When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, a hundred years ago, for as long as I could remember there was a box turtle living in our yard. We were never allowed to feed it. My Dad said it was wild, and free and didn't want it to become dependent on us. We knew winter was on it's was when my Dad raked all the leaves into a pile in the back of the yard, just in case Frank (named after our Uncle who we thought he looked like) needed a place to sleep. Then we didn't see Frank until the Spring. We couldn't wait to see which one of us saw Frank first. My Dad had a big vegetable garden, many fruit trees, and loads of compost which he made in the back of our yard, which was filled with bugs. (so much for Frank not being dependent on us) If any fruit fell, and we didn't pick it Dad would say "leave it for Frank". The same with the vegetables. We always saw him munching on a tomato, or a fig, or an apricot. We also had a big strawberry patch where you could always find Frank taking a nap. The only thing my Dad did was always keep a really big dish filled with water in case Frank needed a bath or a drink. When I got married I was 22, and Frank was still there. As the years passed I used to bring my kids there to see that old boxie. He was never sick as far as we could tell. When my parents died, my sister took over the house, and Frank is still there. Now in the Spring I bring my Grandkids there to look for Frank. He is over 50 years old as far as I can tell.

What a great story! Your dad taught you a wonderful lesson and what a lucky turtle!

Yvonne

i have a Red eared slider it was my first turtle

What lovely memories you have and now get to pass along to your Grandchildren. I hope I am so lucky.

Misty

I must have been about 8..? 35 plus years ago.. I had a little water turtle. Looked like a red ear, but no red ears.. I dont recall how long I had him.. not long.. I had him out side to get some sun, he died.. :-)Timothy was his name. Buried him under a tree I planted. And I recal my first tortoise encounter.. WAY.... back when at the San Diego Zoo they used to let kids ride the Galapagos torts.. I did.. Sure wish I had a picture of that!! Have always loved them.. Its not till recently that I started looking into diff species and learning about it all.
I like thier speed...:-)

Mine was a RES with the plastic lagoon and palm tree. It didn't last long I think a few weeks. Would find soft shells when camping but only kept them while we camped then set them loose. My first tort was a DT named Clyde. Had a hole in his carapace that my dad filled with “Shoe Goo” (a type of silicone I think but made for sneakers). He lived in the back yard but hibernated under my brothers’ bed. When Clyde would go under my brothers bed my mom would move the bed and cover him with a cardboard box. When we saw the cardboard box roaming around the house we knew Clyde was up and spring was here. Clyde disappeared from the yard one day and was never found. We had Clyde about 7 years.

What great memories.. I remember when I was a kid we found water turtles that just hatched out sunning I guess, My mom let us keep two, then I decided to let mine go back in the pond a few days later, and my sisters bit her and escaped into the pond a few days after that, she cried and I was happy. We had a lot of turtles in the lake and the pond behind our house. I don't know what kid they were though,

awesome story terryo. I want to ecourage you to submit that to reptiles magizine in the back they have the "living with reptiles" section every month. Try getting a picture of frank

there are some great stories on this thread! nice job everyone

My first turtle was a Carolina Box Turtle that was brought into the animal hospital I worked for. It was about 9 years ago. There were several brought in because of HBC (hit by car). I didn't feel like they were being tended properly on my days off cause the other techs weren't intersested in non-dog/cat critters. So I asked the vet if I could bring them home along with their meds and take care of them here. It was agreed if any were able to be released that I had to do it. Sammy was my first. He was adult. When he saw me going toward his enclosure with the fishworm container he would stand up on the side like he was a puppy. I kept him a little over a year. I sure hated to let him go. He zoomed off when I turned him loose, but turned around about 10' away & looked at me as tho he was saying bye. Made me cry. I still have rehabs, including Billie Box who will stay with me. A dog took his eye out. He is 3.5". I've had him over a yr.
Patsy