Morning all
I was awaken this morning by my DH saying quick come look...so I go look and here in our yard is company.
Doesn't try to "run away" and when I went to look again I didn't find it but much to my surprise was in the garage.
I've put it back out under the bushes for safe hiding but does he/she need to be at the lake?
what do I feed it?
type? is it a box?
I wish I knew turtles better. I don't think it's a box turtle as it doesn't have that little red patch by the ear. Or is it a terrapin?
your guess is as good as mine it just showed up this morning.
How cute!!
I don't know what your situation is, but if it were me (I live in a house in a neighborhood) I'd take it down to Village Creek -- it's a park area they keep fairly wild. If you're more out in real nature, you might just let it do whatever it wants. I'm too close to street to do that.
we are in the country and I just looked and it has kinda burrowed in under the bushes out front so I think I'll leave it there and see if it sticks around or not ...I just don't want it to be a speed bump out on the road but our house is not real close to the road
Wash your hands well anytime you touch it. Turtles carry salmonella.
It looks like a desert tortoise. I have a friend who has one. We used to have a great time feeding him grapes, cherry tomatoes, and rose petals.
I had to give her desert tortoise shots one time and the Vet never said anything about salmonella, just told me how to hold it to give a shot in the leg.
It is a box turtle or land turtle, don't put it in the lake as it will drown. It is a vegetarian and best taken to a pasture and released.
I didn't touch it with my bare hands I had on my garden gloves
Thanks 6841 My first thought was a box turtle but I am no expert on them lol
it's burrowed down in the mulch under the bush in front of the house now so I'll leave it be for now til it gets cooler if it comes back out
Box turtles are not vegetarian! Tortoises are but Not Boxies! I had one for more than 20 years and if I had tried to make it eat just vegetables..it would have tried to eat me!
That is an Eastern Box Turtle.
well I am in East Texas lol does that count???
I just don't want to let the lil guy die and am thinking maybe I could play up the fact it did come to our yard and that means I need a small lil pond type thing ....hahahahaha...think DH would fall for that????....not
Oh, YES, Mibus2 -- it's utterly crucial for you to provide a water source for this little lost critter... I'm thinking pond, with waterfall... lotuses, cattails...
;}
(Sometimes it's very nice not to have a DH...!)
lol well he is going to laugh at me to start with then ask me where I am going to put this "pond" then ask where am I going to get the money it will take to build it and the plants...but dang we are on 2 acres and if I could get a backhoe in here I could dig up the bamboo roots and where we dig that out I could put a small pond and have it flow down through the terrace (take come of it out) so the water fall would be there and it wouldn't be far from the back of the house so when we sit out back in the evenings we would have the sound of the water to help us relax ...hehehe..sounds wonderful doesn't it in my dream.
Sending vibes to your DH: "make a pond for Phyllis, make a pond for Phyllis, make a pond for Phyllis!"
Very nice visitor you got there. Have no clue about turtles, though I used to have two water turtles a long time ago.
He may be "company" but I don't think he's lost -- he found the perfect environment and made himself to home! :-)
Carla
goofy the vibes weren't strong enough he busted out laughing at me LOL and the lil guy is still out front just moved under a different bush
I say more of us vibe Phyllis' hubby to make him change his mind. As for the "lil guy", he sounds like a keeper, as Carla said, he certainly must have found the perfect home.
*sigh* well I just went to look and she is gone from under the bushes or at least I didn't find her and yes I say her as I finally got to sit here long enough to do some surfing around to see what all I could find on it.
It is a box land turtle as Keith said and both melva and him were correct on eating habits when young they eat more "meat" but as they get older it is more vegetation and the reason I say she is because a female has a higher rounder shell then a male and the pictures I looked at made me say female.
But oh well we will if she is still around tomorrow
Hey, Phyllis, don't worry about getting the plants. Sheila has plenty to share. LOL, JK! Actually she does have a lot of cool stuff which I've been the beneficiary of, And now I have a lot to share too.
The best thing I ever did was put in my tiny little pond. If I got paid for every hour I've spent out there watching it, I'd be rich.
Right now the tadpoles (the ones I thought had all died) are morphing into toads and leaving the pond. Such cute little guys. They're about 1/4" long and look like little bugs hopping around. I just can't resist helping them out when I see them struggling. LOL!
well until I get him convinced to let me put one in and can afford to get everything needed it is just a dream but I'll keep that in mind if they day ever arrives lol
I am feeding nine that live in our large pond. They are great fun to watch.
I'm not sure what flavor your turtle is but I can bet what it was doing... On two mornings recently, I found one 100 yards from the pond and laying eggs. Amazing how far they travel for just the correct spot. Also amazing how quickly they can move on land. They will be there one minute and gone the next. Great fun to see but don't worry... nature takes care of itself!
Pod, are you saying that Phillis is going to have baby-turtles?
umm excuse me but I was broke but am fixed now so I am not having any babies thank you very much ...rofl..and I did not notice any eggs under the bushes....but that would be so neat to find she did lay eggs
Not sure if I still have the photo of the one I found. They dig a hole to place the eggs in. It is neat as they carry water in the shell to moisten it. They cover the eggs by moving the dirt over them with their hind legs.
Yep Mibus ~ you might be a Turtle granny! LOL
Oh, my goodness. Do all those tadpoles mean I'm a froggy granny?
ROTFLOL with just the images: Mibus first a turtle mommy, than a granny... and now PB spoils her froggy grandkids!
hey if I'm gonna be a turtle granny then you betcha your a froggy granny LMAO
As long as this line of logic doesn't make me a hornworm granny!!! PLEASE let it be for reptiles and amphibians only!!!
Brigidlily you're in trouble... I didn't find any restrictions or discriminations!
Hornworms... I know someone is going to throw rotten eggs. I watched hummingbird moths the other evening trying for a good photo. Scratched most of them... here he is coming in to a bloom...
This one stayed in the bloom so long I thought it was stuck!
Ducking from the rotten eggs now... lol
mm haven't noticed any of those around guess I better take a better look at things in the morning.
Mibus ~ those are the parents of the tomato hornworm. If you hadn't run into the hornworm, they can strip a tomato, pepper or eggplant of the foliage faster than you can say "what happened!" The hummingbird moth only comes out at dusk and is one of the night pollinators. Recommended treatment for the hornworm is stomping him... LOL They haven't bothered my mater plants this year (yet).
Mibus, what's the news? Where's the kid?
Our turtle, Prince loved to eat meat...and he was oh..40 years old or so...
http://philmc.com/mlw/prince.htm
Melva, that's amazing and a very beautiful story!
I found this guy eating figs under our fig tree.
He came back the next day and gave him scraps from the fig preserves I was making.
He eat from the plate like he was a pet cat or dog.
