HELP WHAT IS THIS

[tara massey]

We found this guy/girl in patrick sc in the pinefield ofcourse out kids wanted to keep soooo, we have no clue what it is or the best way to care for it can anyone help???

 

[Big B]

Box turtle you should let it go wild caught turtle don't do well in captivity. Have the kids do some research on the forum and set up a great habitat before you get a shelled pet. There are some great breeders right here, and even more great information.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Please put it back where you found it.
It is a wild animal and belongs in the wild.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a box turtle. Do some research and learn if they're native to your area. If they are, please take it back to the pine field and let it go. They are territorial and he needs to be put back where you found him. It is against the law to remove box turtles from the wild.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Thanks for coming here for advice. Not what you wanted to hear, I'm sure, but that turtle should be released where it was found.

 

[domalle]

We found this guy/girl in patrick sc in the pinefield ofcourse out kids wanted to keep soooo, we have no clue what it is or the best way to care for it can anyone help???

View attachment 129653

It is a beautiful eastern box turtle. They are basically terrestrial which means they live on land and sometimes venture into shallow water. They are omnivorous which means they will eat a little of everything; fruits, vegetables, worms. I hope you enjoy your turtle. I think some of us here forget how we came across our first turtle and developed a love and appreciation for them and all of nature through them.

 

[Dean Wirth]

It is a wild turtle, it will try to escape any enclosure and probably not eat and die if kept. Captive bred turtles are available and much more suitable for pet ownership. Put it back where you found it and it will be fine. turtle populatins are in decline due to collecting, if you decide to buy a captive bred young turtle you can get information on care from forums such as this one. Thanks for taking the time to seek out information.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I have never forgotten the first time I found a turtle (it was walking in a street after a flood ).
Because I have a love and appreciation for nature, I put it back in the river where it belonged, because it would never have been happy if I had kept it.
If I had left it in the street it would surely have been killed, and possibly eaten, so back it went. I would love to have kept it but it wouldn't have been right.
There is a great deal of difference in taking an animal that is wild and endangered or protected by law from its natural habitat and giving it a miserable life in captivity, and buying a captive bred animal from a respected dealer, getting a rescue, or even from a respectable pet shop.
Tara, if you and your children genuinely want a turtle, than please get one from a recognized, legal source and give it as good a life as you possibly can by preparing a home for it first. But if this one is a native species in your area, then please return it.

 

[domalle]

It is a wild turtle, it will try to escape any enclosure and probably not eat and die if kept. Captive bred turtles are available and much more suitable for pet ownership. Put it back where you found it and it will be fine. turtle populatins are in decline due to collecting, if you decide to buy a captive bred young turtle you can get information on care from forums such as this one. Thanks for taking the time to seek out information.

Actually box turtles will adapt very readily to appropriate conditions in captivity and are an unparalled learning experience for children. Turtle populations are not in decline because a child takes a turtle home. They are threatened by unchecked development, shrinking habitat and yes, the commercial trade in pets and animals you espouse.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Many wild caught animals do not make the transition to captivity and die within the first year. They try to hibernate but the circumstances aren't right and they can't go looking for the right place. They don't recognize what we feed them as food. We don't replace what we've taken from them, hard as we try.

In the case of habitat destruction, taking the animal home and keeping it is a better choice. Where the habitat is intact, not so.

Older turtles continue to reproduce. When we remove them from the breeding population, we are preventing generations of new turtles from coming into existence.

Habitat loss is a huge problem, no question. There are also natural predators and just plain bad luck. I don't think we who love these creatures should be among those predators and bad luck bringers.

 

[keepergale]

Actually box turtles will adapt very readily to appropriate conditions in captivity and are an unparalled learning experience for children. Turtle populations are not in decline because a child takes a turtle home. They are threatened by unchecked development, shrinking habitat and yes, the commercial trade in pets and animals you espouse.

I failed to read where anyone here recommends commercial collection of wildlife. The sales of captive bred turtles is not the cause of population decline of wild turtles. You correctly sited development and habitat loss as primary causes of population decreases. Any further removal of turtles from the remaining viable habitat is certainly a negative for the surviving population.

 

[cmacusa3]

My input

I have a lot of land in a rural area and every time I'm there I see no less than 5 box turtles either in the field or crossing the dirt roads. They have nothing to worry about out there except for the wild animals getting them.... That's totally different from where I live, I live in a big city where daily I see turtles run over, a small field here and there scattered around the houses and all the cars isn't a place for a turtle to have much chance of survival. I would imagine a few of the turtles brought to me have been wild caught and make it through hibernation every year. I have 2 that have been with me for over 10 years that are wild caught. My point is if you live in an area that you know they will be run over or something else bad will happen to them, I see nothing wrong with either picking them up and keeping them, "IF" you can offer a GREAT environment or relocating them to the country. I've taken at least 100 to the country that either I picked up in the road or someone else did.( My wife says someday I will get ran over saving a turtle) If I know someone has had them for an extended period of time then I won't release them back into the wild. This is just my thoughts and sorry if someone doesn't agree.

