North American Box Turtle Care Guide
North American box turtles belong to the genus Terrapene and include multiple species and subspecies ranging across the United States and northern Mexico. Commonly kept species include the eastern box turtle, ornate box turtle, and three-toed box turtle. These turtles are personable, hardy, and can live over 50 years. They have a hinged shell used as a defense mechanism to close up tightly when threatened.
If you choose to keep a box turtle, choose captive-bred individuals rather than encouraging continued wild collection. Due to habitat destruction and over-collection, some species may be protected in your area — check your local and state laws before obtaining one.
A healthy box turtle should be active, alert, and responsive. Always quarantine new box turtles for at least 90 days before introducing them to other animals to prevent disease spread.
Most box turtles need to be about half-grown before they can be sexed; three-toed box turtles may be difficult to sex until fully grown. Males usually have longer tails, and depending on the species may also have a concave plastron, red eyes, and a long hooked toenail on the hind legs used for gripping during mating.
Enclosure
The best place to keep box turtles is outdoors. Outdoor enclosures must be secure — box turtles are excellent diggers, so walls should be buried at least 6 inches underground. They are also skilled climbers, so add an inward-facing lip along the top of the walls to prevent escape. If predators such as raccoons, skunks, or dogs are present in your area, cover the enclosure. Place the enclosure where it receives morning sunlight for basking. In Arizona, provide deep shade during the hot afternoon hours of late spring, summer, and early fall.
For indoor housing, the minimum recommended enclosure size is 3 ft long × 2 ft wide. Provide hiding places in both indoor and outdoor setups — edible shrubs, leaf piles, and logs work well outdoors. A water dish deep enough for the turtle to soak in should be present at all times. Installing a sprinkler in one corner of an outdoor enclosure, run for 15 minutes daily, helps keep the ground moist and refills the water dish.
Use a flat dish or patio stone as a food dish to prevent accidental substrate ingestion while eating.
Indoor substrate options: vermiculite-free organic topsoil, Reptisoil, or coconut bedding — choose something that allows burrowing.
Cleaning: Remove droppings from indoor enclosures daily. Replace substrate 1–2 times monthly or more as needed. Disinfect the enclosure and furnishings at least monthly with a freshly made 1:10 bleach solution — rinse thoroughly afterward and allow to dry in the sun. For outdoor enclosures, rake up feces regularly and clean and sanitize water bowls every 2–4 weeks.
Temperature
Indoor box turtles need a heat source at one end of the enclosure to create a temperature gradient:
- Under the heat lamp: 88–95°F
- Ambient (rest of enclosure): 70–75°F
Never use heat rocks — they can cause thermal burns. Outdoor turtles should always have access to deep shade to prevent overheating.
Lighting
UVB lighting is essential for indoor box turtles. A high-quality full-spectrum bulb providing both UVA and UVB is required — Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 or Powersun are good choices. Take indoor turtles outside for natural sunlight whenever possible.
Recommended light cycle:
- Spring and summer: 12 hours light / 12 hours dark
- Fall (before hibernation): 8 hours light / 16 hours dark
Replace UVB bulbs every 6–12 months. Outdoor turtles receive all the UVB they need from the sun.
Humidity & Water
Maintain humidity at 60–80% for most temperate species (40–60% for desert box turtles), monitored with a hygrometer. Humidity can be maintained indoors through daily misting or a fogger system, and outdoors through a sprinkler system.
Diet
Box turtles are omnivores. Adults should be fed 3 or more times per week in the morning; juveniles should be fed daily. Juveniles tend to be more carnivorous than adults — aim for approximately 50% animal protein and 50% plant-based foods. Variety is very important. Limit vitamin D-fortified foods to less than 5% of the total diet.
Protein sources (offer at least twice weekly): crickets, grasshoppers, snails, slugs, earthworms, red wigglers, mealworms, silkworms, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, low-fat cat food (such as Purina Kitten Chow), chopped pinky mice or fish, hard-boiled eggs, Rep-Cal Box Turtle Diet, or Reptomin.
Vegetables (offer daily): collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, kale, bok choy, broccoli, green beans, spineless cactus pads, peas, escarole, cucumber, bell peppers, lima beans, grated carrots, sweet potato, and squash. Edible flower blossoms such as rose petals, hibiscus, nasturtium, dandelion, and squash blossoms should also be offered. Spinach, Swiss chard, and red leaf or romaine lettuce can be offered sparingly.
Fruit (offer 3–4 times weekly, not to exceed 10% of diet): apples, figs, berries, melon, banana, mango, peaches, plums, pears, tomatoes, apricots, and grapes. Always remove pits and seeds.
Commercial box turtle diets such as ZooMed’s Natural Box Turtle Pellets and Canned Diet and Fluker’s Box Turtle Buffet Blend can be offered once weekly for variety but should not replace fresh foods.
Supplementation:
- Calcium supplement — dust food once weekly for adults, 1–2 times weekly for juveniles
- Multivitamin with vitamin A (not beta-carotene) such as ZooMed Reptivite — once weekly for adults, 1–2 times weekly for juveniles. For outdoor turtles, ensure supplements do not contain D3. For indoor turtles, D3 can be given 1–2 times monthly.
Baby box turtles often eat only earthworms until they reach about 90 grams (3 oz). Earthworms are nutritious but variety should be encouraged — offer the same foods as adults at least three times a week, chopped into smaller pieces. Mixing live worms into salads and pellets may encourage babies to try new foods.
For picky eaters, a gel food can help introduce new foods:
- Use 1 packet of unflavored gelatin (Knox), enough to make 2 cups of gelatin
- Blend into a fine paste: ½ cup soaked turtle pellets (e.g., Reptomin or Rep-Cal Box Turtle) and ½ cup of the turtle’s favorite food
- Stir in ¼ cup grated dark leafy greens, shredded orange vegetables, and frozen mixed vegetables
- Squeeze out excess water
- Add ½ teaspoon ZooMed Calcium with D3 and ¼ teaspoon ZooMed Reptivite
- Follow packet directions to make the hot gelatin; add several drops of red (or orange/yellow) food dye — some turtles prefer certain colors
- Instead of cold water to thicken, stir in the blended paste
- Spread the chunky gelatin paste into a glass pan in a thin layer, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until solid
- Cut into thin strips, wrap individually in wax paper, and freeze
- Thaw as needed for feeding; roll the strip in favorite foods to encourage eating
Wellness, Hibernation & Preventive Care
We recommend an annual fecal exam and wellness checkup. Seek veterinary care promptly if your turtle is lethargic, not eating or growing, has nasal discharge, difficulty breathing, puffy or discharging eyes, a soft shell, mobility issues, or has been attacked by another animal.
Box turtles naturally brumate (hibernate) during the cold season. All healthy adult box turtles should be hibernated. Between mid-September and mid-October, as weather cools, box turtles will begin eating less and become less active, eventually burying themselves under roots, leaves, or dirt until spring. Indoor hibernation in a cold garage is also possible. Hibernation is typically triggered when temperatures drop below 65°F and is maintained at 45–50°F. Soak hibernating turtles in a shallow dish of water every 4 weeks to maintain hydration.
Juvenile box turtles do not need to be hibernated for their first few years and can be kept indoors in a terrarium during winter. Only healthy turtles with adequate body condition should be allowed to hibernate — ill or underweight turtles may not survive. A pre-hibernation veterinary examination is recommended annually to ensure your turtle is healthy enough for the process.
The light cycle should be decreased to 8 hours light / 16 hours dark in the fall before hibernation begins.
