A Turtle we met...

AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
edited June 9, 2004 in Wildlife
MaTT is a true animal lover, and if he had it his way, our home would be filled with all sorts of creatures, large and small.
While driving along Blue Ridge Dr. (Isle of Wight, not the Mountains) I came across this Box Turtle who had been traumatized by the car before mine. So I brought her home for MaTT to tend to for the day, and then together we released her into the underbrush on our land. She was the most inquisitive Box Turtle I had ever seen.
MaTT named her, "SaM."
ginette

"MaTT & SaM"
4534551-L.jpg

"Companions"
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"Smug Nose"
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"Details"
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"Beautiful Eyes"
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"Rich Tan"
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"Best Side"
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"Yes?"
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Comments appreciated...
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Comments

  • SeeMoonSeeMoon Banned Posts: 355 Major grins
    edited May 25, 2004
    I really like the last 3; for the focus on the skin instead of her face (Tan) and the sharpness of her eyes (best side) The last one I would have cropped a little bit more for a even better "hiding from the outside world" effect, but still; great pictures again! clap.gif
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited May 25, 2004
    SeeMoon wrote:
    I really like the last 3; for the focus on the skin instead of her face (Tan) and the sharpness of her eyes (best side) The last one I would have cropped a little bit more for a even better "hiding from the outside world" effect, but still; great pictures again! clap.gif
    SeeMoon,
    I also had this one, but had not linked it to the site... It may be closer to where you feel it should be headed. I have many close-ups of parts of her body, she was quite the willing subject, and honestly not in any hurry to toddle off.
    Thanks for the input...
    ginette
    4540977-L.jpg
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • GREAPERGREAPER Registered Users Posts: 3,113 Major grins
    edited May 25, 2004
    Very cool shots. I met a urtle this weekend as well but he had no desire to get to know me. I did get this before he ducked under.

    4546035-M.jpg
    http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/

  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited May 25, 2004
    Very Nice, Greaper!!!
    GREAPER wrote:
    Very cool shots. I met a urtle this weekend as well but he had no desire to get to know me. I did get this before he ducked under.

    4546035-M.jpg
    Greaper...
    That shot is too great! Obvious though that your Turtle was wanting some private time... Skinny dipping perhaps...
    I love the reflection and the surface of the water!
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • tsiyatsiya Registered Users Posts: 92 Big grins
    edited May 26, 2004
    Great Creatures
    When My Daughter was about Matt's age, We ended up with several Box Turtles in the yard. She would rescue them, and then make life so easy for them that they never left. If You work at it they will actually come for food when You call. Every year we had nests dug right at the back step, and got to see babies come up out of the ground. Then We had to round them up and release them where there was more room.
    After 10s of thousands of years of separation, the nesting and hatching cycle matches that of the sea turtles, almost to the day.
    The variety in Florida has different markings, and even vary in different parts of the state.
    Bob

    http://www.pbase.com/tsiya


    http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/
  • AltProAltPro Registered Users Posts: 478 Major grins
    edited May 26, 2004
    What did you feed them?
    tsiya wrote:
    When My Daughter was about Matt's age, We ended up with several Box Turtles in the yard. She would rescue them, and then make life so easy for them that they never left. If You work at it they will actually come for food when You call.
    The Boys, (MaTT & LuC) would love it!!! What did you feed them to keep them 'round?
    ginette
    "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
  • SandySandy Registered Users Posts: 762 Major grins
    edited May 27, 2004
    I have two box turtles, I found one while hiking a few years ago and then bought another one to keep it company. While looking for Pathways I came across a couple of Sliders in the Koi Pond.
  • tsiyatsiya Registered Users Posts: 92 Big grins
    edited May 27, 2004
    Box Turtle Diet
    AltPro wrote:
    The Boys, (MaTT & LuC) would love it!!! What did you feed them to keep them 'round?
    ginette
    They are omnivores, and even scavengers at times. They love ground beef, strawberries, raw fish, bananas, bits of apple or pear sometimes. Crazy about earthworms and crickets.Easy to feed. I have had them take food from My fingers, they don't try to bite, but be careful. Tough and fibrous stuff can give them trouble, they have to be able to pull of pieces small enough to swallow.
    When You feed them, approach calling out the name You chose, You may find they start toward You when they hear it, after a while. It is Pavlonian conditioning, but it is learning. There seems to be more brain in those little heads than most people suspect. I have a Friend coming tomorrow, I told Him about the Little Florida Bronze Frog I've been photographing, told Him it swims to the side of the trough and waits for Me to feed it flies, He thinks I've gone bush crazy out here, He is in for a suprise, unless some critter eats My frog tonight. Got a spare bathroom I never use, may have to put My frog in there! Do You suppose this is why My Wife moved out?
    Bob

    http://www.pbase.com/tsiya


    http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/
  • GREAPERGREAPER Registered Users Posts: 3,113 Major grins
    edited May 27, 2004
    It's possible....
    http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/

  • SeamaidenSeamaiden Registered Users Posts: 339 Major grins
    edited June 9, 2004
    Those are great shots and great stories, everyone. I rescued a couple of box turtles when I worked at Petco HQ - we named them "Speed" and "Bump". When I was young we lived in Shreveport, went camping every weekend. We always rescued the turtles on the road, but saw many, many dead. I remember clearly that I was so compelled, at the tender age of 7, that I wrote a letter to President Nixon informing him that something had to be done about all the roadkill. He never wrote back, but as long as we were there, we always rescued the turtles.
    Youth and Enthusiasm
    Are No Match For
    Age and Treachery
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