Habitat Examples
CREATING HABITAT FOR PET TURTLES & TORTOISES
One of the most common reasons given for wanting to surrender a turtle is the inability to properly house the animal in a way which makes its care manageable. Frequently, young animals are initially housed in aquariums - often not the best option from a cost, size, or quality of living perspective. As the animals grow, updating those habitats can be daunting. Many turtle/tortoise-specific habitats are available commercially, but often can't adequately accommodate a growing animal, especially a larger aquatic species. The cost of commercial habitats can quickly rise to hundreds of dollars before adding essentials such as lighting, heating, and filtration. Making your own creative habitat can save money and allow you to enlarge your turtle's world as it grows.
Outdoor Enclosures
Outdoor Aquatic Turtle Habitat
Outdoor aquatic turtle habitat using a 300-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank, with platforms and enrichment support made from PVC pipe and slate. This example includes a planted "floating island" supported by PVC, water hyacinths, and abundant anacharis. An external, high-volume pond canister provides the filtration system with an in-pond pump/pre-filter.
Outdoor Box Turtle & Tortoise Enclosure
Outdoor box turtle habitat including extensive plantings, shade, rocks and substrate of hardwood mulch, leaves and mosses. The centrepiece of this habitat is a wading pond which has been constructed from a stock tank that has been provided with a false bottom, entry ramp and filtration, so that turtles may soak and wade without risk of drowning (See this link to build a similar pond).
Indoor Enclosures
Indoor Aquatic Turtle Habitat
Indoor version of aquatic habitat above (for winter) using a 150-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank, with a platform made from PVC pipe and slate. Heated basking and UVA/UVB are provided by a 160-watt Mega-Ray UV mercury vapour bulb in a ceramic lamp. Water heating is provided by a heavy duty submerged aquarium heater. Filtration is provided by a canister filter.
Indoor Box Turtle Hatchling Habitat
Box turtle hatchling habitat made from a The b sweater box. The lid is retained, but the center is cut out, providing an overhang to prevent escapes. New Zealand sphagnum moss is used for substrate. Box has a removable divider so that different groups of hatchlings can be kept on each side, making them easier to find at feeding time when buried in substrate.
Adult Box Turtle Enclosures
Adult Box Turtle Indoor Habitat
Adult box turtle indoor habitat, using an unwanted bookcase lined with two large seed boxes and polycarbonate panels to raise wall height and retain heat/humidity. Substrate is a combination of hardwood mulch and areas of sphagnum moss. Silk fern bunches, sunk into plaster of paris in clean, empty plastic yogurt containers, are provided for hiding, which still allows UVB penetration
Adult Box Turtle Outdoor Habitat
Adult box turtle enclosure with screened panel doors on both sides to allow management of animals. Planted with an under-story of native fern and other ground-covering plants, with larger bushes providing shade and cover. Substrate is equal parts dirt, play sand and yard compost, and pen includes a filtered, recirculating pond with a false floor for safe soaking. A layer of leaf litter covers the substrate.
Why Strategic Gardening Helps Wild Box Turtles
The decline in box turtle populations is largely driven by habitat fragmentation and the dangers of road crossings. When we design our backyards with native plants and natural shelter, we help rebuild the connected habitats these turtles need—creating safe pathways that support their survival and movement across the landscape.
Creating safe, connected spaces for box turtles starts with understanding what they need to thrive. These gentle reptiles depend on diverse habitats that provide cover, nourishment, and access to water throughout the year. When we design our backyards with these needs in mind, we support not only the survival of box turtles but also the health of the larger ecosystem they belong to.
Three key habitat elements for supporting box turtles include:
Shelter & Overwintering Opportunities
Water Source
Food Source
Keep reading to learn more about the specific habitat features that will help box turtles thrive in your backyard and beyond.
Habitat Requirements
Shelter & Overwintering
Areas with leaf litter, logs, dense vegetation and brush piles offer turtles protection from predators and extreme temperatures.
Native trees, shrubs and ferns provide shade, food, and overwintering opportunities for eastern box turtles.
Box turtles enjoy spending time in the shelter of leaf litter. This is how they cool down or hunt for prey like slugs and snails.
They also use these areas to hibernate and hide from predators. In the fall, leave leaf litter to provide them with hunting grounds and overwintering habitat.
Other ways to add shelter to your garden include native plants, including the ones listed below. These plants provide cool, sheltered locations for the box turtles to take respite. Some examples of plants that provide shelter and wintering opportunities include:
Trees: Flowering dogwood, Maple species, Oak species
Shrubs: Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, Azalea, Strawberry Bush
Ferns: Christmas fern, Ostrich fern, Sensitive fern
Water Source
A shallow water feature or naturally damp area is essential. Box turtles need access to moisture for drinking, soaking, and thermoregulation, especially during hot summer months.
Box turtles enjoy soaking and swimming, especially during warm weather. Providing a small water feature in your garden gives them a place to drink, cool off, and maintain healthy digestion. A thoughtfully designed water source can be both functional for turtles and beautiful in your landscape.
Your turtle-friendly pond can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like—from a shallow dish set into the ground to a small, planted pond. The most important thing is that it’s safe and accessible.
Key features of a box turtle pond include:
- Clean water — Replace or refresh regularly to prevent stagnation.
- Shallow depth — Around 6 inches deep is ideal. Turtles should be able to fully submerge, but also easily enter and exit.
- Gentle access points — Flat rocks, sloped edges or shallow ramps make climbing in and out effortless.
Box turtles are also drawn to rain gardens, which naturally collect and filter rainwater. If your property experiences runoff or occasional flooding, a rain garden can be a wonderful solution—benefiting both your landscape and the local box turtle population.
Food Source
Box turtles are omnivores, feeding on a mix of fruits, insects, fungi, and plants. Incorporating native vegetation that produces berries, mushrooms, and attracts pollinators can help provide a reliable, seasonal buffet.
Some foods these turtles eat include mushrooms, snails, slugs, worms, fish, frogs and insects.
Native fruits and flowers are an important part of the box turtle's diet. Include some in your garden.
Choose varieties like:
- Mayapple (Box turtles are an important pollinator of this plant)
- Woodland strawberry
- Native raspberries or blackberries
- Highbush blueberry
- Common blue violet
- Wood violet
- Phlox
- Prickly pear cactus
Other Considerations
The Importance of Native Plants
Native plants not only foster a healthy environment for box turtles but also support other beneficial pollinators, such as bees and bats. By incorporating native plants into your garden, you create healthy, diverse landscapes that build strong, resilient ecosystems.
Not all native plants are edible to the eastern box turtle, but they indirectly provide a food source for them. For example, choosing plants that attract different pollinators, invertebrates and grubs contributes to the box turtle's diverse omnivore diet.