So I have two turtles, a female eastern box turtle named Morticia and a male ornamental box turtle named Digger. Both are heathly weight, neither are exibiting signs of illness, and I custom built their enclosure to fit their range and environmental needs with the temp ranging from 70° to 80° f and humidity of between 70% and 90%. They have a pool that I refill, heat lamp, UVB lamp, variable terrain, rocks to climb, plants (for Digger to murder), spagnum moss, and gravel, coconut husk, and soil to dig in, as well as outside time when weather permits it. They have a regular diet of crickets, mega worms, vegetables, fruits, and occasionally cooked chicken bits and egg shell. All of this is to say, I’ve done my research and I’m pretty well versed on the care.
Digger is ADHD Incarnate. He runs laps, digs holes, fights rocks, murders every single plant that tries to grow, takes a warm bath and does it again. If I’m working on my computer he comes up to the air slots on the front of the tank and judges me for putting plants in his terf.
Morty sits. She has a spot equal distance from both lights with partial shade from a driftwood log and she will not move from that spot ever under any circumstances. If she’s not sitting comfortably half shelled and watching the world around her, she’s sleeping, splayed out like she’s dead, head resting on the edge of the pool like a pillow. She will begrudging move to eat, but will take it back to her spot if. She does. I’ve checked, and there are no eggs under her. If you try to move her anywhere else she makes her way back to her spot. If you take her out of the enclosure she shells up until shes back in the enclosure, then goes back to her spot. She will only move with any level of urgency for Watermelon.
I have taken her to the vet about this and aside from stating that she’s in good health, his only advice was to pick her up and move her so she has to walk back to her spot or put her food out of reach so she has to move towards it. It’s so consistent that I’m worried about her health, it can’t be good for anything to be that sedentary and Digger moving at the speed of sound just makes it look all the more concerning. The vet’s only suggestion was putting her food further away or moving her around. What do I do about this?
Respect her life choices? Some of us like to be sedentary. Maybe offer her a Lemmy terminal and teach her to type. /s
As much as I love sharing my passion for anonymous forum discussions, I fear she may become a reddit moderator if I let her sit idle any longer.
Is she power hungry and has an atrophied brain? Could be lucrative if so.
I came in here to shit-talk about you insulting your turtle like that. Now I’m just sitting here like, “neat, turtle stuff.”
They and I have a colorful relationship.
I don’t like plants.
I thought I revoked your internet access after what you did to the fern!
Beetlejuice
Is a red supergiant about 700 ly away. Speculation has it that it is nearing the end lf its life cycle. It was discovered and catalogued by Arabs, hence the strange name.
Would you like to know more?
my wife who has had turtles, terrapins, and tortoises her whole life. I read this to her and she said maybe the male is being too aggressive so she is staying where she feels safe or its just a behavior thing and she just likes her spot.
I’d second the idea with the aggressive male, but then I read a comment by OP further down where both wouldn’t eat when separated. So I guess it’s simply her favorite spot.
Given my previous experience with seperating them, I’m hesitant to do so, but as I’m putting together a new enclosure for them I think I may try that one again just to rule it out.
would be interesting if they could see each other. would she go to a clear wall because she missed him? this is me I did not check with my wife for advice.
That’s actually a good question. Turtles are are notoriously bad at seeing transparent things, so it may be both adorable and frustrating to watch.
This is just me throwing thoughts out into the void, but…is it possible that turtles can get depression? Maybe it’s not physical health. Maybe it’s mental health. I suggest putting her on a jetski. It’s scientifically impossible to be sad on a jetski.
They actually can, normally from lack of enrichment. Unfortunately our region doesn’t have any water big enough to jet ski in. Probably explains three high depression rates…
Find it a rat that knows martial arts. /j
You know I’ve considered that but I’m worried it might be a bad influence for Digger, he’s already dangerously close to an obsession with nunchucks.
I’m not sure you know what the term “worried” means. You just described a perfect situation, and I can’t help but notice that pizza wasn’t on the list of things you feed them. We need to fix this.
I don’t have adequate space for a team of four, let alone space for them to skateboard.
Sounds like a You problem, not a Turtle problem.
Are you activated enough and have a job or something to do during the days? I find that a stimulating environment helps, maybe buy some posters of your favorite films or fast cars or hot chicks and tack then to your walls?
Seems like she’s seeking a spot with a preferred microclimate- not too hot, not too cold, enough shelter/cover etc.
It can be a sign of sickness or discomfort/stress. Or it can be a personality trait.
Maybe message a few herpetology forums or a vet and see if someone has some sage advice?
That’s sort of what I’m doing here. I’ve already seen a vet and he said she’d healthy. Figure I’d cast a net in my usual pond and see if any fellow lemmings are turtle enthusiasts before making a throw away on a site I’ll probably never use again.
Totally fair.
Join it
Tiny amount of amphetamine, like turtle amount would get it right going.
How big is the enclosure? Reptiles can behave like this when they feel overcrowded. Box turtles are pretty territorial in the wild. The female might feel uncomfortable with the male around constantly. I’d be curious what would happen if you divided the enclosure up so they can’t interact
But also, reptiles are famously lazy mfs. I have a bearded dragon which wont move from her favorite hammock for days at a time when she gets in the mood.
That’s a tricky one. The enclosure is 6 square feet which would be small for two, but they both fell into a funk when I separated them and refused to eat for nearly a month.
How does she look? Cloudy eyes? Weird smell?
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/turtles-aquatic-diseases
Clean bill of health from both myself and the vet. Healthy weight, bight eyes, responsive, and quick shell up reflexes. She even perks up when my spouse peaks in on her, just doesn’t want to move around.
Well, since she’s healthy, is she the type that bruminates? I feel like I’m doing a “no stupid answers” thing because I’ve only had leopard geckos and anoles, so I should leave the answers to people who have had turtles, lol
She can, but as long as I’m not breeding them it’s not actually necessary in captivity and the enclosure is far from the temperatures that would encourage it. I did actually think that might be the case at first but she’s still eating consistently and is I guess cognitively active if not physically.
Maybe she needs someone to flip her shell if you know what I mean. She either needs a boyfriend or cats.
That’s actually partly why they share an enclosure, turns out they both get lonely without the other and they have a very active relationship. Hence why I checked for eggs. Turns out they aren’t against doing it recreationally.
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Cowabunga duuuude
