“Usually” is the key word here.
Today, I found a box turtle in our MD backyard that was super cool.
Even Hubby was intrigued.
This was the boldest box turtle I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure. When we picked him up, he only retracted into his shell for a few seconds. Then he’d pop back out and wave his arms and legs around. He even let us touch his head.
Have you figured out what makes him so cool? What is it about this particular turtle that had both Hubby and me intrigued? I mean, I’m easy to impress when it comes to critters. Hubby is a harder sell.
He’s a bit different looking than most box turtles, but there’s a reason for that, too.
Have you figured it out yet?
It was an itty, bitty BABY box turtle! The smallest I have ever seen. Back in 2005, CeCe found a little one at the WV place. But it was considerably larger than the one I found today.
Apparently it is pretty uncommon to find them in the wild when they are this small. His shell is only about an inch and a half long, if that. (He’s sitting on a wide-ruled legal pad.)
I found him when I was outside cleaning up dog poo this morning. I was studying the grass pretty closely. Otherwise I never would have spotted him.
Really. Isn’t this the cutest little turtle you have ever seen?
I knew I’d be letting him go. But not before I showed him to Hubby AND took lots of pictures.
From what I read briefly on the Internet, these guys are about 1 1/4 inches when they emerge from their shells. As I said earlier, this guy could’ve been no more than an inch and a half, which means he was pretty young.
It really was fun seeing this little guy. He was just so darn cute!
I know one person that will call me crazy for setting him free. But these guys can live for up to 40 years. And they eat bugs.
Most importantly, however, he deserves to be free.
So, after I shot about a dozen pics of him, I took him back outside and set him free.
Do you agree that this was a pretty fun find?
When I first saw the first picture, I thought maybe he was someone’s pet turtle. I am glad you left him go back in his habitat. I hope you put him where the dogs will not get him.
Very cool. And I would never tell you to keep him captive.
Jess, how did you know I was talking about you? 🙂