Found a cute baby Turtle!

Moozillion

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I kept the little fella overnight to make sure he hadn't been adversely affect by the mites that were on him. It rained quite a bit yesterday and I took him to the back of my property where I found a spot where water seemed to be sitting slightly. I figure there are plenty of snails and slugs back there under the leaf litter for food.
I considered keeping him as @Moozillion had suggested but I don't have the proper setup or even a space right now.
I will be putting in a small pond but it will probably not be started for another month. Maybe I will get to see more of these little guys in the future.
Mud turtles are actually aquatic and NEED to be under water in order to eat. They can manage in a muddy AREA for a while but If you can find the little guy again, he'll probably have a better chance in a pond.

If you can't find him, do NOT feel bad: WE ALL LEARN.

Back when I was in college, MANY years ago, I was a biology major and assisted with various programs in our biology department. One of the studies was catching wild turtles, drawing their blood for some sort of testing, then release them back into the wild the same day or the next day. One of my tasks was to release the turtles. Different people brought in different turtles from all over: we never knew specifically where a turtle came from. No one told me that box turtles are not aquatic (please remember, I was between 18 and 22 at the time). When they gave me a turtle to release, I would drive it out to a fairly deep, large creek and drop them out in the middle. The sliders were probably happy with that, but to this day I feel badly for the box turtles that I dropped into the creek, thinking I was doing the right thing.
 

Bambam1989

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Pretty positive it was a female. After taking the pictures, I put her back where I found her. She got in there, I'm sure she will find her way out.
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

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If not a pond, maybe an alley or rain drainage area? Someplace overgrown that you'd never think of as a mini-wetland? You'd be surprised. I only recently found out I have a waterbird sanctuary with herons, bald eagles, kingfishers, etc about a mile from my house! I drive passed it all the time and just thought it was poorly kept commercial real estate. LOL

A simple outdoor turtle pond can easily be made by digging a 6ft x 10ft x 2ft deep hole, line it with either pond tarp plastic or you can use cement and chickenwire for a more permanent solution. You can pipe it from your existing water pipes, or you can just keep an eye on it. There are also several kits online and at garden stores for Koi that work wonders for small terrapins. Keep a few guppies, goldfish, or other low maintenance fish in there as mosquito deterrence.
 

Moozillion

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If not a pond, maybe an alley or rain drainage area? Someplace overgrown that you'd never think of as a mini-wetland? You'd be surprised. I only recently found out I have a waterbird sanctuary with herons, bald eagles, kingfishers, etc about a mile from my house! I drive passed it all the time and just thought it was poorly kept commercial real estate. LOL

A simple outdoor turtle pond can easily be made by digging a 6ft x 10ft x 2ft deep hole, line it with either pond tarp plastic or you can use cement and chickenwire for a more permanent solution. You can pipe it from your existing water pipes, or you can just keep an eye on it. There are also several kits online and at garden stores for Koi that work wonders for small terrapins. Keep a few guppies, goldfish, or other low maintenance fish in there as mosquito deterrence.
Great ideas!!! :)
 

Bambam1989

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Well this fella had a close call, another 4 inches and he would have been ran over in my driveway! Quite the angry pedestrian, he attempted to bite me several times. Definitely not the same adult as this one has bolder facial markings and is clearly a male. He was escorted out of the driveway. IMG_20200427_120308096~2.jpgIMG_20200427_120543312~2.jpg
 

TammyJ

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Well this fella had a close call, another 4 inches and he would have been ran over in my driveway! Quite the angry pedestrian, he attempted to bite me several times. Definitely not the same adult as this one has bolder facial markings and is clearly a male. He was escorted out of the driveway. View attachment 292515View attachment 292516
What are you doing in their habitat? You are obviously an invasive species.
 

Moozillion

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Well this fella had a close call, another 4 inches and he would have been ran over in my driveway! Quite the angry pedestrian, he attempted to bite me several times. Definitely not the same adult as this one has bolder facial markings and is clearly a male. He was escorted out of the driveway. View attachment 292515View attachment 292516
My GOODNESS!!!:eek:
Quite the handsome fellow! You are really in a mud turtle hot spot! :)
 
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