Girl friend found a tortoise

[milkman407]

She called me 4 mins ago saying she was going onto the road by her house,which has alota cars on it constantly. And that she found a small tortoise.
I'm not sure exactly what this is but she wants to keep it. and I have a empty 120gallon tank drained, with some dried out driftwood in it. I'll get some pics so you guys can tell me what it is, and what exactly I need to house it.

 

[davo]

exciting. Sure we had one of these threads not long ago.

 

[milkman407]

I havent been on much . Shes over alot and always finds some type of animal to bring home. Like a kitten we found in north carolina.

Pics uploading now
she says it has claws.
she said its about the size of her hand, and shes about 94 lbs.

 

[Tylervsmith]

Box turtle... i think Ornate box turtle. im sure others will know exact species.

 

[milkman407]

All the info you guys and gals havewould be highly appreciated.

 

[Dreamsofpeace54]

definitly looks like an ornate box turtle to me, neat

 

[Tylervsmith]

Only reason i knew was because its my state reptile

http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blksreptile.htm



And some care sheets.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-ornateboxie.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/box.html
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/cornata.html

 

[milkman407]

Well My girl lives on a farm, so he can either chill outside and eat w/e he wants. or she will keep him in my 120. Lets see what she picks .

 

[cjohll]

go find some woods and let it go

 

[Ophiuchus]

Ornate box turtle? If you found it in FL, than it may be something else, perhaps a Gulf Coast Box. Ornates are generally native west of the MS river. Of course, you are in FL, so it could very well be an escaped import or pet. But still the coloring doesn't look quite right for an Ornate IMO.

Anyway, aspen shavings is fine; just find a way to keep the humidity moderate-high. Definitely needs a basking area of 90-95'F and UVB lighting. Provide a large, shallow water container that it can easily access and wade in. Most boxes are omnivores eating various vegetation, fruits, mushrooms, worms, and other invertebrates. Its quite entertaining to see these turtles chase after crickets.

My first recommendation is to let it go back into the wild, but if you insist on keeping it, make sure you do it right.