New...and maybe in the wrong place!

[pmpattersn]

Hi, my name is Pat and I live in the southern USA and was on google trying to find about about a turtle who has made a home in my yard. Two or three times I was refered to this site for info, but now that I am here I see this is about totoises....and I wouldn't know one from the other! We were thinking we have just a common box turtle, but not sure. I don't know how he got in the yard as it is surrounded on 4 sides by a brick wall...although there is an iron gate and he may have walked on through, but it leads to the street, so...seems odd, we have never seen him here before and, poof there he is one day! anyway, i will do some reading on your site and see if I can figure out who our new guest is! We are mainly interested in just watching him, but I do want to make sure he has what he needs in our yard and that he is not "stuck " here.
Thanks in advance for all the info!

 

[mctlong]

Welcome to the forum! You're in the right place, lots of turtle owners here. Although I'm not one of them (I only have tortoises). I'm sure a turtle expert will come along shortly to ID your little yard mate.

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

This is an aquatic turtle, it lives in water.

 

[kathyth]

You are in the right place.
Could youossibly take a pucture of the turtle and post a picture?
Welcome!

Sounds to me like you have been adopted by ine of our shelled friends.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Pat, and welcome to the Forum!!

I'm not real sure, but I THINK your water turtle friend is a painted turtle. Do a GOOGLE image search for painted turtle and see if the pictures look like your turtle.

It probably came into your yard looking for a nesting site. Once she lays her eggs, she'll make her way back to whatever pond, stream or canal she came from.

 

[pmpattersn]

Interesting....there is no water near here, first of all...maybe a mile or so there is a pond...my yard is surrounded by a brick wall....all sides except one 3 ft space where a gate is...Also there is a photo of the turtle for whoever missed it in the top lef tocrner, he is really cute and if I have to dig him a pool I will!

 

[mctlong]

Maybe he's someone's pet? Could he have wanderd out of someone else's backyard?

 

[pmpattersn]

well i went out and dug him a little pond just in case...very shallow in case he can't swim and i put some mud in the bottom. It bothers me that his shell is just a little sunken in on the top, on the other hand he makes fast trips all over the yard, so not sure if it means anything,...i see little "dig schooch" marks in the dirt so i think he is finding some bugs or snails and slugs. Should I feed him any people food or asssume he is getting what he needs and l leave him alone....? This photo shows the top of his shell where it looks a little sunken in....

 

[pmpattersn]

and I did look up painted turtles and he does look like that...although not sure about all that red underbelly....I didn't want to pick him up yet, he seems to tolerate us and be curious and unafraid, more and more each time i see him! but i don't want to traumatize him...

 

[ascott]

http://www.reptilesncritters.com/care-guide-painted-turtle.php

I would suggest that unless you are going to set up a pond and such that you give a ride to this turtle back to where the water source is you said is,....a predatory bird may have swooped up this turtle and in flight dropped it....yes, it happens all of the time....or if this turtle came into your yard in the gate opening area it perhaps has simply turned itself around and is now trapped in your yard---after all, it does not understand the gate concept....

How long is the tail....does it stick out really long or is it kinda shorter? http://www.chelonia.org/sexing/sexing_Chrysemys_picta.htm

As previously stated, this perhaps is someones turtle...did you check with your surrounding neighbors? Post some signs?

 

[Yvonne G]

Water turtles can't swallow their food unless they're in the water.

 

[mike taylor]

The best thing to do is to put this turtle back in the wild where it came from that is if it is wild. Don't know if these turtles live in ponds or lakes in your area because I don't know where you live.
The last thing if you want to keep him/ her you need to make it a nice big pond to swim in like this. That pond is 100 gallons cost around three hundred dollars from home depot. Your going to need one bigger for this turtle at lest two to three hundred gallons if not more with a land area for it to lay eggs if it's a girl . Turtle are easy to get but are not cheep to care for and if you live somewhere it gets cold you have to set it up a indoor enclosure to.
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[pmpattersn]

Well the consensus is, he is a slider not a painted turtle. I would gladly return him to where he came from but he won't tell me! i live in a dense residential area 100 yards from a 6 lane busy road and shopping/office complex. Water in pond form is a good few miles from here. All my neighbors are older folks and none knows who the turtle belongs too. I am not trying to make a pet out of him, I just want to make sure he has what he needs if he indeed stays in this yard. I can't very well show him the gate and hope he makes it down the highway to safety...I dug him a small pool, he went in it once, i think by sheer luck, jumped out literally and has not been back in since. And if I did release him and he HAS been a pet, would he survive on his own? Well, we will just keep an eye out and see what happens.

 

[mike taylor]

Well from the looks of them nails and the long tell you have a boy . That is a good thing they stay smaller and don't need a huge set up . The little pond you got will need a filtering system .Home Depot has a good one for a hundred dollars or so . Good luck and like Yvonne said they can't eat if they are not in water .

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[pmpattersn]

he is in the pond, errr hole I should say. But it is enough he can move around freely and submerge himself, it will have to so for a few days. if he appears to be staying in it and survives a few days, we will dig him a nice big one. its just a hole and can be filled in with dirt later.

 

[Vickie]

Well the consensus is, he is a slider not a painted turtle. I would gladly return him to where he came from but he won't tell me! i live in a dense residential area 100 yards from a 6 lane busy road and shopping/office complex. Water in pond form is a good few miles from here. All my neighbors are older folks and none knows who the turtle belongs too. I am not trying to make a pet out of him, I just want to make sure he has what he needs if he indeed stays in this yard. I can't very well show him the gate and hope he makes it down the highway to safety...I dug him a small pool, he went in it once, i think by sheer luck, jumped out literally and has not been back in since. And if I did release him and he HAS been a pet, would he survive on his own? Well, we will just keep an eye out and see what happens.

Sliders you need to feed in the water btw if you decide to do so. They cannot eat on dry land. Also, from my experience they take very well to turtle pellets....again put in the water.

 

[pmpattersn]

he must be near death, he has been in my yard at least several weeks, can not come and go, and there was no water til today...not even a mud puddle. I will just keep close eye on him, offer him food when he gets in the water and see what he does.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I think what you have there is a pond slider ... but rather than the (in)famous red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), he looks more like a yellow-bellied slider (T. scripta scripta). Depending on what part of the USA you live in, he could be native there. He could have showed up in your yard as part of an overland migration, trying to get from one body of water to another.

If you decide to keep him in an ornamental pond, he'll need filtration to get rid of waste materials. For food, he'll need live or frozen prey, as well as commercial pellets. If he is native to your part of the country, you could also release him in the nearest wild pond, which is probably where he was trying to reach anyway.

 

[ascott]

release him in the nearest wild pond, which is probably where he was trying to reach anyway.

I second this completely....I say this because if you let him be as he is....he will die. If you are not wanting to release him then perhaps you can go online for your area and look for a turtle/tortoise rescue group that can help you out...

You know, it is often thought that a turtle appearing at your home is an opportunity to do good and for good luck...