soaks to prevent dehydration.
• Vitamin Deficiencies: Avoid all-fruit diets; provide supplements. Keep a varied diet to help avoid this.

Breeding & Reproduction:

• Breeding season: Spring to early summer. Usually after a rain storm.
• Females may store sperm for months some even say years. They can be separate from a male and still lay fertile eggs.
• Clutch– usually 2-6 eggs. They can lay multiple clutches a year.
• Incubation- I incubate my eggs at 82*F-86*F. Lower temperatures will hatch females, higher temperatures will hatch males… not guaranteed. Usually between 60-90 days eggs will hatch.
• Hatchlings: Keep humidity higher (60–70 %), provide shallow water, and feed daily. They grow pretty quick and slow down.

Common Mistakes:

• No UVB light. This overtime will cause health problems and can eventually kill your box turtle.
• To small of a enclosure- Box turtles need space even though they are small. bigger is better and they will use the space.
• Kept to dry. Humidity is to low and no water provided or not enough water. This will lead to dehydration and RI.
• Bad diet- Feeding the wrong diet, or not a variety. This can cause vitamin deficiency and other health problems.

FAQs:

Resources & Next Steps:

• Full Care Guide → /care-guides/
• Diet & Nutrition → /diet/
• Habitat & Enclosures → /habitat/
• Gear Reviews → /gear-reviews/