Hi,

I came here to get some advise/opinions on acquiring a Wood Turtle. We recently and suddenly lost our family box turtle of 36 years. My siblings and myself grew up with Mr. Turtle, (aka Mr. T) and he was a really wonderful animal. He was an adult when we acquired him, so we don't know how old he was. Our reptile vet said that it was most likely old age. It didn't occurred to us that we would lose one of our turtles to old age..

At this point, we're considering getting another turtle, but as I'm doing research, there's a lot of options and I'm not sure what type would be most appropriate. We have a 75 gallon (long) aquarium, and we always supervised Mr.T in the yard for much of the summer, with water in the tank and vitamin/heating lamps. I'm leaning towards a Wood Turtle or a Chinese Box Turtle, but are there any other types of land turtles/tortoises that would be happy with an indoor/outdoor set up like ours? Also, what are the pros and cons of buying an adult vs a young (still growing) turtle? How does shell development impact on diet?

Thanks for any input,
Hannah

Apparently the Chinese Box Turtle in endangered, yet I saw a box turtle at a local petstore that was being called a Chinese Box Turtle.. Anyway, are there any box turtles that are legally sold in petstores today?

Hey Laughing Turtle!

Firstly.......WELCOME TO REPTILICIOUS!!!!

Unfortunately us 'Brits' don't usually work in gallons when sizing our aquariums over here....But am I right in thinking that it's about 4 foot in length?

If so, I guess it all depends on what you're really looking for from a pet turtle/tort?
I'm guessing you want something similar to your Box Turtle, ie something that is as happy on land as in the water?

I reckon you should stick with what you know best hun....If you've only recently lost one after owning and caring for him for 36 years (They have an average lifespan of 40yrs, so if yours was already an adult when you got him, you must've been doing something right! )

So why not just get yourself a young'un and give him the same love, care and attention that you obviously gave to Mr T! - You don't need me to tell you what great characters these li'l guys have!

The only thing I would add is that you get a form of UV for it (Forgive me if you already have this, but I didn't see it mentioned before) as it will need this as well as a basking spot!

As for your Q regarding the 'Chinese Box Turtle' - You should still be able to get one as long as it's captive bred as, as far as I'm aware they've ceased the import of them into the States....But don't quote me on that! Haha!

Anyhow....Good luck & make sure you post some piccies up when you get your new baby!