Saved a little wayward box turtle today

[Bogertophis]

You never came off "sounding like a jerk" IMO, and besides, the welfare of animals out-ranks our egos...you said what we all needed to know, the truth.

[rlditmars]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, but I love these creatures and want them to be around for the future
I know people want to do the right thing, I also kept them as pets for a few weeks and released them wherever when I was younger and before I knew better. Just want to get the word out too

You didn't come off like a jerk, and honestly had you no posted that, I would have been posting a very similar message.

[Jellybeans]

I wanted to say this but didn't know how to word it without sounding like an a**. You did a good job at explaining it thank you very much.

This is such crap
I will not be releasing it back where I found it I will be releasing it where there are many other box turtles it's a very safe location and it will be fine

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[Toad37]

This is such crap
I will not be releasing it back where I found it I will be releasing it where there are many other box turtles it's a very safe location and it will be fine

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So you don't care what so ever about the welfare of that poor turtle? Did you even bother googling it or taking advice from anyone on here? Do what you gotta do but all any of us did was try to help.

And how did I get singled out when everyone on here is saying the same thing?!?!

[Jellybeans]

So you don't care what so ever about the welfare of that poor turtle? Did you even bother googling it or taking advice from anyone on here? Do what you gotta do but all any of us did was try to help.

And how did I get singled out when everyone on here is saying the same thing?!?!

I'm not going to explain myself anymore but to say the place this turtle was is not a good place for it to be or it would not have been headed towards a very busy Street. And to help it cross to other side of the street was not an option, on the other side of the street is an apartment complex. There's just a small area with a grassy ditch surrounded by pavement ,apartment complexes and streets. Its natural habitat like many other animals is being destroyed by humans. It will be relocated to a place where I have taken many turtles before that I've rescued.

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[rlditmars]

I'm not going to explain myself anymore but to say the place this turtle was is not a good place for it to be or it would not have been headed towards a very busy Street. And to help it cross to other side of the street was not an option, on the other side of the street is an apartment complex. There's just a small area with a grassy ditch surrounded by pavement ,apartment complexes and streets. Its natural habitat like many other animals is being destroyed by humans. It will be relocated to a place where I have taken many turtles before that I've rescued.

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Jellybean,
After looking at the pictures you provided it's a pretty safe bet that the turtle is over a decade old, maybe two. Most of its shell is devoid of pattern and much of the edges are rounded. It is not a young animal, meaning it has done just fine for a long time without any intervention from you. What Crow said is an absolute fact, whether you agree or not. Box turtles throughout their life rarely leave a 200 yard radius from the place they hatch. They know every inch of their territory by the time the reach the age of the turtle you have. You can do as you wish, but to ignore this fact and to place the animal in some other territory, will be to ensure the very thing you state your actions were preventing, death.

Because you wont be there to see it, doesn't mean it wont die. In fact, the odds of its survival are less than if you had just let it cross the road while you watched. At least if you had let it cross the road it stood a chance, and if it had been hit by a car its death would likely have been instantaneous. Your way, the death can come in any number of ways, most of which will be of longer duration and may involve suffering.

I'm not here to judge, just to educate. The decision is yours. Remember, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think.

[Craiga 01453]

Unfortunately, Jellybeans, I have to agree with the others. I've been around this forum long enough to know that RL is extremely knowledgeable as well as Crowfingers. Toad is still relatively new to the forum, but also seems very knowledgeable.

Granted, I know very little about turtles, what they said makes sense and sounds familiar, as if I'd read it somewhere in the past.

Rather than coming off defensive and confrontational, maybe do some research on your own?

I wasn't going to chime in, but it seems that the others have the knowledge and are trying to help the turtle. I'm definitely not saying you don't have the animals best interest at heart, just that others may be more experienced on the topic.

Just because you released others in that location before doesn't mean they lived...

[Jellybeans]

Look I'm not going to keep defending myself because I don't have to. I've had many different species of turtles in the past and they have all thrived with where they were relocated at. Humans have destroyed habitats for many kinds of animals maybe this Turtle made it for many years with where it was but something has Disturbed the habitat once again and I'm going to do what I have to do to save animals when I can.
I don't care what the others have said I know me and I know what I've done for many years and it's worked out to be a beautiful ending for these animals.
Under the watchful eye of a rehabilitation center.

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[Craiga 01453]

Look I'm not going to keep defending myself because I don't have to. I've had many different species of turtles in the past and they have all thrived with where they were relocated at. Humans have destroyed habitats for many kinds of animals maybe this Turtle made it for many years with where it was but something has Disturbed the habitat once again and I'm going to do what I have to do to save animals when I can.
I don't care what the others have said I know me and I know what I've done for many years and it's worked out to be a beautiful ending for these animals.
Under the watchful eye of a rehabilitation center.

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So you're somehow tracking these animals that you've re-released?

[JodanOrNoDan]

Point has been made. People pushed to hard generally will do just the opposite of what you want then to do just because they can.