To the original poster, where do you live and are EBT native there? An outdoor pen is the way to go seeing how EBT do very poorly if kept indoors without a chance to hibernate. If you do decide to build an outdoor pen make sure that it faces the east/south for the beginning half of the day so they can warm up in the morning. Here’s a link to my 8’x8’x2’ EBT enclosure I built.
http://herpden.4.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=76
As for substrate, I've always kept my box turtles on leaf litter, mulch and a soil/sand mixture for egg laying. Avoid pine chips as they can cause eye problems. Provide plenty of hiding places and keep the soil turned up pretty good so they can bury into it. On hot days spray the enclosure for a few minutes so the box turtles can bury into the cool soil. Keeping the soil damp also helps stop possible respiratory problems. Box turtles really don't like it too hot and ideal temperatures for them are in the high 70's. Make sure they have plenty of shade to get out of the heat and also provide a shallow dish for soaking in on hot days. I also have a chicken water dispenser so they always have access to clean water.
I feed my turtles about 3 times a week in the summer. For feeding keep the diet 60% meat, 40% vegetables. For the meat part you can feed SAFE earthworms, slugs, snails, grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, red worms, canned tuna fish and on occasion, cooked lean, low fat meats. Low fat canned dog food is ok as a treat once a month but canned cat food is bad and can cause kidney and liver problems. For veggies I give my box turtles grated carrots, squash and zucchini (high in vitamin A which is very important), chopped tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. Make sure to very your diet or your box turtles can become addicted to one food item. I also dust the food with calcium and vitamins once a week.
