Ideas for Box Turtle Habitat

Box turtle habitats require a lot of aspects that you should consider before owning a box turtle. Common box turtles are reclusive creatures, preferring to stay away from humans. After a period of time, some box turtles recognize their owners. Their privacy is one of the biggest concerns with creating adequate housing. Box turtle need to hide, swim, bask and eat. Their habitats must plenty of room for all these activities.

  1. Aquarium

    • Common box turtles do well in an aquarium when it's set up correctly. An aquarium needs to adequately accommodate the animal's size and activity levels. The enclosure should include a basking area, hiding area and water area, as box turtles are semiaquatic. As in other types of box turtle habitats, the water and swimming area should have an area shallow enough for the turtle to lay in and stick its head out of the water along with a deeper swimming area, with gentle slopes for entry and exit to the water. Outside of the water, there should be areas for the turtle to move around, eat and bury. Substrates for common box turtles include potting soil, leaf litter, sand or sphagnum moss. For Asian box turtles, consider mulch or mossy substrate that the turtle cannot eat.

    Outside

    • Box turtles thrive outside, particularly when you live in their natural habitat and range. Create a secured area with protection from predators, such as raccoons. The turtle needs access to a water source, such as a small pond with shallows for laying in the water with head exposed and water deep enough for swimming. You should also provide hiding places, such as taller weeds. Sun and shade should both be present. When keeping your turtle in an outdoor enclosure, you need to watch temperatures and humidity levels, particularly for Asian box turtles. Asian box turtles need daytime temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees with 70- to 90-percent humidity, according to the Petco Asian box turtle care sheet.

    Tote

    • Box turtles can be shy and may find it hard to relax in a glass aquarium. The motions and activities in the room where the habitat is located can disturb the turtle. The turtle also may obsessively try to escape when it sees a larger area outside of its aquarium, according to TurtlePuddle.org. A large plastic storage tote set up with all aspects of the other habitats may provide the privacy your turtle needs and desires. Keeping this in mind, a glass aquarium with covered sides also may work.