Box turtles are lovely creatures, and they can be good pets, but you need to think long and hard before you bring one home. While juvenile box turtles usually adjust to an indoor terrarium, most experts agree that the best housing for adults is outdoors. Unless you have the facilities to build a good sized outdoor pen for your box turtle, where it can spend at least a good part of the year, they you should think twice before getting a box turtle. If they will kept indoors, you will have to consider building a custom enclosure or invest in a very large terrarium. They are not easy to care for or low maintenance pets, and if you do keep them healthy they can be with you a long time and you might have to make provisions for someone to take them on if something happens to you. Unfortunately, many box turtles that find their way into the pet trade end up dying young due to misunderstanding the care they require. More about what to consider before getting a box turtle can be found in "Box Turtles as Pets."
It is also important to realize than in most states it is illegal to take a box turtle from the wild and keep it in captivity. Populations are dwindling so they are protected in most areas. In addition, wild caught box turtles are more likely to become severely stressed by captive conditions and do not make great pets. If you decide a box turtle is right for you, please make the effort to find a captive bred box turtle.
Species
There are several different species of box turtles you might find in the pet trade. Most of them are fairly similar in their care but there are some important differences. Before you take home a box turtle, be sure you know what your species will need.
North American Box Turtles The North American Box Turtles most commonly kept as pets include:
- Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) - profile and caresheet
- Three-Toed Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) - profile and caresheet
- Gulf Coast Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina major) - profile and caresheet
- Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata) - profile and caresheet
- Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri)
- Mexican Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina mexicana)
- Yucutan Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina yucatana)
- Desert Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata luteola)
- Coahuila Box Turtle (Terrapene coahuila)
- Nayarit (Spotted) Box Turtle (Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni)
Asian Box Turtles
The Asian box turtles need higher temperatures and humidity than their North American counterparts. Species you might find in the pet trade include:
- Indochinese (Flowered) Box Turtle (Cuora galbinifrons)
- Chinese (Yello-Marginated) Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata)
- Chinese Three Striped Box Turtle (Cuora trifasciata)
- Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis)
More Reading: General Information about Box Turtles
Feeding Box Turtles - this general guide to feeding can be applied to most species of box turtles
Outdoor Pens for Box Turtles - ideas for building great outdoor pens for your box turtle