is this a redfoot?

[Angrycowgoesmoo]

Okay so apparently my mother's friend founded a wild tortoise/turtle around his house close to a highway. He tooked it in because he thought it was someone's tortoise/turtle since there is no forest/any place a tortoise would live place around him. He decided to care for it and ask his neighbors if it was theres and no one claimed it. He apparently kept it since he didn't know what to do. It's been like 2 months since he kept it and he knew that I had a tortoise to so he decided to give it too me since he doesn't have enough time for it. Now the problem is what is the tortoise? There's a bunch of junk on his shell and maybe head so it's really hard to tell. I'm going to clean him in a bit but I just want some of your opinions if you guys know what it is. I posted this on the redfoot section because I personally think it's a redfoot since his legs have those scales on it like all red foots except his shell and head isn't really like a redfoot. Also is it too late to let it into the wild since it's been in captivity for so long? I'd keep it but I feel like it's more fair to put it where it belongs. Okay thanks guys!

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Also the pictures are kinda fuzzy I only had a phone for the pictures but I hope you can still see!

 

[nikki0601]

Thats a species of Box Turtle, not sre which exaclty but def a Box Turtle, its very pretty

 

[dmarcus]

If I had to guess, I would say it a box turtle of some kind...

 

[Angrycowgoesmoo]

Well if it's a box turtle what kind? I also thought it was a box too! But is the shell suppose to be like that? I hope it is I don't really feel like cleaning him

 

[jaizei]

Eastern Box turtle?

 

[nikki0601]

It appears to me to be a very nicely colored eastern box turtle, your pics are a bit dark but almost certainof my guess.. if u check out kingsnake.com u can see eastern boxies for sale to compare

 

[dmarcus]

I think it's just a very old wild box turtle, I don't have a clue about the species...

 

[nikki0601]

an "orange" eastern box turtle

 

[Angrycowgoesmoo]

Hmm that does look like an orange eastern box turtle! Thanks Nikki! He seemed dirty compared to the pictures on google images

 

[Madkins007]

It is an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrepena carolina carolina) and a very pretty color pattern. The hind feet demonstrate one classic identifier of tortoises- you cannot see toes on the hind feet of a tortoise, just short toenails.

Easterns should be wild there, but it is probably too late to return it and let it burrow naturally. If there is a nature center or an animal rescue around you, I would surrender it to them. I don't know VA's laws, but in many states it is against state law to collect them from the wild.

 

[terryo]

It's definitely an Eastern Box Turtle. Let it soak in a little warm water to clean off and drink. Don't put it outside anymore now, as it should be starting to hibernate and it's almost too late for that if your temperatures are already down in the 40's at night. It looks like a beautiful high color one and it's too bad it wasn't left in the wild where it could reproduce.

 

[Mgridgaway]

Agreed with everyone else --that's an EBT, and by its size it appears to be sub-adult. I could be wrong since I'm using the lettuce and bowl as reference points though.

Do you have an attached but unheated garage? They make a good place to hibernate. With the weather MD (and assumedly VA since we're touchhing) has been having, I don't think it's too late to hibernate him and release him in the spring. My boxies have been up and down so many times the past month I think even they're confused.

Still, I mostly agree with Madkins in that you should probably surrender him. He should've never been taken out of the wild in the first place. Can you find out exactly where your mother's friend picked him up? Ideally, that's where he should go back. Boxies have a home range that they'll try to return to if they're taken away from, and often ends up with them being roadkill