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Dog found a box turtle....

2K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  DryHeat 
#1 ·
...in yard at 6AM this morning! I am new to NC so was not expecting this! I headed right out when the dog squeaked and gave me that look...you know the one if you have a cattle dog! LOL There was this pretty 6" long turtle all shut up tight. I got it and brought it in, put safely in a box with lining, Fwater, clover and banana slices. No answer at Fish and Game as its Sat. Asked my neighbor about a safe place to let her go( Yes, it was a girl.) He thought a great place would be The Merchants Mill Pond Nat'l Park so off we went for the hour's drive. Found another box turtle on the road so took it along also. Found a beautiful place after a good walk along the pond. First time I have seen cypress trees!
Let both turtles go, visited some pretty places after a nice walk and headed home. Cool place to go canoeing I am told so must go back and do that! Hope everyone is in for a nice weekend and holiday getting our flags out.

LQ
 
#6 ·
Why in the world wouldn’t you just leave it where it was, or, at most, return it to the nearest tree line and draw your dog’s attention elsewhere?

You seriously found a box turtle in your yard, so you picked it up, put it in a box, and made plans to drive it an hour away?

I don’t get it.

If the box turtle population around your place is anything like it is around my place, and you’re going to take that same approach every time you find one, you better just plan on keeping your weekends free, and your car gassed up.
 
#8 ·
No turtles (or tomatoes) were harmed in the creation of this thread.
:rolleyes:

They are new to the area, they DID ask around first, and ended up discovering some of the many wonders of North Carolina's State Park.
When I was a very young boy, I did that a few times, only kept them as pets for awhile before releasing them. I'm pretty sure it's "illegal" for Gopher Tortoises and Snapping Turtles in Florida too.
Oh friggen well, life goes on doesn't it?

A border collie may not crack one open, but I found a few empty shells in my yard over the years from my larger dogs
I still stop and scoot the errant wanderers out of the road when I see them...........except for that full grown snapper I saw a few years ago. I don't know how he managed to homestead in an apple orchard @ 3000 ft. in NC but he would've broken a shovel handle in half with those jaws. :eek:

Little Quacker, enjoy your new home, but don't be surprised at some of the stuff you hear from your new neighbors, just learn to use an extra filter or two and follow your heart.
 
#14 ·
No turtles (or tomatoes) were harmed in the creation of this thread.
:rolleyes:
Actually, funny you should say that, one was.

A wild animal with a home-range was uprooted from its range and set loose somewhere it’s almost sure to die.

It’s not one bit different than when a child finds an “abandoned” nest full of baby birds and decides to care for them until mother returns. It’s an excusable mistake from a child, and hopefully they learn the lesson. Unfortunately, not all do.
 
#9 ·
LOL You can bet you all, that the turtle was NOT safe with an Australian Cattle Dog guarding the yard! The turtle needed to be taken somewhere safe, not only from my predator-minded guy but from the pit bulls next door. My Boy Ben is also a tried and true snake killer and I am thinking I'll be kept busy just saving snakes too! I could probably just take them a couple of blocks away and release them into the thick cover at the canal that encircles my neighborhood on two sides. Going to be interesting in this place that does not have the wildlife I am used to. At least it has some. LQ
 
#10 ·
I am thinking I'll be kept busy just saving snakes too!
Most snake bites occur when people try to handle or kill them.

I'd suggest you leave them all alone since you run the risk of coming across a venomous species.

The wildlife here has survived quite well without any help so far.

There's no need to break the law and put yourself at risk.
 
#15 ·
It's definitely illegal with the gopher tortoises in FL. I live on protected land with a RIDICULOUS amount of them, as well as a giant pack of coyotes. The dogs and I have been watching them lay their eggs everywhere. Most I do is encourage them to go in someone else's lot to do things, so the dogs won't scare them. This is Deja's first year with turtles, so she barks and makes like a pufferfish, scares them silly. Tao just comes to tell me he found another one.

If the turtle's too scared to move out on its own, I have a neighbor to come and move the turtle back to another lot closer to the lakes. We're two-three lots up from the lake.
 
#19 ·
Thanks oceantoad. After the holiday was over I got hold of the North Carolina wildlife specialists and they said the protected State Park I took the turtles too was the place. No Pitt bulls, cattle dogs or vehicle traffic there to injure or kill them. Well, there are alligators there but as box turtles are terrestrial no worries re the gators. LQ
 
#21 ·
Had one get stuck sideways in a livestock fence panel at the edge of our timber last week. Collie was out of sight barking his head off. Went back and unstuck the turtle so he could be on his way. Our dog would never have hurt the turtle. He was barking out of fear more than anything.
 
#23 ·
"I thought this was going to be about soup. They are good eating." Back something over fifty years ago, a family found one or more box turtles and made a stew out of them. Unfortunately, box turtles are unaffected by Amanita (death angel) mushroom toxins; this one had been eating some, not an uncommon part of their diet. Everyone in the family, I think about five people, died from their ignorance. Very unpleasantly, at that. Stick to snapping turtles for stew, would be my advice. Also, the idea of a "hoop snake" is total silliness. No such thing exists. Hopefully the poster of that reference was simply trying a trollish send-up.
 
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