Hi, fellow turtle lovers!
This is a short thread on my little mud turtle, Jacques.
I am incredibly fortunate to live in one of the world's turtle "hot spots": the Southeast US, Louisiana, to be specific. Jacques came to the through my neighbor, who is a middle school teacher. The school where she teaches is in a town situated in a very low-lying area where the Tchefuncte River (It's a Native American word that is pronounced
chih-FUNK-tuh
) flows into Lake Pontchartrain. The lake (which forms part of the boundary of New Orleans) is brackish and affected by tides due to its close connection with the Gulf of Mexico. Every Spring, TONS of baby turtles hatch out and wander all over the streets, yards and driveways of the town and the school. The school custodian finds baby box turtles WALKING DOWN THE HALLS of the school, after somehow finding a way in!!!
The kids have learned to grab up any babies they find and bring them to the biology teacher, Mrs. B, who is my neighbor. She turns their finds into lessons which last several weeks. The kids research what kinds of turtles they are, what habitat they need and help set up separate habitats for each species. They learn about humidity, hiding places, food and UV light. The kids love it and will FIGHT over who gets to change the water bowls or whose turn it is to feed them. Of course they give them all names. My friend comes in on the weekend and checks on them. After several weeks, when the babies have gotten a good head start on growth, she releases them into the bayous near the school. Typically they get various types of sliders and boxies, and a few mud turtles.
When the babies are REALLY small, she brings them home to keep a close eye on them herself. My little turtle got smuggled into the school in a boy's backpack after being found in the street. She thought he was a Mississippi mud turtle, since that's what we seem to most often get, but as he's growing, it appears he's either an Eastern Mud turtle or an Eastern-Mississippi intergrade. He was several months old when I got him. In the picture, he is in 4 inches of water, so you can see how small he was back in March of this year.
This is a short thread on my little mud turtle, Jacques.
I am incredibly fortunate to live in one of the world's turtle "hot spots": the Southeast US, Louisiana, to be specific. Jacques came to the through my neighbor, who is a middle school teacher. The school where she teaches is in a town situated in a very low-lying area where the Tchefuncte River (It's a Native American word that is pronounced
chih-FUNK-tuh
) flows into Lake Pontchartrain. The lake (which forms part of the boundary of New Orleans) is brackish and affected by tides due to its close connection with the Gulf of Mexico. Every Spring, TONS of baby turtles hatch out and wander all over the streets, yards and driveways of the town and the school. The school custodian finds baby box turtles WALKING DOWN THE HALLS of the school, after somehow finding a way in!!!The kids have learned to grab up any babies they find and bring them to the biology teacher, Mrs. B, who is my neighbor. She turns their finds into lessons which last several weeks. The kids research what kinds of turtles they are, what habitat they need and help set up separate habitats for each species. They learn about humidity, hiding places, food and UV light. The kids love it and will FIGHT over who gets to change the water bowls or whose turn it is to feed them. Of course they give them all names. My friend comes in on the weekend and checks on them. After several weeks, when the babies have gotten a good head start on growth, she releases them into the bayous near the school. Typically they get various types of sliders and boxies, and a few mud turtles.
When the babies are REALLY small, she brings them home to keep a close eye on them herself. My little turtle got smuggled into the school in a boy's backpack after being found in the street. She thought he was a Mississippi mud turtle, since that's what we seem to most often get, but as he's growing, it appears he's either an Eastern Mud turtle or an Eastern-Mississippi intergrade. He was several months old when I got him. In the picture, he is in 4 inches of water, so you can see how small he was back in March of this year.
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