Is this a red ear box turtle?

Question

What kind is this?   QUESTION: dear Jeannie,

I was wondering what kind of box turtle this is. she was give'n to me from a friend that could no longer take care of her she is 15 years old and I was wondering which light to use? I still have a extra light around.

ANSWER: Hi Jennifer,

There's no such species as a red-eared box turtle.  I'm not absolutely sure from the picture (and I'm not personally familiar with the species), but it could be a Mexican box turtle (Terrapene carolina mexicana).  If you can post back with clear pictures from the side and underneath, I can verify the ID and then help with care information.

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


pic #1   QUESTION: ok and thanks here are some better pics of her.

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

I really do think it's a Mexican box turtle.  They are no longer available in the pet trade, but since the turtle has been in captivity for 15 years it would have been obtained before the ban went into effect.  Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of care information available for this species (because it's so uncommon), but what I could find is linked below.  I would set it up in a basic box turtle habitat--just make sure the enclosure has moist areas and then a drier area a while, so the turtle can choose different "environments."  If you want to post back with how you have it set up, I can help you make any necessary changes.  I would definitely get it off the substrate it's on now--change it to a coir/sand mix (coir is Ecoearth or Bed-a-Beast; comes in a compressed brick).

When indoors, you need to provide both a basking light and source of UVB.  You can either use a combination heat/UVB bulb (ZooMed Powersun) or a plain bulb for heat (100w floodlight) and a tube bulb for UVB (Reptisun 10.0).  The Powersun would need to be replaced yearly, and the Reptisun every six months.  

http://chelonia.org/terrapenegallery.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/TerrapenecareSZ.htm
www.aboxturtle.com