The Box Turtle Manual E-Book

Philippe de Vosjoli

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 75

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2004

Beschreibung

The Box Turtle Manual seeks to "help prospective owners keep their turtles healthy and happy." Given the low price tag placed on a box turtle in a pet shop, many casual shoppers add a box turtle to their household without preparation or knowledge about how to keep the animal alive. Since quality information is difficult to find on box turtles, Philippe de Vosjoli and Dr. Roger Klingenberger remedy the situation with this Advanced Vivarium Systems edition dedicated to box turtles. The authors believe that these popular and beautiful turtles…."may teach you one or two lessons about the delicate balance of life, natural law, and the many ways in which intelligence in manifested in nature." The book presents background information and guidelines for caring for a box turtle, including selecting a health specimen, acclimating the turtle, indoor and outdoor housing, heating and lighting requirements, feeding and handling, hibernation and breeding. The authors recommend three specific species of box turtles as good pet candidates: they provide photos and information on ornate box turtles, common Asian box turtles, and Chinese box turtles. Dr. Klingenberger provides a chapter on diseases and disorders that gives specific advice about dealing with dehydration, nutritional problems, parasitic problems, and vitamin deficiency. A five-page troubleshooting chart for health problems concludes the chapter. Resources and index included.

Leseprobe

Kristin Mehus-Roe, editor, project manager

Nick Clemente, special consultant

Jarad Krywicki, contributing editor

Designed by Michael Vincent Capozzi

Rachel Rice, indexer

Cover photo by David Northcott.

The additional photographs in this book are by Bill Love, courtesy of Glades Herp., pp. 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 21 (bottom), 30, 33, 34, 37, 44; Paul Freed, pp. 7, 12, 14, 18–21 (top), 39, 42; Roger Klingenberg, pp. 6, 25, 29, 47–72; Chris Estep, p. 38; Josh Tashjian, courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo, p. 40.

Copyright ©1992, 1998, 2003 by Advanced Vivarium Systems™

Third edition, revised and updated

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording or any information and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

I wish to thank Roger Klingenberg for coming to the rescue and greatly improving the material on recognition and treatment of diseases, and Bill Love of Glades Herp for coming through with great photographs.

LCCN: 96-183295

ISBN: 1-882770-71-4

eISBN: 978-1-62008-036-8

An Imprint of I-5 Press™

A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

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CONTENTS

Introduction

General Information

Selecting a Healthy Box Turtle

Housing and Maintenance

Heating and Lighting

Feeding and Handling

Hibernation and Breeding

Notes on Specific Species

Diseases and Disorders

INTRODUCTION

Although box turtles are among the world’s most popular and beautiful turtles, they are also some of the most neglected and mistreated of all turtles sold in pet stores. Many new pet owners refuse to confront the health problems common to commercially collected box turtles, while caring owners often have difficulty finding proper care information.

This book is for pet owners who want to properly appreciate and care for their box turtles. If you think of a box turtle as merely an inexpensive and disposable child’s pet, save yourself some money—and save a box turtle—by simply not acquiring one. In many respects, they are even more amazing than their cartoon counterparts, and they have been on earth thousands of years longer than any animated reptile. They many teach you one or two lessons about the delicate balance of life, natural law, and the many ways in which intelligence is manifested in nature.

The following pages present background information and guidelines for care that will help prospective owners keep their turtles happy and healthy. They also include a section concerning the care of two species of Asian box turtles of the genus Cuora that are also commonly sold in the pet trade.

A three-toed box turtle clearly shows its attractive coloration. This is the most readily available box turtle in the pet trade; it is also the most adaptable.

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL INFORMATION

Although box turtles are beautiful, interesting animals, they are also inexpensive and at times overexploited, neglected, and improperly treated. In fact, the majority of animals collected for the pet trade die within the first year in captivity. Despite this, several books on amphibians and reptiles consistently describe box turtles as ideal pet turtles with simplistic care requirements. However, many first-time turtle owners have extensive problems—sometimes ending in death—with box turtles.

In large part, the reason for the contradiction between what has been written about the care of box turtles and their actual requirements is that the authors of older herpetological books approached the subject from a different perspective from the one we have today. Originally, the large-scale commercial collecting and marketing of box turtles that has emerged over the last twenty years didn’t exist. Most box turtles were locally collected and kept by individuals or sold to the local pet store. As a result, box turtles were kept in relatively isolated conditions similar to those they were already accustomed to in the wild. Today, commercial trappers collect box turtles by the hundreds and thousands in the states where they still exist in substantial numbers and can legally be collected. Often, the collectors stuff the turtles in burlap bags or pile them into boxes, later releasing them in holding compounds, where they are kept in overcrowded conditions.