 

[keepergale]

My input

I have a lot of land in a rural area and every time I'm there I see no less than 5 box turtles either in the field or crossing the dirt roads. They have nothing to worry about out there except for the wild animals getting them.... That's totally different from where I live, I live in a big city where daily I see turtles run over, a small field here and there scattered around the houses and all the cars isn't a place for a turtle to have much chance of survival. I would imagine a few of the turtles brought to me have been wild caught and make it through hibernation every year. I have 2 that have been with me for over 10 years that are wild caught. My point is if you live in an area that you know they will be run over or something else bad will happen to them, I see nothing wrong with either picking them up and keeping them, "IF" you can offer a GREAT environment or relocating them to the country. I've taken at least 100 to the country that either I picked up in the road or someone else did.( My wife says someday I will get ran over saving a turtle) If I know someone has had them for an extended period of time then I won't release them back into the wild. This is just my thoughts and sorry if someone doesn't agree.

I have no disagreement with your statement and in fact commend you for what your are doing.

 

[Dean Wirth]

Wild caught turtles that are relocated often try to go back to their place of origin. But if in dangerous environments i suppose it is a wise choice. Getting back to keeping wild caught as pets it is not a good idea for so many reasons that are listed here. to the person that found it no matter how much your kids feel about it you have to explain that it will probably die if you keep it. This would be a good life lesson for them.

 

[cmacusa3]

I don't always agree with this, I've seen several that I relocated from the city on my land for several years. I know this because one had a missing foot and another one had a had several odd markings and my kids had found them 2 straight summers

 

[domalle]

Wild caught turtles that are relocated often try to go back to their place of origin. But if in dangerous environments i suppose it is a wise choice. Getting back to keeping wild caught as pets it is not a good idea for so many reasons that are listed here. to the person that found it no matter how much your kids feel about it you have to explain that it will probably die if you keep it. This would be a good life lesson for them.

On re-reading my last post on this thread the other day, I realized that it may have come across as more sharp than intended.
If it caused offense, my sincere apologies.
We will have to agree to disagree on the thread's content tho.
Really? Tell a child, "It will probably die if you keep it. This would be a good life lesson for them."
Now I have to wonder if you have ever come across any children.
A nice family with small children reached out to the TFO for help on the care of a turtle, something we purport to offer.
A potentially positive experience for this little family was spoiled. They did not receive the help and support they sought.
What they did receive was wave after wave of the Turtle Police.
Children should not be made to feel criminal simply because they wanted to bring a turtle home.
Have a heart. How dismal.

 

[leigti]

I didn't look at the age of the person making the post until later on when they mention their parents. I don't think people were too harsh. I was with my aunt when she found a tortoise or turtle, can't remember I was very young, on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. I ended up keeping it as a pet, until I put it out in the backyard for exercise, remember I was like eight years old, and it ran away. I wish we never would have picked it up, we did not do a service for that poor turtle. But we didn't know any better I wish somebody would have told us

 

[Dean Wirth]

On re-reading my last post on this thread the other day, I realized that it may have come across as more sharp than intended.
If it caused offense, my sincere apologies.
We will have to agree to disagree on the thread's content tho.
Really? Tell a child, "It will probably die if you keep it. This would be a good life lesson for them."
Now I have to wonder if you have ever come across any children.
A nice family with small children reached out to the TFO for help on the care of a turtle, something we purport to offer.
A potentially positive experience for this little family was spoiled. They did not receive the help and support they sought.
What they did receive was wave after wave of the Turtle Police.
Children should not be made to feel criminal simply because they wanted to bring a turtle home.
Have a heart. How dismal.

I didn't mean it that way, and I was thinking of the poor turtle. I was trying to spare the child of watching the turtle slowly die if they kept it. Turtles are not playthings for kids, sorry but that is the way I feel.

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

I agree kids are cute and I love them . But now let's put this in the real terms . Do we support that all kids go pick up wild box turtles or just surtin ones . Cause if we say let all cute kids pick up wild box turtles , we won't have any wild boxys for long . I want those kids and their kids to see wild turtles in the future . In AZ you don't have to remove a Desert tort from The wild to get a $5,000.00 find just playing with it can get you fined !

 

[ZEROPILOT]

When I was a kid in South Carolina, I encountered them often. I couldn't resist grabbing them and feeding them earthworms, etc.
The novelty will wear off, soon for the kids. Remember where you found him and if at all possible, return him when it happens.
And yes. It is much better to leave them alone. But, kids are kids.