General

Question
My western box turtle had a companion for the first 5 yrs and he recently died {before I could rescue them both unfortunately}. Do you think getting another box turtle would be a good thing for her? I'm in Phoenix, Az area. I'm actually not sure of either's sex. We built a great 6'x9' turtle home outside for her but we still bring her in if weather is too hot or too cold.  Also, can they see and hear well?

Answer
Hi Patty,

Box turtles are solitary in the wild, so your turtle will do fine on her own.  If you do decide to get another one, perhaps you can adopt a rescued box turtle from the Phoenix Herp Society (http://www.phoenixherp.com).  Your box turtle can live outside all year round.  They are native to North America and do much better outside in a good enclosure.  Just make sure there is plenty of plant cover and soft soil/leaf litter in the pen so that she can dig in if it gets too hot or too cool.  A large, shallow water dish is important, too.  

They do see and hear quite well.  Here's a link to a page that should help you sex your turtle (it's a long link, so hopefully it will work):  http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:0yMYP65B9MMJ:www.gctts.org/files/Sexin...