My turtles Poop

Question
QUESTION: Why does my three toed baby box turtle's poop smell horrible? She eats three meal words every other day and she is very active. She likes to sleep often too. Is it because I don't give enough vitamin and calcium? Because I give my turtle the liquid kind of both. She looks and is healthy. I was just wondering if her horrid poop smell is a bad sign for something. Thank you for answering :)

ANSWER: Hi Jasmine,

Can you give me more information?  I need to know how you have her set up (size and type of enclosure, substrate, temperatures in basking and cool area, type of basking/UVB bulb), as well as her complete diet.  How big/old is she?  

If her diet consists of mealworms only, that may be the problem.  You need to feed a much more varied diet that includes animal protein, fruits, veggies, and greens.  If you can post back with more details, I can be of more help.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is 2 inches long and 1 and a half in wide. My turtle is 4 months old. She currently lives in a 10 gallon fish tank since she is still small. At night I keep her cage warm at night so she can adjust to temperatures and when to sleep. When I opened her cage today it was a bit hotter than usual but her poop started to smell yesterday. Her light bulb is 15 watts. She lives next to a window and her cage has an opening in the roof.

She doesn't eat veggies yet but I am trying to get her to eat fruits. So far, she has eaten some strawberries and mango's.

Answer
Hi Jasmine,

The smell may be due to her diet, or because the tank is too hot, or something else.  You need to make some significant changes to how you're keeping her.  Let's go through everything one by one.

Housing:  A 10 gallon tank is too small, and it's impossible to maintain a proper temperature gradient in a glass space that size.  Go to Lowe's and get a cement mixing tub.  The largest is about 2 x 3; I'd get that size.  You can use a substrate mix of coir, playsand, and spaghnum moss (not peat moss), but it should be kept quite moist.  It's best to elevate the cool side of the enclosure so that water collects in the warm end and keeps it nice and boggy.  Hatchling box turtles need a LOT of moisture.

You need to know exactly what the temperatures are.  Don't guess!  A digital indoor outdoor thermometer works well.  Once you have the new enclosure set up, measure the warm temperature on the substrate directly under the basking lamp--it should be about 85 degrees, with a cooler area down to about 70 degrees.  You don't need to supply heat at night; a night drop in temperatures is good for them.  

UVB doesn't penetrate window glass, so you need a UVB bulb unless she's outside for several hours a day.  You can get a combo heat/UVB bulb (ZooMed Powersun is the only good one) or a tube bulb (Reptisun 10.0).  The Powersun will need to be changed yearly, and the Reptisun every six months.  If you use the Reptisun, you will also need to provide a basking bulb for heat--this can be a regular household floodlight, probably about 75 watts.

Box turtles are omnivores, so eat a variety of animal protein, fruits, veggies, and greens.  Variety is very important.  Mealworms are OK as part of the diet, but not the whole diet.  Try redworms, bloodworms, pillbugs (rolly pollies), tiny crickets, etc.  You can chop fruits and veggies (squash, peppers, mushrooms, carrots) together and offer small amounts.  Good greens are turnip, dandelion, collards, kale, spring mix, etc.  Just be sure to feed a decent variety.  Put a cuttlebone in the enclosure for extra calcium as needed--she'll nibble it when she wants it.  Stop giving the liquid vitamins and calcium; if you're feeding a good, varied diet you don't need it, and you could overdose her.

Box turtles do best outside, so next spring it would be a good idea to build a secure, small outdoor pen for her to use during the day.  Box turtles can dig and climb, so make sure it's escape-proof.  As she gets bigger, she'll be able to live outside all year round, and hibernate in the winter.

Make the needed corrections to the enclosure and diet, and the smell should go away.  If it doesn't post back and let me know, and we'll see what we can figure out.  In any case, the changes need to be made to keep her healthy.

For more information, see:  http://aboxturtle.com/box_turtle_hatchling_care.htm