Turtle Spring = I found a turtle, what do I do?!

And spring is here! Yay, we are over the murky winter! Hopefully all turtles (and other creatures) successfully hibernated and now are ready for another wonderful year of adventurous life of searching for a mate, reproducing and hatching the next generation of chelonians.

Spring is a busy and challenging season for turtles and tortoises. After turtles emerge from hibernation they are on the quest of filling their bellies and finding a mate to reproduce. Some turtles can be woken up early or even evicted from their spot by eager humans spring cleaning their properties from shrubs and leaves – a turtle's favored spots to safely overwinter.
If such a thing happens and you find a turtle on your property, and you live on a nice natural property with shrubs, trees, and a creek nearby and away from busy streets, you can probably leave the turtle where you found it. Keep your dogs away from the yard for a day or two so the turtle can find a safe retreat.

If you found the turtle at a spot that you think is unsafe, or you are not sure what to do, you can contact us DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club or any other turtle club or herpetological society in your area for further advice or assistance. You can reach the DFW Herpetological Society at: contact@dfwherp.org or (972) 949-4191. Or if you are near Houston area contact Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society www.gctts.org .
The best thing is to take pictures of the turtle and possibly the area for easy identification. Most cell phones have a camera now and you can text MMS the photos to our email DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club. You can also visit www.texasturtles.org to try to identify the turtle.
The usual situation when people encounter turtles is on the roads, especially during a rainy and cloudy day. That's the time when turtles travel to find a better location, mates, or the best spot to lay eggs. Females can travel considerable distances to find the perfect spot and that includes crossing busy roads and highways. Most road-killed turtles are female. One study says that some turtles like the sandy banks of the road for its loose sandy soil with sunny warmth promising stable temperatures for incubating the eggs. This could help explain the larger number of females found on the roads.

What to do when you find a turtle like this? The best thing is to move the turtle off the road and point it in the direction they were heading. Turtles are very determined about where they want to go, so putting them back in the other direction is not a good idea, even if that direction looks better to you. It only gives them another chance to get hit by a car when they turn around to go where they were going in the first place. If you find the turtle on a busy highway and you wonder where it could possibly come from my conclusion is that the turtle may have come through culverts under the road.

I think that was the case with this turtle we came across a couple of days ago on I-35 by Lake Dallas.
It was a male with the long Freddy-Kreuger-like front nails and long tail. I believe he was a painted turtle (not the usual red eared slider) as the nice reddish color of his shell was peeking from under the mud and algae that covered him. There was a fence along the grass and highway as you can see on the other side. He was sitting on this mini parking spot totally perplexed (at least I think) :-) . I couldn't find a good place to put him and I left my rescue plastic box at home of course. Luckily I had a paper bag so I put him there and we drove around to find the nearest access to the lake. I had to wake my daughter up; she would never forgive me if I didn't, and we went to release the guy into the lake. It was very happy moment. He didn't even hesitate to say thanks.

That day turned out to be quite a turtle day. While driving down the road I saw another familiar shape in the middle of the neighborhood road. This time it was a Common snapping turtle. And by a quick look I could tell it was a guy. There was a little creek at the side of the road flowing in and out of the concrete duct. He was sitting in the middle of the road facing the direction of the cars. The road had a green belt in between and further on the other side was a neighborhood pond with a fountain. That was the best bet for safe release. The snapping turtles seem to me to be lot less skittish then the sliders. But don't let this fool ya. They can extend their neck back quite far and deliver a powerful bite. The safest handling of a small one is to hold it by the back of the shell, with your hands above the back legs, grabbing the back edge of the top shell. NEVER HOLD TURTLE BY ITS TAIL! This can dislocate their vertebrae and cause fatal injury. If the turtle is too large or you are not sure, use a stick to push the turtle off the road (but do not push the soft body, hold the stick vertical and just lean at the edge of the shell near the tail, like sweeping the turtle forward).

