Not really sure where this fits...........

[kendall j]

DD and DW were on a walk today and saw a turtle in the ditch near the house. I went out to see it was a box turtle who had apparently been caught off guard by the sudden heavy rains and cold moving in. He was in a deep puddle and the cold was bothering him.

I know that sometimes warmer temps will fool them into coming out and they get caught in the cold, so I was planning to keep him until we had a warmenough day for him to find a suitable hibernation spot. What kind of daytime temps do I need to look for? Are 50s high enough or do I need to wait till a day in the 60s to take him back where I found him?

Thanks,

Kendall

[Beeman]

Nature does a pretty good job on it's own, I don't believe I would have messed with him. Believe it or not it's against the law in some states to keep box turtles.

[zookeeper16]

Someone in the Pet forum might be able to answer this for you.

[Danaus29]

Better to rescue one and set it free than let it die in a puddle, IMO.

A warm sunny day (50's is good) will be perfect. In the meantime feed it some worms and crickets and set a low water dish in with it.

[Walt K. in SW PA]

The best thing to do would be to leave it where it is. If you truly believed it was trapped and would never be able to get out then you could have taken it out of the ditch and placed it on a spot nearby facing the same direction and perhaps bury it under leaves and a little dirt if the weather was cold. Turtles live in a limited range and become disoriented and unable to find water and food if removed from their home "range"

[Otter]

You did the right thing. Box turtles can't swim. Just release him back near where you found him.

[Farmerwilly2]

Ah, another 'TURTLE RANGER' (insert fanfare) da da da daaaaa.
The world needs fewer drowned or smooshed turtles. Very comendable sir, very comendable.