Neat Surprise!

Yvonne G

Old Timer
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10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Jan 23, 2008
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93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Yesterday it dawned on me that it was September and I had yet to go baby hunting in the box turtle yards. So I bypassed the Florida and Ornate yards (only male Floridas and only one female ornata) and stepped into the Luteola yard. I spotted a male turtle looking into a hole in the ground and the hole had dirt piled up on one side as if the turtle had been digging the dirt out. UPon closer inspection, there were two babies at the mouth of the hole. I dug around gently with my spoon and found several empty egg shells. I don't know if the male turtle ate the others or if they managed to escape out into the yard. I gave their yard a very close inspection, all around and under, but found no more. Then I did the same with the three toe, eastern and gulf coast yards - no more babies. But on a sad note, I did find a dead and bloated baby desert tortoise floating in the CDT waterer. But no visible babies in their yard. I've since dumped most of the water so it's not a death trap, just in case.

baby box turtles 9-25-18.jpg
 

PJay

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Jul 20, 2016
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Virginia
Congrats Yvonne! I hope the others are in safe hiding places.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Box turtles are carnivorous. Even the babies eat each other if they're not well fed.
 
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