I found a turtle

[endoftheroad 1]

龜

If it is healthy think slowly cooked and served with noodles!

[darkhorse 0]

龜

If it is healthy think slowly cooked and served with noodles!

I thought about it but Einstein is not big enough yet

[jundp 191]

What a sweet thread

No politics or religion or griping...just a turtle.

I hope Einstein stays!

[Jenn! 918]

I always had box turtles growing up. Are you just seeing if he sticks around in your yard or do you plan to put him in a tank? If you do make sure you have a large water basin in the aquarium so he can swim/drink. One of our turtles ate only veggies, the other preferred hotdogs and american cheese, and the other ate anything it could.

[darkhorse 0]

I always had box turtles growing up. Are you just seeing if he sticks around in your yard or do you plan to put him in a tank? If you do make sure you have a large water basin in the aquarium so he can swim/drink. One of our turtles ate only veggies, the other preferred hotdogs and american cheese, and the other ate anything it could.

I wanna see if it sticks around. I think it is already too big to put in a tank. I would say at least 3 pounds in weight...

I put water out all the time so it should be able to drink something. I also put some fruit outside in a bowl.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

What a sweet thread

No politics or religion or griping...just a turtle.

I hope Einstein stays!

oh but Darkhorse is talking about eating him!!! !!!!

[Jenn! 918]

Run, little Einstein! Run like the wind!

[darkhorse 0]

I was not serious

[Niels Bohr 72]

Put that turtle back, it's probably looking for its mama.

[darkhorse 0]

I am not doing anything. If that turtle wants to live in our backyard ok, if it doesn't want to live in our backyard ok. I am just watching it as it comes and goes...

[peejay 328]

As the title already says I found a turtle in our backyard.

Yesterday one of our dogs was barking at something and I told her to stop which she did, but a few minutes later she started barking really loud again. She rarely barks so I figured it must be something important...

I went o check it out and found that turtle. I have no idea what kind it is but would like to know.

Can anyone tell me what it is? A land- water- amphibious turtle? I gave it some canned dogfood yesterday and it ate it all.

I didn't read the other posts in this thread to see if anyone already answered your question, but I know what kind of turtle it is from your photos. It is a box turtle and they are actually land tortoises. The photo you posted is one of several different species of box turtle I have run across in various parts of east and north Texas. They are common to many other states in the USA as well.

Don't put them in a bucket of water or they will drown. They are common in many parts of Texas and I had lots of them as pets as a kid. I used to find them often in the cow pastures near my parent's house in the suburb of Houston I grew up in the 1960's. I also used to find them in the piney woods of east Texas on trips there. Unfortunately I sometimes see them wander onto the roads where they get smashed.

I never fed my pets dog food, but apparently they like it. I fed my turtles insects, vegetables, and fruit. And don't forget to give them access to water, but often they get enough from the moisture in the insects, fruits, and vegetables. I used to water them anyway just to keep them happy. They like shallow water, but are not true swimming turtles with webbed feet. They are closer to being a tortoise than an aquatic turtle although we often mistakenly refer to them as turtles.

As a kid I also used to find desert tortoises wandering in the deserts of west Texas on my trips there. Box turtles don't live in west Texas and desert tortoises don't live in east Texas. They are both often refered to as land turtles, but they are really tortoises.

My advice...if you don't want it as a pet take it far, far, away from human encroachment. A national forest or a preserve or park is best.

Box turtles are not as abundant as when I was a kid due to human encroachment on their habitat. I used to catch Horned Lizards (aka: horney toads) in Texas when I was a kid too, but sadly they have disappeared with the quadrupling of the human population in Texas since the 1960's. It's the sad price of so called progress. People displace wild animals.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Wow Peejay

Yes, interesting. I bet you miss the horney toads.

[warriorprincess 0]

龜

If it is healthy think slowly cooked and served with noodles!

I thought about it but Einstein is not big enough yet

I was not serious

I sure hope you are or else I'll come steal him from you.