First eastern box turtle to hatch out this year. It's odd, the ones from June haven't started hatching, but the ones from July have. And yes, my temperatures and humidity are in order. Hoping to see more of these little guys soon.
First eatern box turtle hatchling
- Thread starter DoubleD1996!
- Start date
That is super-cool! Thanks for posting!
No problem
TurtzInMyYard
Well-Known Member
I'm new here but your comments inspired a question. I have wild box turtles in my yard that I feed. I have two or three that will actually come to me for watermelon or some other treat. All of my nine turtles wear a distinctive mark so that I will know who is who. About a week ago I had an unmarked unit show up. He was big and he is no longer an unmarked unit. I named him T-Rex, or Rex for short. He showed up when I was feeding Drip and Drop. Drip comes to me but Drop will head off to the woods. I figured Drop to be a male...until three days ago when the previously unmarked unit and Drop were both in the area I feed them. To my surprise, I saw Rex crawling all over Drop and realized they were mating. They stayed 'hitched' for more than two hours. This happened Aug 18, three days ago.
Isn't this a bit late for mating???
I find when presented with the opportunity, males will mate regardless. Which is true for most species. Females can hold eggs and lay them the following spring which is why there are variations of young in the wild. Or if she lays them in late September or early October, the babies will hatch, but overwinter in the nest and emerge in the spring. Females can also store sperm from the males and go years without mating and still lay fertile eggs seasonally.
ZenHerper
Well-Known Member
^ that.
Since reptiles are solitary and anti/non-social, they are opportunistic about mating; when they can, they do.
This is, in part, why males must not be overly-concentrated on a territory: females do not have a "season" and will be approached by males endlessly, to the psychological and physical detriment of the females.
Your feeding practices are interfering with the natural distribution of turtles in your area...this can actually be harmful to the population at large. I'm not certain that there is not a legal issue at play in Alabama when you feed and "harbor" protected wildlife in this way - you may consider discussing the situation with the state wildlife department, or just seriously limit the amount of food you are providing. Wild animals should always be depending primarily on their own instincts and skills.
Since reptiles are solitary and anti/non-social, they are opportunistic about mating; when they can, they do.
This is, in part, why males must not be overly-concentrated on a territory: females do not have a "season" and will be approached by males endlessly, to the psychological and physical detriment of the females.
Your feeding practices are interfering with the natural distribution of turtles in your area...this can actually be harmful to the population at large. I'm not certain that there is not a legal issue at play in Alabama when you feed and "harbor" protected wildlife in this way - you may consider discussing the situation with the state wildlife department, or just seriously limit the amount of food you are providing. Wild animals should always be depending primarily on their own instincts and skills.
TurtleMaMa57
New Member
Hi, I am looking to adopt a baby Eastern Box turtle captive bred male. Do you still have some and if so, would you be interested in having me adopt one?
T Mama.....reach out to ANY Moderator and they will point you in the right direction for purchase.....
DD is a very good breeder from everything I've seen and I love that he shares the pic of the broods as they hatch!
DD is a very good breeder from everything I've seen and I love that he shares the pic of the broods as they hatch!
TurtleMaMa57
New Member
Thanks for your reply! Who is DD?
