[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Eastern Box Turtle (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/23/2013 5:41:23 AM EDT
Met this fellow in the yard this morning.
Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) can live to be 100 years old, or so I am told. This one was fair sized, with shell diameter around 8 inches. |
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My GF does this also. She's gonna get hit one day trying it.  Quoted:
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I stop and move one out of the road about once a week this time of year. Got one out of I-64 yesterday. 
My GF does this also. She's gonna get hit one day trying it. I don't know about her, but I stand back a bit and hope really hard until there's a break in traffic. |
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Helped this one across the road last week. About 2 feet in diameter, big, heavy old guy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/9897521634_bc0f0b5b0e_b.jpg Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? a really old guy... have to watch them those necks can reach further than you think |
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a really old guy... have to watch them those necks can reach further than you think Quoted:
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Helped this one across the road last week. About 2 feet in diameter, big, heavy old guy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/9897521634_bc0f0b5b0e_b.jpg Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? a really old guy... have to watch them those necks can reach further than you think I was wearing welding gloves and the Carhartt coat I keep in my trunk, and we used a snow shovel and a cardboard box to move him so his underside wouldn't be dragging on the asphalt. Was looking around with a "WTF?" look. I know they can bite HARD, yeah, I had snappers around growing up.  (little, though, they looked different.)
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A few years ago on a scorching day during a drought I saw one trying to cross the highway. I stopped and picked him up (careful, they'll take a dump) and brought him into work. Put him in a cardboard box with some water and he slurped it up.
Took him home and fed him earthworms from the bait shop, lettuce, raw shrimp. Got him back into shape and took him to our duck club to some good turtle territory. |
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I was wearing welding gloves and the Carhartt coat I keep in my trunk, and we used a snow shovel and a cardboard box to move him so his underside wouldn't be dragging on the asphalt. Was looking around with a "WTF?" look. I know they can bite HARD, yeah, I had snappers around growing up. Quoted:
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Helped this one across the road last week. About 2 feet in diameter, big, heavy old guy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/9897521634_bc0f0b5b0e_b.jpg Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? a really old guy... have to watch them those necks can reach further than you think I was wearing welding gloves and the Carhartt coat I keep in my trunk, and we used a snow shovel and a cardboard box to move him so his underside wouldn't be dragging on the asphalt. Was looking around with a "WTF?" look. I know they can bite HARD, yeah, I had snappers around growing up. Spiked Tail? Aligator Snapping Turtle. Forget the gloves...you'll need gauntlets. They will remove digits with the greatest of ease. They can live a few hundred years as well. ETA: no spikes on shell....just a common one.....the statement about fingers still stands..... |
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Spiked Tail? Aligator Snapping Turtle. Forget the gloves...you'll need gauntlets. They will remove digits with the greatest of ease. They can live a few hundred years as well. Quoted:
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Helped this one across the road last week. About 2 feet in diameter, big, heavy old guy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/9897521634_bc0f0b5b0e_b.jpg Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? a really old guy... have to watch them those necks can reach further than you think I was wearing welding gloves and the Carhartt coat I keep in my trunk, and we used a snow shovel and a cardboard box to move him so his underside wouldn't be dragging on the asphalt. Was looking around with a "WTF?" look. I know they can bite HARD, yeah, I had snappers around growing up. Spiked Tail? Aligator Snapping Turtle. Forget the gloves...you'll need gauntlets. They will remove digits with the greatest of ease. They can live a few hundred years as well. He did look old. And nobody got near his head, the gloves were for the hind claws when maneuvering him with the snowshovel. We didn't want his underside scuffed on the road. He was not happy. Did the gap-jawed "I'ma cut you" look a few times. Since it seemed to work without injury, the procedure we used was: - Put large cardboard box immediately in front of turtle. - Get big snow shovel under back end of turtle - Lever turtle into box - Drag box to other side of road, tip to let turtle slide out No body parts were anywhere near the dangerous end.
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We find them in our yard semi-regularly. Kids love it, anytime I find one we check them out and we try to just leave them alone.
Now, I must warn you, there was an "incident" last year that I can only now talk about. I had recently taken delivery of a new tractor for around the house, a sub compact John Deere (1026R) with a large mid mount mower deck (60D, 60" wide/3 blades/side discharge). You sit much higher that I was used to, much larger tractor and deck that our old lawn tractor and I was out cutting the grass for one of the first times getting used to it. I'm crusing around, amazed at how powerful and easy it is to cut my thick grass, blah blah blah. As I glance down I see something dark, small and in front of the tractor (came around a bush). Before I could stop or avoid it, I ran over it and it went under the mower deck. 26 HP, 19 PTO HP, 3 blades, something like 17k RPM. All I could see were chunks of Mr. Turtle flying everywhere. Only good thing was that the kids were inside. I stopped, went and told my wife so that she would keep them inside for a few while I picked up the pieces. Nasty. Moral of story: Don't try to make turtle soup with a tractor. |
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He did look old. And nobody got near his head, the gloves were for the hind claws when maneuvering him with the snowshovel. We didn't want his underside scuffed on the road. He was not happy. Did the gap-jawed "I'ma cut you" look a few times. Easiest way to controll them is to just find a branch and have them bit it and then drag them around or pick them up. He'll let go when he's good and ready.  I understand about the belly though...
