[Laney N]

My Boyfriend brought me home a baby box turtle thats only a little bigger than a quater. What should i put in his cage to make him feel more at home? I already have some rocks and grass in there. Should i put a heat lamp/pad in there also? What should i feed him?

[Cindy S]

Turtles really need to be left in the wild to live. They are very difficult to keep in captivity.

[Boober Fraggle]

Turtles are not the easiest pets to care for. They need very specific care that includes a very large enclosure (most people end up building there own because the ones they sell at pet stores are not very good) , special UV lighting, exact temperatures and specially prepared diets. The turtles need these things to survive in captivity. Most pet turtles die because the owners don't know how to or cannot care for them properly and give them the things they need. You need to do some research on the type of turtle you have and it's care requirements.Here is a good place to start. http://www.austinsturtlepage.comThere you can find care sheets for all types of turtles sold as pets. Get the turtle everything it needs right away. It might be expensive to set everything up but otherwise your turtle will die. If you decide the turtle is not for you then call a local reptile rescue center and they will take it. You could bring it back to the pet store but they would just sell it to someone else that couldn't care for it and it would die anyway. Good luck

[realjuel]

Here is a link to a very good site for hatchling box turtle care. http://aboxturtle.com/box_turtle_hatchling_care.htm and it has lots of good info about adults, also. In general, I agree that wild caught turtles should be returned to the wild if the place of capture and return are safe from eminent development. Note that capture and return sites should be very close. If this turtle was bought at a pet store, whether or not is was captive bred, do not release it. It could carry foreign pathogens that could destroy a native population. Also, in general, most pet stores don't give out very good info on captive husbandry for box turtles. It is also illegal in many states to keep native turtles such as boxies.