Hi everyone, a "wild" box turtle laid eggs in my yard a couple of weeks ago. She lives in some woods behind my house (maybe 5 or 10 acres, a groundwater recharge basin that never has any water in it), and lays eggs in my front yard almost every year. In 2011, the first time we caught her in the act, my ex-wife and I collected the baby turtles when they hatched (they hatched on the day hurricane Irene hit) and raised them in captivity for about a year, and then released them in the field. In 2012 we gathered the turtles and immediately released them. In 2013 she either didn't lay eggs, or we didn't catch her in the act.
That brings us to this year's batch. I'd like to do whatever I can to ensure survival of all the turtles, because my understanding is that box turtles are in a decline due to loss of habitat. If I leave them alone, chances are they'll never get back to the field where their mother lives, because there are various curbs and obstacles in the way (she's able to climb steps but obviously the babies can't). The most likely scenario is that they end up in the street and get washed down a drain or run over.
I don't want to raise them myself again - it worked out ok last time but one of the turtles got too much protein (not way too much but he clearly grew too fast for his shell), so I'd rather let someone with more experience do it.
Or I can just gather them when they hatch and immediately release in the field, but I'm concerned they'll become lunch for raccoons, opossums or foxes (all of which have been seen there as well).
Any suggestions on how to handle them? Thanks in advance : )
That brings us to this year's batch. I'd like to do whatever I can to ensure survival of all the turtles, because my understanding is that box turtles are in a decline due to loss of habitat. If I leave them alone, chances are they'll never get back to the field where their mother lives, because there are various curbs and obstacles in the way (she's able to climb steps but obviously the babies can't). The most likely scenario is that they end up in the street and get washed down a drain or run over.
I don't want to raise them myself again - it worked out ok last time but one of the turtles got too much protein (not way too much but he clearly grew too fast for his shell), so I'd rather let someone with more experience do it.
Or I can just gather them when they hatch and immediately release in the field, but I'm concerned they'll become lunch for raccoons, opossums or foxes (all of which have been seen there as well).
Any suggestions on how to handle them? Thanks in advance : )
