Help identifying my 1st pet

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PEEEETE

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Hey all, I hope this is in the right area. I found an old picture of me and my first pet, Spike. I think he was some sort of American box turtle, but I could be totally wrong. This is the only picture I have of him.

eSEmu.jpg


I vaguely remember at the time something about a Northeastern or Northwestern box turtle? This is a memory from about 19 years ago from some illustrated guide book that my Dad got me when we got the turtle.

Thanks in advance for the help!
 

dmmj

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Box turtle all the way, looks western to me.
 

pryncesssc

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Could it even be an ornate box turtle ? Looks like the correct markings..

Cute pic !! :)
 

PEEEETE

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Thanks for the insight, everyone! I have barely any memory of this pet, only that the amount of time and care that I devote to my 2 sulcatas is FAR and away more than what I did with that box turtle. I was just a kid back then. That little box turtle started my obsession though hahaha...
 

turtlemann2

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: ) a very nice looking ornate boxie by the looks of it, if you dont mind me asking what happend to her? my first boxie was a three toed name jeanette after my great grandma (i thought the turtle was soooooo old) ; -) this not only started my obsession with the shelled critters but it was cut short by my mother who thought she smelled : ( thus one day my first turtle was "rehomed" to a neighbor : ( never to be heard form again, she had alot of personality : )
 

Tccarolina

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I had box turtles as a kid too. Fortunately and unfortunately.
Fortunately because it started my interest in reptiles, and I eventually cycled back around to chelonians.

Unfortunately because it was bad for the turtles I had. We went on a family trip to my grandparents farm in rural Virginia, and I came home with two box turtles I found. My dad built me a pen under the orange tree, complete with a pond. They survived much longer than they should have, considering the level of care they got. I also had a male ornate I found when we visited my grandma who moved to a farm in Kansas after my grandpa passed away. He was Mr. personality! He would stand up on his hind legs (making a shell, hind feet forward tripod) to reach a dangling treat. He would also chase bare toes for as long as he could still see them. He never caught one. I think he thought they were pinkie mice, which he loved.
I also had a three-toed that was given to me. It escaped. The others died one by one, as I neglected them during periods of time in high school and college, and one . But they started a deep-seated interest in these creatures.

Steve
 

turtlemann2

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the trials and tribulations we experiance shape the person we are to become ever changing. : ( it is too bad about your past turtles but you are a better keeper now becasue of it
 

pryncesssc

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turtlemann2 said:
: ) a very nice looking ornate boxie by the looks of it, if you dont mind me asking what happend to her? my first boxie was a three toed name jeanette after my great grandma (i thought the turtle was soooooo old) ; -) this not only started my obsession with the shelled critters but it was cut short by my mother who thought she smelled : ( thus one day my first turtle was "rehomed" to a neighbor : ( never to be heard form again, she had alot of personality : )

Ohh nooo that's soo sad !!! I would have stopped talking to my mom

turtlemann2 said:
: ) a very nice looking ornate boxie by the looks of it, if you dont mind me asking what happend to her? my first boxie was a three toed name jeanette after my great grandma (i thought the turtle was soooooo old) ; -) this not only started my obsession with the shelled critters but it was cut short by my mother who thought she smelled : ( thus one day my first turtle was "rehomed" to a neighbor : ( never to be heard form again, she had alot of personality : )

Ohh nooo that's soo sad !!! I would have stopped talking to my mom
 

PEEEETE

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From what I can remember, we found him/her and I only had it for a few months, we didn't know much about it, besides that they hibernate, and it was getting cold, so it was probably gonna go into that cycle soon. I let it in the backyard a bunch, and one time I went back to find it, and it was nowhere to be found. There were areas in the yard that were sof enough to dig, and he did dig a bunch of times, but never that deep. I assumed he dug underground, and never saw him again. Maybe my parents found him attacked by an animal and spun me that tale, but I'll never know.

After him, about 4 years later I got 2 rescued water turtles, and one pet store red eared slider and dug them a pond that was awesome. They lived great lives for a few years, and my dad accidentally got some of his fertilizer in their pond, when he was spreading fertilizer in the yard, and they all died =/ I was about 13 at that time, and told myself I would get a turtle or tortoise when I was grown and able to take their lives into my own hands, and ensure they lived full healthy lives.
 
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