Little Bit and her turtle
05-17-2010, 09:33 AM
#21
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Little Rock Arkansas
Posts: 232
Originally Posted by Nancy in Louisiana
Originally Posted by SUSAN
These are wild turtles, and from what I've read the males have red eyes, which the big one does. The smaller one is female, with brown eyes. Web site said that too. We hope they will mate and we can have babies next year, we will see. It's fun to have them and their new home is being 'decorated' now by Little Bit, her daddy and our neighbor. :mrgreen:
Oh yeah -- they WILL mate -- and mate, and mate,and mate. I have a turtle pen in my back yard with several inhabitants that we rescued from the road, dogs, etc. There is nothing "hornier" than a box turtle, and they aren't choosey who they mount, male or female. My grandkids keep asking if they ever get tired of playing "leapfrog". If you plan on keeping them, I suggest strongly that you find another female. The ideal ratio is one male to three females. The males are very active, and I've seen them start as soon as they dig out of hibernation! I'm not sure how ethical it is to keep box turtles in a penned area, but we do provide them with a large natural habitat and a regular supply of food, lettuce, and worms. You will see babies after awhile, but the mortality rate is rather high -- when newly hatched, the ants attack them before they are able to move away quickly. Also birds, snakes, etc. Keep the ground soft so the female can lay eggs and the young ones are able to dig out. Also there's a wealth of info on box turtles on the internet well worth checking. Good luck to you and hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
05-18-2010, 04:09 AM
#25
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Outside St. Louis
Posts: 38,190
Cute little girl, hope she stays interested in the turtles. My oldest Grandson use to find them in my yard and wanted to keep them, they always crawled away. He lived in Chicago at the time and Parents didn't want to take them home. Had one in the Army in aquarium, fellow G.I.s weren't kind to it. Don't know what he did with it.
05-18-2010, 04:09 AM
#26
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Outside St. Louis
Posts: 38,190
Cute little girl, hope she stays interested in the turtles. My oldest Grandson use to find them in my yard and wanted to keep them, they always crawled away. He lived in Chicago at the time and Parents didn't want to take them home. Had one in the Army in aquarium, fellow G.I.s weren't kind to it. Don't know what he did with it.
05-19-2010, 09:38 AM
#28
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2,735
Box turtles like humid environments. In many places it is against the law to catch because they are an endangered species. I know in NY you could get into serious $$ fines if caught with one. If you plan still to keep them, make sure they have a large dry area so they can come out of the water. Don't keep deep water; mud is better. Also, make sure they have a dark area so they can hide in the shade when is too hot. They need a sunny area because they are cold blooded and can not regulate their own body temperature. Animals caught from the wild like to hunt, so they will eat fish and crickets as well as anything that moves. Be careful which plants you keep in the pool. The best thing to have is weeds, like dandelions and grass. You will also need to give them fruit like strawberries and bananas.
I am keeping one right now that I rescued from someone who got it illegally and freaked out when read about it. She was about to release it, but I am too far north for the animal to survive the winter outdoors. I will bring her to a rescue in long Island when I move to NYC. She is super cute and have a great personality. She let's me know when she is hungry, which is pretty much all the time and loves to bask under her light.
I am keeping one right now that I rescued from someone who got it illegally and freaked out when read about it. She was about to release it, but I am too far north for the animal to survive the winter outdoors. I will bring her to a rescue in long Island when I move to NYC. She is super cute and have a great personality. She let's me know when she is hungry, which is pretty much all the time and loves to bask under her light.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
grann of 6
Pictures
24
08-23-2010 03:26 AM