Conservation efforts, including captive breeding, are urgently needed to manage the eastern box turtle subspecies (male shown).

Depending on how the captive turtles are maintained, they may contract diseases spread through water, food, or unsanitary conditions. If kept too cool, they may develop respiratory disorders. Parasite and bacterial infections also tend to spread among a group. At some point, the turtles are shipped to pet distributors, who may also maintain them in overcrowded conditions, although many specialized reptile wholesalers now make a concerted effort to provide improved conditions for maintaining these animals. The turtles are then shipped and delivered to retail outlets.

Because of these factors, the box turtles sold in pet stores are not the same hardy box turtles mentioned in care books; most are stressed, diseased, and dehydrated. Thus, the best way to successfully establish commercially sold box turtles is to acknowledge the problems associated with collected animals and then contend with their conditions.

In order to fare well in captivity, box turtles require more care than many other turtle species. Although their low purchase price may give the illusion that box turtles are expendable and easily replaced, they are extremely special animals. Adult box turtles are worth considerably more than what people now pay for them. For herpetoculturists in other countries, American box turtles are considered prized specimens, among the most desirable of turtles.

Due to the way American box turtles are maintained after collection in the wild, a relatively high percentage of turtles sold become sick and require treatment.

The Future of Box Turtles

If no efforts are made to manage wild populations and to establish captive-breeding programs, box turtles will probably achieve protected status and be unavailable in the pet trade. Herpetoculturists should strive to change current U.S. laws restricting the commercial sales of turtles under 4 inches long so that captive breeding of box turtles becomes practical. In addition, laws should prevent the sale of turtles to minors. All sales should require a release form, whereby adults acknowledge and accept the risks involved (such as salmonellosis) with owning a turtle. Every retailer would be expected to provide information on hygiene practices to reduce the risks of contracting salmonellosis.

The Basics

An eastern box turtle.

Box turtles earned their common name because of their ability to draw their heads and limbs inside their shells and effectively seal themselves in—as if in a box. They accomplish this behavior with the help of a plastral hinge that allows them to move of sections of their plastron (the lower part of the shell).

This intergrade box turtle has fire damage on its carapace.

Of the four species of North American box turtles, all of which belong to the large turtle family Emydidae, the following are currently offered in pet stores:

• Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

• Three-toed box turtle (T. c. triunguis)

• Gulf Coast box turtle (T. c. major)

• Ornate box turtle (T. ornata)

All of the subspecies of T. carolina may intergrade with others in parts of their range.

Distribution

American box turtles come from the eastern, central, and southwestern U.S. and from Mexico.

A desert box turtle.

Distribution and Classification of American Box Turtles

Eastern box turtle, T. c. carolina (Linneaus 1758), found in the northeastern U.S. (Maine to Georgia, westward to Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee)

Florida box turtle, T. c. bauri (Taylor 1895), found in the eastern U.S. (Florida)

Gulf Coast box turtle, T. c. major (Agassiz 1857), found in the southeastern U.S. (Gulf Coast from western Florida to Texas)

Mexican box turtle, T. c. mexicana (Gray 1849), found in eastern Mexico (Nuevo Leon southward to Vera Cruz)

Three-toed box turtle, T. c. triunguis (Agassiz 1857), found in the central and southern U.S. (from Missouri southward to Texas and Alabama)

Yucatan box turtle, T. c. yucatana (Boulenger 1895), found in southeastern Mexico (Yucatan and Quintana Roo)

Coahuila box turtle, T. coahuila (Schmidt and Owens 1944), found in northeastern Mexico (Coahuila)

Nayarit box turtle, T. nelsoni nelsoni (Stejneger 1925), found in northeastern Mexico (southern Sonora)

Ornate box turtle, T. ornata ornata (Agassiz 1857), found in the central and southern U.S. (from South Dakota and Illinois southwards to Arizona and Texas)

Desert box turtle, T. o. luteola (Smith and Ransay 1952), found in the southern U.S. (southern Texas) and northeastern Mexico (Coahuila to Tamaulipas)

Protection

Certain species and subspecies of box turtles are protected in several states, including Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. Check with your local fish and game agencies for state regulations regarding the collection and possession of reptiles.

Size

The following are average adult sizes for the most common box turtles: