Bearded dragon and Box turtle

caudatadude28

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I just got a beardie and a three toed box turtle from a previous owner. They are in a 55 gallon together. The turtle tramples the poor beardie sometimes. I am going to move the turtle into a different enclosure. The turtle's claws are not well formed and arent sharp on the end. What could that be? Can I use tortoise supplements on the turtle's food? I plan on seperating them and putting the turtle in a rubbermaid. Any suggestions?
 
The turtle has different nutritonal requirements than tortioses. Tortoises require more grasses and green matter as to where box turtles tend to have more of an omnivorus diet. Worms, crickets, slugs, mealworms, and the such should make up at least 25% of the turtles diet. As for supplements I use Rep-Cal calcium with Vit. D3 and Rep-Cal Herptivite, I dust their food twice a week. As for the claws, them not being sharp usually just means they have been worn down and that your turtle likes to dig alot. Do you know what previous owner kept it in? I also wouldn't worry about it to much, a few of mine are like that. If you have any other questions just let me know.

Later,
Justin
 
Well once the winter is over, you're going to need to get that boxie a pen outside. You should really separate that turtle and bearded dragon soon. It is never a good idea to mix different species. Until the spring here is a good link of what you should keep him in http://boxturtlesite.info/indoor.html What is your turtle's health like? Is the shell shaped naturally? Is it eating? If you could get it checked by a herp vet, that would be best. Remember, they need a balanced diet. This is how I feed mine http://matts-turtles.org/docs/Box-Turtle-Diet.pdf A great captive care site is www.boxturtlesite.info Keep in mind that box turtles are not easy pets to take care of. They're not one of those animals you can just keep in a tank inside your house. Good luck!
 
Thanks for those links, Will, I'm caring for a box turtle these days, and those had some better info than what I had found previously.
 
I bought these online today.

http://www.petco.com/product/12323/Zoo-Med-Repti-Halogen-Bulbs.aspx

I bought one for my turtle and one for my beardie. I am going to build a wooden cage for my turtle as soon as I can. I also bought freeze dried crickets and bearded dragon dust supplements. What do you think of the lights? I think they are very good.
 
Well, the thing is your going to need a light that produces UVB light for the beardie and while the box turtle is temporarily inside. Lack of this will lead to major health problems.
 
Looks like he's a good shape.

Why did you buy freeze-dried crickets? What's wrong with live crickets?
 
I think I would spring for live crickets too. I'm not sure but I imagine the freeze-drying process may leach some nutrients from the crickets. I'd try to ditch the species specific supplements and buy a high quality supplement instead. The ones that Justin recommends are probably the best and I think PetSmart sells them. The species specific one are really a gimmick to try and get people to buy their product because it has their pet on it.

Those bulbs are good for basking spots, but you will also need UVB producing bulbs as noted above. The majority of these bulbs are fluorescent and quite expensive. Usually between $35-$55 US. The UVB producing coating is only good for around 6 months. The lamp will still produce light but it will not generate the important UVB anymore. The placement of UVB bulbs is very important as glass filters out all the UVB and screen meshes can also scatter the UVB rays. The light should be placed 12-18" above a basking spot and its path should be unbroken, ideally.
 
He looks like he's got an overgrown beak. This coud be an indicator of metabolic bone disease or it could be caused by foods that are too soft. How was the turtle's previous diet?
 
Romaine Lettuce, some fruits, some crickets. The bearded dragon has eaten but the turtle hasnt yet.
 
He needs more protein. Box turtles LOVE earthworms. They're truly omnivorous, and will eat a good mix of greens and meat. Try spinach in moderation, dandelion greens, turnip greens, kale, earthworms, waxworms, berries (easterns will demolish red raspberries), dusted crickets, mealworms, etc.
 
The turtle is extremely active! He pases his cage and is constantly walking when he isnt sleeping. The beardie ate two wax worms, one piece of nightcrawler, and 2-3 pieces of lettuce. He also took a quite lengthy soak in the water dish. I bough some Repti-Glow 2.0 UVB lights today and put it above the tank. The turtle hasnt eaten yet. To tempt him, I added some blue berries! I read in a book that they like raw sweet potatoe pieces so I bought one. The book also said the calcium-phosphorous ratio was good. I bought this advised supplement called:Rep-Cal calcium with Vit. D3 for the turtle. I ordered a bearded dragon supplement on petco.com. I tried to encourage my turtle to eat earthworms but he just looked at it for a while then lost interest. He nipped one once though. He hasnt touched the veggies.

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I bough some Repti-Glow 2.0 UVB lights today and put it above the tank.

Lights for a bearded dragon should be 8.0 (or higher, 10.0) because It's for animals that live in deserts. 2.0 is daylight-like.

Do you have a suitable temperature/humidity for the bearded dragon in the terrarium?

Day temp = 27-32º C , basking spot = 35ºC
Night temp = 20-25ºC
Low humidity (<40%)

Sand could cause problems to your dragon too. Cocoa fiber can be a good choice.
 
I just want to voice my agreement with some of the other comments. Kaysie is "right on" in her suggestions for the box turtle's diet. And both animals need a good strong source of UVA and UVB light. It's also critical how FAR from the animals you place the lights. And I totally agree that you should be using something like coco-fiber, not sand. For our box turtle, we were using moist coco-fiber, topped with a layer of Repti-bark, and we kept the coco-fiber moist on one side of the setup. Also, the box turtle needs a water dish large enough to submerse itself.

Is the box turtle sleeping a lot, in addition to not eating? If so, it may need to hibernate. When you move it too a rubbermaid setup, be sure to give it a thick enough layer of coco-fiber that it can dig itself under if it wants to. And if it shows signs of hibernation (sleeping in daytime), you may need to think about a cold place to let it sleep out the winter.

Best of luck!
 
Friends of mine with Beardies use rabit pellets as substrate. There's no danger of problems if they're ingested, since they're basically just compressed hay.

Like I said, you can get the turtle into a different tank. It doesn't need outrageous amounts of heat. It needs humidity, and it needs to burrow. And leaving it in a desert setup is NOT good for it.
 
Your bearded dragon doesn't look awful but it could look a lot healthier.
I would suggest using reptile carpet for a substraight if the other options don't appeal to you. That is what I use for mine and he doesn't have any problem with it and it is way easy to clean - just pick up daily and you can use a duster buster like thing to clean it out and then once every month to two months you throw it in the washing machine. I recognize that it is not "natural" but it is also not harmful.
Bearded dragons like to climb as well, so finding nice big logs or branches that they can climb on is helpful. They MUST be as large as his belly or larger. He/she will try to climb on smaller branches and hurt himself. You also need a basking spot. Someplace where the beardie can get right up next to the heat and sit comfortably. Beware though, if a beardie can actually touch the heat lamp it will, which will result in burns- So make sure it can't!
So you want to make the tank so that one side of the tank is pretty hot at all times and the other side is cooler, this gives the beardie the choice of which temp it prefers.
Having a bearded dragon vitamin dust with calcium is a necessity. I feed my beardie carrots, romaine lettuce, collard greens, and dusted super worms - he LOVES those. Some enjoy fruits as well. There are a few veggies that you must avoid with dragons. Cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage - these and others in this family will tie up the calcium-vitamin K in his system and cause problems.
Good luck!
 
I should also mention that with the box turtle you'll need a water dish large enough for it to soak in. Box turtles like to soak and then defficate in the water, don't ask me why cause I have no clue, but water changes will need to be done religiously.
 
They both slept all night and all of today without waking up. I think they finally settled after the move. The box turtle still refuses earthworms but eagarly excepts wax worms. Should I be worried about him eating sand with his waxies. I cant have cockroaches in the house and my mom says I can only bring one or two crickets home from the petstore. She does not want a colony of crickets. I dust the waxworms so its all good for now. The beardie will eat earthworms.
 
What is it going to take to convince you that the box turtle needs to be removed? That you're keeping both animals in sub-optimal conditions?
 
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