Anybody have a "fishing box turtle"?

[Tccarolina]

I was grilling some chicken this evening, and wandered over to the turtle side of the house to check for nesting activity. Molly was in the bottom of the pond again, looking for worms. Then I realized "She only does this the week before she lays eggs!" She should be laying her second clutch soon. She did earlier, before she laid her first clutch, and she did last spring also. I haven't been able to photograph her very well, because its only in the evening, and the reflections are bad. She walks around the bottom of the pond and eats drowned worms. I had an eastern box turtle growing up that would go to the bottom of his pond and try to catch fish, but I never saw him catch anything. Some of my other box turtles will go to the bottom of the pond briefly, then frantically climb the side. They never appear to be doing it for food.
Molly walks around the bottom with her neck outstretched, moving her head back and forth, looking for worms. She finds one and eats it while still under water! Every once in a while she comes up the side to get a breath, then goes back down.
It's going to be interesting to see in the coming years if this really is a pre-nesting activity, or if its just coincidence.

Has anyone else observed this?


In this picture you can barely make her out in the bottom of the pond (in the dark shadow of the fence).

Close up.

 

[dmarcus]

Very interesting and cool photos...you can barely see her in the first photo...

 

[Neal]

This is very cool, all my box turtles floated. I didn't know they could go all the way under.

 

[Missy]

Neat I would like to see your enclosure, the pond is beautiful.

 

[DerekS]

wow thats cool!

 

[Tccarolina]

Missy,
Here's my pen, winter view. It's quite vegetated right now. A little creek runs down the length of the center and trickles into the creek. It has a bio filter and a UV sterilizer filter, which is oversized so it hopefully gets parasites as well as bacteria. The rest of the pen is watered by an automatic sprinkler system.

The residents.

 

[emydidman]

Haha, Steve, I recognize your photos from KS! Nice group. I like Goldie. I have an Eastern named Goldie as well.

And, nice pond. Is that concrete? Nice workmanship.

My gulf coast box turtles love to be in the water. They are always nibbling on something in there...whether it be animal or vegetable. They seem to like the moss that grows on the logs. Now that I think of it, the only other NA species that I ever see consuming anything in the water (unless I plop it right in front of them) are the desert box turtles. A few of them hunt tadpoles in the shallows of their pond. All of my ponds become filled with gray treefrog tadpoles all summer long.

 

[yagyujubei]

Really nice pen. Several of mine will sit submerged for long periods. Some will stay in the water for weeks at a time, leave to feed, and back in the water (even all night)

 

[Neal]

What nice box turtles you have.

 

[Jacob7Jones]

She seems very interesting but not able to see her properly.Please upload her clear pic if you can interested to see her.

 

[Jacob7Jones]

She seems very interesting but not able to see her properly.Please upload her clear pic if you can interested to see her.