Turtle Identification

[Hatin Since 87]

Take him to the woods nearby and cut him loose.

This^^^

He’s so small he wouldn’t hurt your garden much if any, and relocating him to the woods he’d probably never get back to the garden anyhow.

 

[Winamac]

Put him on the other side of your yard and tell him not to go back to the garden.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Think it would listen?

 

[bwframe]

I gave him a stern talking to about coming back to my garden. Put him in the tall grass, 40ish yards away.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/visit/experience/wildlife/animal-facts/eastern-box-turtle/

[FONT=&quot]>> Most Eastern box turtles have permanent home ranges. Juvenile turtles often have small, temporary home areas that grow larger as they age. If relocated, a box turtle will often attempt to return to its home area.



He’ll be back [/FONT]​

 

[bwframe]

I had someone tell me that they'll "spend the rest of their lives trying to get back home."

I have taken many much bigger box turtles across the road, a hundred yards away from the garden. Pointed them the other direction and never seen a sign of them eating the bottoms off of my tomatoes the rest of the season.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

I had someone tell me that they'll "spend the rest of their lives trying to get back home."

I have taken many much bigger box turtles across the road, a hundred yards away from the garden. Pointed them the other direction and never seen a sign of them eating the bottoms off of my tomatoes the rest of the season.

Ya I’m betting his home is in the woods, he probably just found a food source and took advantage while he could. He’s young enough you’ll probably never see him again. Hopefully no dogs find him. We had a golden retriever that would find them and chew on the shells

 

[Nathanaf8388]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Think it would listen?

That’s why you Don’t give it a choice. Hold it in your hand until you are done saying what you want then let it go.
Well I guess you could let it go and just walk with it while you lecture it not like it is gonna go far fast


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cbhausen]

I stopped and rescued a turtle crossing Moore Road about halfway between 86th St. and Lafayette Road. Didn’t take my phone with me to get an image when I jumped out of the car to move him into the woods but the shell was probably 10 inches front to back and not hinged. Tried to claw me when I picked him up and withdrew as much as he could after that. I wasn’t in the woods for 15 seconds and came out with a tick on the back of my neck. His relocation wasn’t so... humane. This definitely wasn’t a box, painted, soft shell, or snapping turtle as I know how to identify all those.

 

[Trigger Time]

Snapping turtle. He will be good eating one day

 

[Trigger Time]

Ok guess i was wrong. Box turtle damn? Never seen one that little

 

[Restroyer]

I had someone tell me that they'll "spend the rest of their lives trying to get back home."

I have taken many much bigger box turtles across the road, a hundred yards away from the garden. Pointed them the other direction and never seen a sign of them eating the bottoms off of my tomatoes the rest of the season.

Probably because they got ran over coming back across the road.

 

[Trigger Time]

His head almost looks like a seas turtle. So cute
Baby snappers are mean little turds from the get go.
I guess looking closer now his shell isnt as narrow and high like a baby snapper.
Ive found afew baby painted turtles this spring. They're so cute. Most of them are destined to be bass or frog food i think but enough of them survive to continue the species i guess.
They always screw with my bobber when im fishing, or eat my damn catfish bait.

 

[craigkim]

Eastern box turtle for sure. The other species to consider, which also has a hinged plastron is he Blanding's turtle, but I think they are pretty rare, especially as you travel south. Blanding's turtles have a more angular edged plastron caudally and their throat would be more yellow. I took herpetology at Purdue years ago and all I remembered was that the Blandings turtle can sometimes be mistaken for a box turtle. They are "semi-aquatic" whereas the box turtle is terrestrial. I will admit, I had to look this up, as I only remembered the name Blanding's. That being said, the first box turtle I ever found as a kid was crossing a pond canoeing with my dad. He was easy to scoop right up because, not only are they not so great swimmers, he was missing a hind leg.

Hatchlings are going to be primarily carnivorous, so I wouldn't worry about your garden... yet. I have raised a Midland Painted turtle from a hatchling for the last 5 years and they also transition from being more carnivorous as hatchlings to ominivorous and favoring lettuces even. It is interesting how much painted turtle hatchlings look like adult painted turtles, whereas I don't feel like box turtles do after seeing your photos. Snappers look pretty much like the adults too.

Cool pictures and thanks for posting..

 

[gmcttr]

Baby box turtle. Put it back in your garden and let it eat the snails and bugs. They love snails.

A decade ago I watched a box turtle dig her nest and lay the eggs in my yard. I made a box out of 1/4" hardware cloth and staked it down over the nest to protect it and to make sure I got to see the babies. After the appropriate amount of time, I checked the nest a couple of times a day until they hatched and was surprised how much they looked like the Painted(?) turtles that pet stores used to sell.

I got to see a couple of them as they got older and their shells humped up so they looked like box turtles.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I used to catch box turtles all the time as a kid. I'd keep them for a couple of weeks and then turn them loose. I used to just feed them nightcrawlers.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Put him on the other side of your yard and tell him not to go back to the garden.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That reminds me:

Guy is sitting watching TV and he hears a knock on the door.
He goes and opens the door and there is nobody there.
He sits down and about that time hears another knock.
He opens the door again and looks around. Nobody there. He looks down and sees a snail.


He reaches down, takes a look at it and says "ewww.." and throws it as hard as he can.

A week later he is sitting watching TV again and hears a knock.
He goes to the door and once again there is nobody there. He looks down again and sees a snail. As he bends down to pick it up again the snail says "what was that for?"

 

[bwframe]

I gave him a stern talking to about coming back to my garden. Put him in the tall grass, 40ish yards away.

He made it back and grew overnight...

Dammit!

 

[Hatin Since 87]

Well that explains why he grew so fast

 

[cbhausen]

Here’s an article about turtle nesting season and what to do about turtles in roadways:

https://www.wdrb.com/news/indiana-o...cle_8d9d17ae-9ab5-11ea-a9bf-a397c39313fc.html

 

[MinuteManMike]

Years ago, on (I think) SR135 south of Nashville, IN I happened across a turtle in the middle of the road. I picked him up to get him off of it and he peed on me as thanks.

Screw turtles.