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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Wanna Ride???

A little box turtle lives in our backyard. We have named the turtle "Speedy". It is hysterical to watch Ellie play with Speedy. She will occupy herself for hours. You would think Speedy would find a new home. Possibly Speedy enjoys Ellie! For the past two weeks, we keep finding Speedy in the swimming pool. I couldn't resist the photos!





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5 comments:

  1. MarkSeptember 9, 2009 at 8:17 AM

    Hi Terri,
    Box turtles are territorial and generally stay in their home ranges. You're lucky to have one, as their numbers are declining. Pools can be a hazard, since they're terrestrial. They do like water, but if they get in and can't get out, they will drown eventually. This component of your pool looks particularly dangerous. It might be a good idea to "turtle proof" it.

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  2. MarkSeptember 9, 2009 at 8:49 AM

    ps. My wife pointed out that the turtle is getting trapped in the pool and ending up in the drain. He's probably getting into the pool to soak and to drink, is likely to keep coming back to it and could easily end up drowning. If you can provide some kind of ramp with a surface he can climb that he can swim to and use to get out, it would probably solve the problem. That way you can continue to enjoy his presence.

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  3. TerriSeptember 9, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    Thanks Mark for the advise! We do not want anything to happen to Speedy and will come up with a plan to help in/out of the pool!

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  4. MarkSeptember 9, 2009 at 11:20 AM

    Thank you. Here are a couple of links that have more info about box turtles and conservation. They need our help these days.

    http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/neparc/Products/BoxTurtle.htm

    http://www.mckeever.org/turtle.html

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  5. Beth DunnSeptember 10, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    That happens to our neighbor--we kept on in a fish tank for a year (it smelled really awful) so we released it back into the wild. xoxo

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