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hmmmm. so, my boyfriend has an eastern box turtle hatchling, probably about an inch. He knows humidity is very important.
His tank is bothering me. It is a mixture of organic peatmoss and sand. To keep it super moist (because it tends to dry out quickly for some reason) he has turned the tank into something like a "swamp." there are many puddles which the turtle can use for soaking. there is a dry bark with damp sargasum moss on top to hide in.
The turtle is the weirdest thing i've ever know... he prefers to sit in his puddle! he will sit there all day, just.... sitting under water.

i'm wondering if this could cause any health problems.

As long as he is getting out of the puddle a couple times a day and getting his shell completely dry, I don't think there is a problem with it.

he's not. thats the problem. little bugger wants to be a darn sea turtle, it seems.

I'd change the encloser to dirt and grass. Or if you live in a good area put him outside.

There's a difference between wetness and humidity. He could keep the humidity at a decent level by misting the enclosure daily. When my boxie's dirt starts to dry out, I pour in water and mix it around. It's a dirty job, but much better than having the turtle sitting in water all day.

i didn't think it was right....

the problem is that he DOES mist it every day and the humidity hardly wavers. He has a 60 watt house bulb and a 15 watt 2.0 UVB bulb. the tank size is about... hm, 13 gallon? (its a rubbermaid tub) and he keeps the lid on constantly to try to keep the humidity up.

i will let him know that he needs to change the habitat, thanks.

Get rid of the 60 watt house bulb. They don't need it. It is probably drying out the enclosure. I have a long tube 10.0 UVB on top on my enclosure. Put in lots of leaf litter, and some plants. This will hold the humidity, since you havea to water the plants. The hatchling will hide under the leaf litter, which is moist, and get plenty of humidity.

Here's my three toed in her enclosure when I first got her.


I added some moss now.