Box Turtles in NM Turtle Box & Turtle Mix Albuquerque, NM

PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION BELOW COMPLETELY BEFORE CONTACTING THE EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW. Do not email MATTS directly. You must contact the email below.

We are ornate, three-toed, and desert box turtles (Terrapene ornata and Terrapene carolina triunguis) for adoption in the Albuquerque, NM, area.

We love earthworms, and we are eating the diet recommended here, but you can use Mazuri or Zoo Med Growth Formula aquatic turtle food as the base of the diet (always soaked in water of course): http://www.boxturtlefacts.org/Feeding_North_American_Box_Turtles.pdf

We can live indoors all year, or we can live outside in the summer and indoors in the winter, but three-toed box turtles CANNOT hibernate in NM (we could hibernate in southern MD and points south, or in Texas). In some cases, the ornate box turtles can hibernate outside in NM. A backyard enclosure MUST BE SCREENED IN completely to KEEP OUT RACCOONS AND RATS. Even if you've never seen a raccoon in Albuquerque, it's a good bet that they are there, and ornate box turtles are like fine dining for a raccoon. An enclosure should have lots of room for exploring and digging and soaking in a water pan or shallow pond designed just for box turtles. If we're kept in the Albuquerque area, and kept outside, our pen should be watered regularly.

For our indoor winter pen, or if we're indoors permanently, a "turtle table" would be a good home, and it should at least 8 square feet of space, along with a substrate such as aged hardwood bark mulch, a water pan, artificial plants for hiding, and a heat light and UVB light over one end. Here is a way to make an inexpensive, easy indoor box turtle habitat. PLEASE READ THIS.
http://nebula.wsimg.com/91b04dd9708243802568b6103ac1de41?AccessKeyId=A3E784782F81D21389AD&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Here is an excellent article on outdoor habitats.
http://www.boxturtlefacts.org/Planting_Box_Turtle_Outdoor_Habitats.pdf

To learn more about box turtles, visit http://www.boxturtlesite.org/ or pick up a copy of Box Turtles by Tess Cook, available in most pet stores. To find instructions for a simple backyard box turtle enclosure, visit http://www.billsboxturtles.com
Another great website is http://www.boxturtlefacts.org/Articles.html

Shipping is possible IF the temperature allows it, and if adopters pay for shipping (usually $80-$100 depending on your location) and it is legal in your state to have one of these subspecies of box turtle. Our turtles come with a no sale/no trade adoption contract. If considering adopting a box turtle from NM, PLEASE EMAIL sandybarnett95@gmail.com
and make sure to INCLUDE YOUR CITY and STATE in the email.

Residents of NJ require a permit for turtles. NY residents need a DEC permit to keep North American box turtles. Ornate box turtles ARE legal to keep in Pennsylvania and Georgia.