Baby turtles!

[smartcookie]

Some of you may know that my husband and I have two eastern box turtles, a male named Stretch and a female named Yogurt (what can I say, we are bad at naming things).  They live outside and were both "rescued."  Stretch kept getting in our yard and my husband was afraid he was going to run over it with the lawn mower, so we built a rather large enclosure for him.  Yogurt was found in my in-laws yard.  Their dogs were playing tug of war with her... So she came to live with us, too.  I told my husband we should separate them to keep from having baby turtles, but alas, they stayed together and kind of like each other.  So Saturday, my husband was mowing the grass and found two baby turtles in the enclosure!  We found the nest site and looked for any stragglers, but it seems Yogurt only had two eggs in her clutch.  The babies are doing okay, but one seems to be peeling a bit.  I will try to insert a picture of them here for you guys!  They are two cute and only about an inch big!  My nephew has named them Crush and Manny. 

[kickingandscreaming]

Congratulations on your new family members. 

I live downstairs from a good-sized box turtle named Wilburforce.  He  belongs to my tenants.  So I guess he's my tenant too.

[iolaire]

nice!

[kristina]

Hello smartcookie and many thanks for sharing this picture with us.
The two turtles look absolutely adorable and I am sure there is lots of fun.
Best wishes from Kristina.

[smartcookie]

I may have posted this too soon.  We lost one last night.  The other still looks healthy and is doing all the normal turtle things, so I think he is going to be okay.  The one we lost had some shell peeling and a small dent in his shell that he had since he hatched.  I think he was just malformed. 

[Rerun]

Sorry about the one.  But the one is very cute.

 

[smartcookie]

Thank you!  I prepared myself that at least one would pass, if not both.  Turtle hatchlings have a 10% survival rate in the wild... I don't think it is much better in captivity.  They are just so vulnerable when they are little!  Once they are about 5 years old, their shells become hinged and they can close up completely to avoid attacks from predators.  That is why they are called box turtles! 

[Simon Dog]

What do you feed the turtles?

[smartcookie]

Right now I am offering the baby soft body meal worms or caterpillars coated in a calcium powder.  My big guys, I let them hunt in their enclosures for bugs, feed them a box turtle pellet food and give them fresh fruits and vegetables.  They get pet store bought worms and caterpillars for treats.  All the plants in their enclosure are edible for them.  So they get a pretty varied diet.  My male turtle loves earthworms, slugs, bananas and strawberries.  My female likes bananas, blood worms, caterpillars and snails.  I try to keep their diet pretty similar to what they were eating in the wild for the most part. 

[Rerun]

So, the babies, when born are just on their own??  Miracle you found them in the grass.  Are they about as big as a BB?

[Charlie B53]

I use to LOVE to eat Turtles!  The chocolate and Caramel ones.

Neighbor told me a few years ago to be careful mowing around one of my nig cedar trees out back because he watched a turtle lay her eggs under there.  If they hatched I bet his chickens got them as he lets the Girls out most every day to run and feed off the natural bugs.  They always have their seed feeders filled twice daily also, but store bought never compares to Nature.

Once in a while a BIG 3 foot plus Leather back snapper is seen crossing the roadway not far from here.  I've never seen it.  Amazing how large some breeds can get, and not sure if all but some can live to very long ages.

[Simon Dog]

I was at an outdoor event at a gun range during turtle season.   Nobody wanted to hurt the turtles (and none were) so we set up a collection box and every time it got up to a dozen or so, we'd send someone with an ATV into the woods to let them go.  They were all about 5" in diameter, but when I went on one of the freedom runs for the little guys in the box, there was a 12" snapper at the drop off point.   I sure hope he wasn't a cannibal.

I think it's excellent you have an outdoor pen and natural food so they don't unlearn how to survive in the wild.

[smartcookie]

The baby is about an inch and half long.  And yes, babies are on their own once they hatch.  Only about 10% of babies survive in the wild.  My adult turtles are between five and eight inches long, so not too big.  These guys live up to 70 years, apparently. 

My hubby and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon and got to go to a sea turtle farm on the Grand Caymans.  It was incredible!  The adults were huge!  I would definitely recommend that experience to anyone who can go. 

I have moved a couple of snapping turtles off the road when I worked in hospice and was traveling a lot.  Those suckers are pretty big sometimes!  I only moved small ones.  Good thing they don't have long necks or I would have no fingers left!  I remember as a kid seeing a huge snapping turtle on our street.  All of the kids were told to go to the garage and we watched the adults capture him in a trashcan.  He almost didn't fit in the trashcan!