New turtle

[Mistwalker]

Was out in the woods, looking for snakes, in fact. I didn't find any snakes, but I did find a big eastern box turtle, that looks as if she's had a hard life. One side of her shell is indented, meaning it was broken at one point, and she's missing claws and her tail is gone.

Haven't decided if I'll keep her or not.

Some pics:

 

[Madeline]

Poor thing!

 

[Mandi]

keep her! box turtles are great and really easy to take care of! I miss having one

 

[Mistwalker]

mandi: They aren't hard to come by here. I see them almost daily crossing the roads (and also dead on the roads).

 

[8legs2shave]

:razz: You can make his/her life better!

 

[Malkavian]

mandi: They aren't hard to come by here. I see them almost daily crossing the roads (and also dead on the roads).

Quite the opposite in western NC. I used to keep one or two for a period of time every year when I was younger...now I'm lucky to find one once every two or three years

 

[Wade]

It appears that injury healed up long ago and the turtle is doing fine on it's own. No need to keep it unless you just want it as a pet. Nothing wrong with that, but box turtles are long term comitments and have been know to live beyond 100 years. Those interested in keeping box turtles would do well to contact your local reptile rescue group, as they are often seeking homes for unrealesable animals.

If you release it, be sure to let it go near where you found it. If it's taken from it's home range, it may not be able to find a suitable hibernaculum when the time comes and freeze to death.

Wade

 

[Mistwalker]

I think I'm going to keep her. And where I found her is about 200 feet from my front door, so if I needed to let her go, I could.

 

[cloud711]

yup i think you should keep him. at least it would have a better chance of survival with you. take care of the poor little thing. goodluck

 

[Wade]

The injury looks like it's years, possibly decades old. It was obviously getting along quite well without human assistance. Nothing wrong with keeping it as a pet if someone wants to, but I hardly think that it needs help.

Turtles that have recent severe injuries, on the other hand, may benefit from human intervetion.

Wade

 

[skinheaddave]

I think I'm going to keep her. And where I found her is about 200 feet from my front door, so if I needed to let her go, I could.

There are some issues with that, including the potential release of pathogens into the native population. I would either release her immediately or make the commitment for a lifetime of care.

As Wade has stated, the injury is obviously healed and there is no need to keep the "poor thing." On the other hand, if you have become attached to it and can commit, there is no reason you shouldn't keep it unless it is protected in some way in your area.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Mistwalker]

I'm not keeping it because I think it's in any danger, besides the normal danger of being flattened by a car or eaten by a dog (happens). I'm keeping it because I've always liked these turtles.

 

[Mistwalker]

Oh, and it couldn't have been much more than one decade ago, because judging by the plates, this girl is about 12, give or take a year.

 

[Schlyne]

You can't judge a turtle's age by it's plates. The plates may be added to more or less often than a year. It's more of a nutrition thing.