Need advice on Box Turtles

[cork_screw]

Wow, this is not true at all.

The reason why you shouldn't release them into the wild is because any type of pathogen, whether it be a virus, bacteria or some type of disease that the animal has existed fine in its domestic environment, might be spread to the wild population unknowingly if released. That is actually one reason why desert tortoises are in decline (that and loss of habitat), many people would bring them home, get tired of them then re-release them back to where they got them and a respiratory infection they acquired, spreads to the wild population, a lot of animals have died that way. Think what killed many Indians (native americans), early settlers did most of the damage by infecting natives with pathogens they had no immunity to. And something harmless that they live with is quite deadly to populations that haven't been exposed to it. There is nothing to do with a turtle missing its home, not even knowing that it recognizes anything about you or the environment that you placed it in that it yearns for, I think you're misconstruing a turtle for a human child, honestly. Moreover, if released into the wild it would survive fine on its own, it is not like a circus tiger or a california condor that's been raised from egg; but the greater concern is what it could be harboring and what it could do to the native population. I know people here are sensitive and all, but the statement you gave is completely false.

Do not ever release a turtle into the wild. That is a serious no no. It is against the law in most states. That makes it a felony.
But box turtles are territorial, so if you released one into the "wild" he would try to find his home. They will walk for miles not eating trying to find their home and after a while they will die a horrible death from starvation. It takes a long time for them to die that way and it's horrible. If they came across a wild box turtle there will be a fight because the wild box turtle will protect his territory. Also most captive bred animals don't know how to live in the wild. So please reconsider and don't release any box turtle captive bred or wild. Not only is it against the law but it's not the right thing to do. Please don't ever release any box turtles.

 

[Saloli]

for the fire ants boric acid around the parimeter (not sure if thats correct). burmuation length and temps depend on the origin of the turtles in question. sexing depends on which sp./ssp. you are takling about easterns here take about ten years to reach sexual onset (basically like puberty). i'm not sure of the others though. i don't think it is a good idea to mix the different subspecies becuase of crossing but sence yours are all babies thats not an issue yet. i also don't mix locals either if avoidable.

 

[Saloli]

they do have homing insticts but are not territorial in the traditional sense more like home bodies they tend to stay in the general area of their hatching with the exception of nomads (wondering individuals). which generally means that they do try to head home not to your home but theirs. the pathogens and parasites are of most concern regardless of origin (cb or wc), that could be transmited to the wild population to which they are introduced, not just that of the turtles but other species parasites have a nasty habit of passing though intermidiate hosts without causing problems like some bacteria and fungi that are deadly to frogs (the one that causes red leg comes to mind). so it isn't just the turtle species it can cause problems with other local species.