Is your turtle a culinary snob?  Today’s Lettuce of the Day is Red Russian Kale, a pleasantly chewy variety sure to entice even the most discerning turtle back to its cage.

What are you doing, Darien? “Bye, turtle, I love you?” Quit yapping and fetch some lettuce from the fridge before this situation gets out of control.

Preventing a great escape

No matter what kind of cage or enclosure you use, it must be escape-proof. Box turtles are wonderfully inventive escape artists! The males, especially, are quite tenacious. Don’t assume that your adorable little pet won’t climb; given the opportunity, it might!

Make sure that the sides of the cage are high enough to prevent escape and are as vertical as possible, with no slanting sides. Don’t pile cage furnishings (covered in the following section) along the sides or in the corners. And every cage, even a swimming pool, should have a cover of some kind. Hardware cloth (mesh screening) of 1/2-inch squares works very well.

If you’re building a wooden enclosure, make the height of the sides twice the length of the turtle. (If your turtle is 6 inches long, for example, the sides should be at least 12 inches high.) Plus, cut a triangular piece of wood for each corner and fasten it at the top of the corner, making a small triangular roof. If the turtle tries to escape by using the corners as a brace, it will be unable to do so.