The saddest moment is always when we encounter an injured or even dead turtle. Though even with an injured turtle, you have several options you can do to help. Pick up the injured turtle and place it in a box where it cannot slide side to site to sustain further injuries. It is best is to take the turtle to a wildlife rehabilitator. You can check here for list of wildlife rehabilitators:

Wildlife Rehabilitators by County

Or you can call 214-368-5911 www.911wildlife.com or check http://www.911wildlife.com/relatedLinks.html . There is always someone on the line who can help to find the rehabber closest to you. Or you can take the turtle to the nearest veterinarian's office and ask if they are licensed and willing to take wildlife.

The only people or organizations who may be able to come pick up the turtle if you call them are volunteers. All their expenses are paid from their own pockets, so I encourage you to give a donation - it is always nice and welcomed. Care and vet bills can get expensive.

Last but not least I would like to point out that when you try to save any animal, try not to put your life in danger. Stopping suddenly on the busy road or running out of your car without looking first for other cars can be fatal. Also make sure when you have children in your car that they are buckled up and remain seated and in the car before you can safely get to the animals. Yes there was a case of a little girl unbuckling herself and getting out of the car before the parent got to her and she was killed instantly when she ran into a highway to save a turtle. Many cars have a child locks on the door that have to be released by the driver before any door can open.

Enjoy turtles in wild and leave them in wild. If you are already guardian of a turtle or two take care of them well.

Thanks for reading. :-)

Barbara D.

Barbara Dillard is founder of DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club, Member of DFW Herpetological Society, Member of World Chelonian Trust, DFW Wildlife Coalition, Wildcare, and partner of BTPT

edited by Michael Smith

Club's Get together this Saturday 2/7/09 in Arlington

We are going to hang out at the NARBC Expo in Arlington's Convention's Center this Saturday February 7th, 2009.
>The North American Reptile Breeders Conference and Trade Show is open Saturday, February 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, February 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Arlington Convention Center at 1200 Ballpark Way, Arlington, Texas 76011.<

Then we'll meet for a turtle chat at local restaurant Nizza Pizza at 5 15pm after the expo is done.
1430 S. Cooper(@Park Row) Arlington, TX 76013

See you there

Your Turtlely Valentine 2009 :-)

Happy Holidays 2008

DFWTTC @ Dallas Museum of Nature & Science - Thank You

Thank you all for coming to this year's Reptile Fest.
It was fun.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Reptile Fest 2008 @ Dallas Museum of Nature & Science

The Reptile Fest is Back! Come and visit our table at this fun event at Dallas Museum of Nature & Science in Fair Park. Email us for coupon for $2 off admission.


See Why It’s Cool to be Cold-Blooded.

They share space with us on every continent except Antarctica. They have scales instead of feathers or hair. They breathe air just like us, but they don’t have an internal heating and cooling system. Who are they? They’re reptiles! And at the MNS we think they’re so amazing they deserve their own special event—an entire weekend of spectacularly creepy, crawly, slithery fun with interactive presentations and hands-on activities presented by local experts.

Explore the cool, cold-blooded world of snakes, lizards, turtles, and other reptiles. Touch incredible critters from Texas and around the world. Find out if it’s boa or python, turtle or tortoise, venomous or not. Play a game of reptile hide and seek. Make your own lizard marionette and more!

It’s your chance to learn to love reptiles and leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of how to make sure they’re a part of our lives for millions more years.

When:
Saturday, November 8, 10-5pm
Sunday, November 9, noon-5pm

Where:
MNS Fair Park Campus: Science Building (1318 South Second Avenue) and Nature Building (3535 Grand Avenue)

Cost:
Admission to Reptile Fest is free to MNS members and is included in the general admission price for non-members.

Red Eared Sliders and Environment

Save A Species, Save The Environment

By Lori Green
Director, Turtle Homes Rescue
www.turtlehomes.org

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/602341814

Trachemys scripta is the fancy name for Red Eared Slider.