That one looks mighty old. Looks like he's had a puncture at one point as well near the top right of his shell as well. I have heard stories of those guys being found with musket balls and arrow heads in their shells. Not sure how true that is though..... |
I watched for awhile this girl walk around a parking lot. I snapped a photo before she went back to her burrow. BTW. You can tell the sex of "Gopher" turtles by their bottom plate as the same with some other turtles.... And that big sucker was a snapping turtle and a big one too!!!
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I like turtles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y |
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My GF does this also. She's gonna get hit one day trying it. Quoted:
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I stop and move one out of the road about once a week this time of year. Got one out of I-64 yesterday.
My GF does this also. She's gonna get hit one day trying it. We have gopher turtles by me, always seem to be crossing the road. WTF is so important on the other side? Looks just like the side he was just on! And we stop and move them too. |
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I had a toad the size of my fist greet me in my basement this morning as I was leaving for work. He was pretty slow, I guess he'd been in there on the tile floor drying out since the night before when I was running in and out of the back door. Doused him off good in some lukewarm water and let him go out back by the crick in a spot known for it's giant-ass worms, he should be ok.
The wife says amphibians are a sign of a good, clean local environment, and we do have our share. |
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Helped this one across the road last week. About 2 feet in diameter, big, heavy old guy. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/9897521634_bc0f0b5b0e_b.jpg Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? Snapping turtle? |
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I had a toad the size of my fist greet me in my basement this morning as I was leaving for work. He was pretty slow, I guess he'd been in there on the tile floor drying out since the night before when I was running in and out of the back door. Doused him off good in some lukewarm water and let him go out back by the crick in a spot known for it's giant-ass worms, he should be ok.
The wife says amphibians are a sign of a good, clean local environment, and we do have our share. Except for frogs in my pool. Those get caught by leaf net and sent NASA-style over the fence as disincentive to do it again. The coolest turtle I've ever seen was a friendly land tortoise. I was feeding it leaves it liked, it was like sitting next to some Henson-created alien. Seemed very old and wise. |
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I believe that is what is called a Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Do not mess with this guy. Quoted:
Had a spiked tail. Anybody know what kind it is? I believe that is what is called a Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Do not mess with this guy. The dog found on last summer and ALMOST got out of the way when he got tired of her nosing him. She came away with a small cut on her nose and a bad attitude about turtles, but got off lighter than she probably should have. I dowsed him with a bucket of water, but that was all I was willing to do, at the time. I sure wasn't going to screw around with trying to pick him up. He was a BIG dude. The woman has seen him since, so I guess he got on just fine. Don't know what he was doing, across the street from me on a scorcher of a day, though. |
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I haven't seen nary a single turtle this season , and they are usually crossing the street right around the corner . I miss em , usually lots of pints and boxes ...not many snappers . Q: Is it better to shoot the snappers due to the # of trout eggs that they eat , or is that an urban woodland myth ? |
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When I was a kid living in Fort Riley, I found one with a small hole drilled in the lip of his shell, so I tied him up with about 50' of string in the middle of our back yard. There were plenty of 100 y.o. walnut trees to shade him, and I made him a little pond.
The goddamned bluejays pecked in his skull. I was absolutely mortified. |
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When I was a kid living in Fort Riley, I found one with a small hole drilled in the lip of his shell, so I tied him up with about 50' of string in the middle of our back yard. There were plenty of 100 y.o. walnut trees to shade him, and I made him a little pond. The goddamned bluejays pecked in his skull. I was absolutely mortified. I fucking hate bluejays. Consider him avenged. |
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When I was a kid living in Fort Riley, I found one with a small hole drilled in the lip of his shell, so I tied him up with about 50' of string in the middle of our back yard. There were plenty of 100 y.o. walnut trees to shade him, and I made him a little pond. The goddamned bluejays pecked in his skull. I was absolutely mortified. Thats horrible. I hope you and your bb gun exacted sweet justice. |
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We had a Golden Retriever that used to love to bring us box turtles. We were sitting out in the yard one day and ended up with five of them at our feet! He'd set one down and then take off and find another one! He was a blast. RIP, Grammy.  My dog found one a couple years ago. She brought it to me and then got annoyed when it went in its shell and stopped playing with her. She kept nudging it with her nose and barking at it. I had to move it outside the fence. |
I walked out in my backyard a few months ago and there is my female Great Dane playing catch with herself with a small Desert Tortoise. I was like: Fucking great! I'm gonna go to jail now because my dog doesn't know that they are endangered and you aren't supposed to touch them.
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Spiked Tail? Aligator Snapping Turtle. Forget the gloves...you'll need gauntlets. They will remove digits with the greatest of ease. They can live a few hundred years as well. ETA: no spikes on shell....just a common one.....the statement about fingers still stands..... Saved one this summer. 
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