Today we had a visitor in the garden. Sunny, the poodle, discovered it in the sand next to my new raised beds.
The visitor was an Eastern box turtle, or Terrapene carolina. The box turtle doesn't travel far in its lifetime (which is recorded to be up to 50 years or more), so we may see more of this one. We know it's a female because of her eye color (amber or brown); a male will have red irises instead. The box turtle eats insects such as worms and slugs, and vegetable matter like berries and mushrooms.
You should never take a turtle from the wild and try to raise it as a pet. The box turtle has very specific needs which, if not met, can cause the turtle to die within three days. Box turtles also have a homing instinct so that when released, it will try to return to its birth area; this can be a dangerous journey for a turtle, who may try to cross busy streets to get back to its home.
I'm hoping she'll be a regular visitor to my garden, eating slugs and other icky things for me. Sunny seemed to find her interesting too, although I doubt the turtle could say the same for the poodle.
Wishing you happiness in spades,
M.R.S.
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| Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina |
The visitor was an Eastern box turtle, or Terrapene carolina. The box turtle doesn't travel far in its lifetime (which is recorded to be up to 50 years or more), so we may see more of this one. We know it's a female because of her eye color (amber or brown); a male will have red irises instead. The box turtle eats insects such as worms and slugs, and vegetable matter like berries and mushrooms.
You should never take a turtle from the wild and try to raise it as a pet. The box turtle has very specific needs which, if not met, can cause the turtle to die within three days. Box turtles also have a homing instinct so that when released, it will try to return to its birth area; this can be a dangerous journey for a turtle, who may try to cross busy streets to get back to its home.
I'm hoping she'll be a regular visitor to my garden, eating slugs and other icky things for me. Sunny seemed to find her interesting too, although I doubt the turtle could say the same for the poodle.
Wishing you happiness in spades,
M.R.S.
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