Eastern box pics

[catawhat75]

Melissa,
I totally understand your concern and in normal circumstances, I would have left her where she was. However, I live on a very busy street and almost everyone has dogs here. I feel putting her back out in my yard would just sign her death warrant.
My bf found her in my yard and I am amazed that he found her before the dogs did. This is not their usual area to be hanging out in. There are no woods nearby and no fields either. How she got here is a mystery.

[MelissaFlipski]

You could always call a local wildlife relocator/rehabber and ask for advice. Some think that moving her is signing a death warrant. She might be OK against most dogs b/c they close up completely in their shell. And if she got there before winter, she probably knows where to go this spring as long as it's not right next to the street.

I know it's a hard call. Good luck!

[catawhat75]

I have talked to a couple of wildlife people, I guess I could call ODNR, but I am not real fond of them.
In the mean time, she is safe and has food/water. I have seen her drink and she ate a few crickets, a strawberry and a bit of mustard greens.
She can't stay inside here too long, so I guess I need to figure out exactly what to do by tomorrow.
I do appreciate the advice Melissa

[Morph Addict]

Tough case here. Good luck whatever happens, I wish the best for the turtle, and you!

[Blu Mongoose]

She might be OK against most dogs b/c they close up completely in their shell. And if she got there before winter, she probably knows where to go this spring as long as it's not right next to the street.

I know it's a hard call. Good luck!

It is risky to relocate a box turtle. but any dog over 30 pounds is very capable of crushing a box turtle. How do I know? One of my dogs about 30 lbs found an adult eastern box turtle in our yard and crunched it before I could get to it. Relocation can be risky, but is sometimes necessary to give an animal a fighting chance. But if relocating don't do it in the close proximity of the dogs or it will be right back.

[MelissaFlipski]

I have talked to a couple of wildlife people, I guess I could call ODNR, but I am not real fond of them.
In the mean time, she is safe and has food/water. I have seen her drink and she ate a few crickets, a strawberry and a bit of mustard greens.
She can't stay inside here too long, so I guess I need to figure out exactly what to do by tomorrow.
I do appreciate the advice Melissa

You are very welcome. I hope it works out for the beautiful gal. And what an honor to see her eat and drink. How wonderful!

I'm sure you'll do what's best for her. Give her a kiss for me... uh-oh, I sense a new thread coming, "Do you kiss your turtles?"

Blu, I see your point.

[Blu Mongoose]

Why not kiss the turtles?! Better looking then some folks. And they don't talk back to you!!
By the way, that is a beautiful turtle!! Very vivid!!

[catawhat75]

I just realized I never updated this thread. I was talking to my neighbor about 2 weeks ago and told her what I had found. I said to her that it must have been eating out of her garden last fall and then came into my yard to hibernate. Turns out that her husband brought it home from their farm about 20 miles away to show the grandkids last fall. Then instead of taking it back, they let it go into the backyard thinking it would be fine.
Long story short, she went back to her home grounds. I'm going to miss her lots, she was a character and friendly as could be but I know she is where she is supposed to be

[kc261]

That's so great that you were able to find out where the turtle really belonged! Thanks for the update.

I guess that at least partially negates what was said about not moving since this particular one hibernated just fine away from her home turf. Not that I'd recommend relocating a turtle just for the heck of it, but it might give some more hope for cases where "just leave it there" doesn't seem like a reasonable option.

I actually was looking up this thread cuz I remembered reading it when you first found the turtle, and now I've rescued one and have a similar dilemma of what to do with it... I'll be posting a new thread shortly.

[MelissaFlipski]

That is so amazing that you happened to talk to your neighbor and find all that out! I am so glad she went back where she belonged AND is safe from dogs. What a nice happy ending! Thanks for updating us.