If you were born before 1975 you may remember small turtles sold in dime stores around the country.

These turtles were placed in plastic bowls that had a small island and a plastic palm tree. You fed them dried ants and they lived about a week if you were lucky.

In 1975 the Federal Government recognized the dangers these turtles possessed. Children would often handle them, place them in their mouths and contracted salmonella, an intestinal bacteria that causes severe diarrhea, dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. In severe cases even death. It became illegal for people to purchase these turtles or any turtle under 4 inches. This posed a devastating blow to the turtle farms that produced them.

Even the 4 inch law did stop them from being sold and today stores such as Petco sell them to the public, who often have no idea what they are getting themselves into. There has been a lot of improvement since 1975. Death bowls are a thing of the past. We now know that all turtles and tortoises process calcium with the help of UVB.

This is light generated by some light bulbs, but the best source is the sun.

There has been huge improvements made in nutrition for these animals as well.

Commercially prepared pellets make up most of the captive slider's diets. Although it is always best to provide them with a more natural diet of fish, bugs, crustaceans, fresh green and snails. By providing a clean environment, which consists of filtered water, varied diet, calcium and UVB, you can expect to have a healthy animal. This is where things go wrong.

You start out purchasing a small turtle that swims happily in a 20 gallon fish tank. The turtle is young. If all goes right you can expect your turtle to grow and they do rapidly. Females can reach up to 14 inches. This means you will need a much larger setup. The water provided should not be less than 350 gallons. This means your putting a swimming pool in your living room or you need to build it a pond.

Along with it's rapidly growing exterior comes rapidly expanding excrement. In other words, poop. Small commercial filters are made for fish waste and you will soon discover the smell of the tank becomes offending quite rapidly and often the water turns yellow. They never told you this in the pet store.

I am also sorry to say your turtle will never love you.

No matter the species you choose, no matter if it was captive bred or if it has lived in your home for 20 years, it will always choose freedom over you. It is you that will give all the love.

Turtles, especially Red Eared Sliders, bite and they bite hard. They are completely inappropriate pets for small children. They will never enjoy being handled. They will never allow you to play like you can with a dog, cat or bird. They are wild by nature and you can't take the nature out of the turtle.

Given all these facts it is no wonder they end up in animal rescues daily. Most animal rescues do not take in turtles. If they do it is because the agent you are speaking to knows of a specialty rescue that deals only in turtles and tortoises. Specialty rescues that handle reptiles are over run with sliders. We recognize the needs of the animal and most will not place them unless the person owns a pond.

A pond, a turtle, no problem. You can go down to the nearest waterway and know your turtle will be happy. You couldn't be any more wrong. Native turtles live in population areas. When you release your turtle you risk infecting the native animals with any parasite, bacteria or even aggression your turtle brings with it. Your turtle will compete for food, interbreed with the native animals and infect them. Whole populations of wild species have been wiped out of areas due to the release of Red Eared Sliders. Over time the native turtles will be replaced. This is a problem that has happened all over the world. It is illegal to own or possess a Red Eared Slider in Israel due to people releasing them and infecting the native pond turtles there. Instead they euthanize what they seize.

We urge you to think before bringing one of these animals into your home. Will you be able to keep it 40 or more years? Yes, that is the life expectancy of a slider if kept properly. Do you own a securely fenced in pond? Do you live in an area with mild enough winters that the turtle can hibernate safely and not risk the entire pond freezing. These are only some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you bring one into your life. Are your children getting older and will loose interest in taking care of the turtle? Are you at a point in your life when you want to travel? Are you in your child bearing years and will be bringing in a newborn baby. Are you willing to risk salmonella? We only ask you to think before you act.

If you would like to help stop the release of these animals into your area waterways please sign our petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/602341814

By Lori Green
Director, Turtle Homes Rescue
www.turtlehomes.org