What is this gorgeous turtle?

[RuthieHurry]

My daughter found this turtle crossing the road, and brought it home. She made sure to mark the location in her mind, in case this is a native species. This turtle has one heck of a personality, and acts like it's been a favored pet for a while. If it is native and not illegal to keep, I might consider it.

Front view:

Top view:

America's Next Top Model view:

 

[dmarcus]

Not being a true expert, I would say its a 3-toed with nice colors...

 

[jojodesca]

yes this is a 3 toed box turtle...you can tell if it has 3 toes on its back feet....I believe they are native to Texas...you should find out and return it to where your daughter found her......

 

[RuthieHurry]

I never thought that I would be leaving work to go home and count turtle toes.....

 

[dmmj]

I never thought that I would be leaving work to go home and count turtle toes.....

Welcome to the insanity of our world.

 

[wellington]

It is a looker. However if it is native to your area it should be put back where she found it. The wild should be left in the wild. If you do want one though, you can rescue one or purchase one if they are allowed in your area to own.

 

[RuthieHurry]

Keeping it is already off the table. When I look at all the time and money it took to outfit and enclosure for my sulcata's, i certainly don't want to do it all again for a box turtle.

 

[RuthieHurry]

3 toes. My kid keeps insisting it's an eastern. We're probably going to contact a rescue for an on site I.D., and also because it looks like her plastron is scorched and peeling.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Beauty!

 

[RuthieHurry]

The Gulf Coast Turtle and Tortoise Society says not to release anything you've caught without a professional ID and eval, so she's here until we get info from them. This turtle is SO friendly it's amazing. Now, it looks like we're going to be spending some money on a habitat, so this heartbroken kid can get one of her own.

 

[dmmj]

That is great advice.

 

[pam]

Beautiful

 

[RuthieHurry]

Wow! GCTTS has some dedicated volunteers! I've already received an email with advice and requests for more info. Love to see some hardcore, dedicated (yes, used it again) people willing to help solve the tort and turt world's problems.

 

[jojodesca]

boxies are easy to take care of.........they are the best "starter" pet for kids..

 

[Hunahpu]

What a cute 3-toed! They are native to Texas, but I would be concerned about releasing it if she's that friendly toward humans. They're extremely common in the pet trade, and I would lean toward turning her into a rescue rather than releasing it in case it is an escaped pet.

Boxies are really easy and fun to keep.

 

[RuthieHurry]

GCTTS is recommending that we turn her in or keep her. I had assumed that we would be turning her loose, and made plans to adopt a different one. So, it looks like she's being turned in, as I would be worried about her making the other one sick. Ah, well, such is life.

 

[Hunahpu]

You can always keep two. Quarantines are easy and not so much trouble.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Very beautiful, and very cute! I love three-toed box turtles. As mentioned above, though, they are native to Texas, so I would put her back where you found her.

 

[RuthieHurry]

I understand that they are native to Texas, and was surprised that GCTTS did not recommend release. I will say that she based that on the scorched plastron of the female. We had a terrible wildfire here, and she believes that someone "saved" them, and they escaped the back yard. They will be dropped off at a rehabber tomorrow.

 

[Saloli]

I generally don't consider Terrapene to be easy especially if they are wild caught adults. Which have a tendency to be picky eaters, some of which even when all other variables are idea refuse to feed some of which even die. This however is not typical. Though if they are kept outside in their native habitat then it makes things a little easier because some of their wild foods show up in the pens. If an individual is from a local population then if possible it should be returned to its point of origin. If the turtle is suspected to not be from the local population it should not be released. If the site where the turtle was found is a recent construction site the turtle may have lost its home and thus can not be released because they tend to go "home". Though generally speaking cbb individuals tend to be relatively easy. Any way I'm ranting. If you do return the individual your daughter found there are plenty of TTBT already in captivity that are in need of homes. The unfortunate thing is that the majority will never contribute to their species.