View Full Version: Need Help With My Ornate

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Title: Need Help With My Ornate
Description: feeding and dig box


sshalimar16 - July 11, 2007 07:32 PM (GMT)

I have kept my adult ornate in a 50 gallon tank for years and finally just got tired of seeing her in it everyday. So, I bought a large child's hard plastic swimming pool and am turning it into a home for Gracie. I have the substrate down, her wooden hidey cave and I bought her a new water bowl that includes a ramp to help her get both in and out. Now I need suggestions on how to make her a dig box. I bought some peat and am still looking for sterilized potting soil with no fertilizers, vermiculite or perlite in it to mix together for this. If the sides are low enough for her to get into it, then the box will not be big enough for her to really dig in. Not sure if she'd use a ramp or not, but I could give that a try. Any suggestions?
Also, Gracie is the most finicky eater I have ever seen. She wants king mealworms and earthworms but nothing else and its always been that way. Even sprinkled with supplements I know she is not getting a good diet. Any hints on what to do about this? I could not find your special meatloaf recipe..........what is it??
Thanks,
Laura Ledet

Robyn - July 12, 2007 05:50 PM (GMT)
The "meatloaf" is a pound of lean ground beef with a teaspoon of calcium carbonate and a tablespoon of dry reptile vitamins. You can mix in certain fruits, vegetables, or dead bugs if you want. Freeze it in little balls and take out a ball as needed. I did something similar with my hedgehogs but found the balls start to look off in a few weeks or so after making it. It would only be useful if your turtle eats raw ground beef.

You want Gracie to get into the dig box but also back out and also have room to dig. Ramps may or may not work depending on her personality. I think you'll have to experiment. You might start with a small cat litter pan. To make a ramp for my sailfin lizard to get in and out of her pool, I bought wire "under-the-sink" storage shelves and bent the legs so it stays at an angle making a ramp. Smaller turtles might get their feet stuck in the rungs so they can be covered with something or something else solid used.

I've never had an ornate box turtle or kept Eastern box turtles except for very short term (wild ones being treated) so you should consult the links on my box turtle page for expert advise. There's a Yahoo box turtle group that I recommend. They should answer your questions. The web site is

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/boxturtlelist/

Good luck!




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