Glyptemys Insculpta- New Arrivals

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
Back in late March of this year I reached out to Chris Leone. I was looking for a species that would be a nice fit for year round outdoor keeping in Northern Illinois. After some correspondence and Chris taking the time to look into the legality of things, I settled on the NA Wood Turtle. I pre-ordered 8 hatchlings. Approximately 6 months later I was contacted by Chris letting me know the turtles were ready to go. I was on vacation at the time. Then bombarded at work. Out of town for several days here and there. I was finally confident on a time for shipping and they arrived just yesterday. Mr. Leone was extremely patient with me regarding the shipping. Can't express this enough. This may seem like a Garden State Tortoise testimonial, but his help and response(before and after I even inquired about purchasing animals) was truly awesome...

Anyways...
These little dudes are so sweet. Looking forward to raising them up and creating an outdoor habitat similar to the one I have for my box turtles. Just a few pics...

A quick plastron shot as I was unboxing them.
20161020_091352 by Adam James K, on Flickr

Dining on some pellets and bloodworms. These guys can eat. Already taken berries, pink mice and these offerings immediately.
20161021_192954 by Adam James K, on Flickr

This one may need to be separated at feeding time; quite aggressive. Seems more interested in other turtle's faces than food...
20161021_194313 by Adam James K, on Flickr

If anyone has any advice regarding these please chime in. This is my first go.

And if you ever read this Chris, thanks again. If I ever feel like adding to my chelonian collection, you'll be the first one I contact.

Thanks for reading
Adam
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,930
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
nice healthy looking babies , if you never had them before i'd think you will like them ..... i find them to grow extremely fast relative to any other turtles i've had , 8 will need some room ...... i find them to be very smart turtles , and they are great climbers ...... not sure what you meant with an enclosure like your box turtles ? but their habitat is much different than a box turtle ...... they are extremely hardy turtles , one of the most cold tolerant turtles i've seen ....you obviously know they are river turtles , they like moving well aerated water to hibernate in , i've heard of them hibernating on land , but i've never seen one that did ................
 

PJay

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2016
Messages
1,169
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
So jealous! My state doesn't allow captive NA Woods.
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,930
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
So jealous! My state doesn't allow captive NA Woods.
i can understand permits and regulating native species , but not allowing folks to own legally obtained turtles imo is just stupid ....... i do believe wild na wood turtles would benefit from federal protection , when in more than 40 states in the U.S. you don't need to account for where you got them from , it really is not much in the way of protection in the 6-7 states they are native to ....... here's a couple adults that live here , given a choice mine are very aquatic .........

DSCF2357.jpg

DSCF2352.jpg


DSCF2506.jpg
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
nice healthy looking babies , if you never had them before i'd think you will like them ..... i find them to grow extremely fast relative to any other turtles i've had , 8 will need some room ...... i find them to be very smart turtles , and they are great climbers ...... not sure what you meant with an enclosure like your box turtles ? but their habitat is much different than a box turtle ...... they are extremely hardy turtles , one of the most cold tolerant turtles i've seen ....you obviously know they are river turtles , they like moving well aerated water to hibernate in , i've heard of them hibernating on land , but i've never seen one that did ................

Thanks for the info.

The reason I got 8 was to have a decent shot of having several females.
I want to create an outdoor habitat that looks natural, which I attempted to do with my box turtles-
20160701_192409 by Adam James K, on Flickr

I am planning on providing a large water feature with running water. Your photos/turtles look great!
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,930
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
that is a really nice enclosure you got for your box turtles ....... as far as the wood turtles water feature , i'd suggest sloping sides with as many sight barriers as possible and as many hides as you can fit in it .......... as mine got older they didn't really like sharing their spots .......
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
that is a really nice enclosure you got for your box turtles ....... as far as the wood turtles water feature , i'd suggest sloping sides with as many sight barriers as possible and as many hides as you can fit in it .......... as mine got older they didn't really like sharing their spots .......

Thanks.

Why the sloping sides?
I've read about their aggression and I'll have to deal with it when that happens.
 

mark1

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2015
Messages
1,930
Location (City and/or State)
ohio
i'd say a couple reasons , one they will pop their heads up once in awhile in the dead of winter , in water so cold it hurts to put your hands in it , they don't have a lot of energy to swim to the top , and occasionally they'll need to come up for a breath with a bigger turtle stuck on their back trying to bite them on the back of their heads ...... i've had turtles come out of hibernation with obvious bite wounds from another turtle .....
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
i'd say a couple reasons , one they will pop their heads up once in awhile in the dead of winter , in water so cold it hurts to put your hands in it , they don't have a lot of energy to swim to the top , and occasionally they'll need to come up for a breath with a bigger turtle stuck on their back trying to bite them on the back of their heads ...... i've had turtles come out of hibernation with obvious bite wounds from another turtle .....

Ohhhh... a gradual transition to deeper water. Gotcha. Thought you meant slope as in extreme; like a basin.
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300
Update on these-
2 of these are 3.5"+ and I am truly surprised on how fast they've been growing. I did separate 2 a couple months ago, as they were lagging behind in growth. I had been feeding them separately but I also offer items on a dish several times a week. I don't believe they took advantage of these fruits and such. They also refused frozen/thawed rodents. Since being moved to their own enclosure they are putting on size and truly voracious.

I'll be giving these guys some outdoor time in a secured enclosure soon. I also just bought a new home that has a nice chunk of land. This will allow me to hog wild on their end game enclosure. I won't move until late May, but a lot to do until I start on this. Hoping late Summer or early Fall and move them there in 2018.
 

PJay

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2016
Messages
1,169
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
Update on these-
2 of these are 3.5"+ and I am truly surprised on how fast they've been growing. I did separate 2 a couple months ago, as they were lagging behind in growth. I had been feeding them separately but I also offer items on a dish several times a week. I don't believe they took advantage of these fruits and such. They also refused frozen/thawed rodents. Since being moved to their own enclosure they are putting on size and truly voracious.

I'll be giving these guys some outdoor time in a secured enclosure soon. I also just bought a new home that has a nice chunk of land. This will allow me to hog wild on their end game enclosure. I won't move until late May, but a lot to do until I start on this. Hoping late Summer or early Fall and move them there in 2018.
I'm happy for you that you got a new place. You should have a lot of fun getting them set up.
 

AJK Aquaria

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
300

PJay

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2016
Messages
1,169
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
All looking great Adam, I love the NA woods!
 
Top