YO GEORGIANS! :)

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jdduck said:
What kind are they?
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Eastern Box Turtles. They are part of a conservation project. Parents are released back into the wild once they give one good set of offspring. When releasing them, I place the parents exactly where they were found (each of them is mapped), because box turtles have an extremely good sense of direction and excellent memory. Anytime they are captured and transported and released in a different location, they try to get back to their place of birth. If it weren't for cars and people, most of them would make it there too. Many of the babies will be raised to a larger size and then released as well.
 


Here's a pic of the group collected last year. The current eggs I have come from the female in the lower right of the photo. Daddy is the one in the lower left.
 
Yep. That is why it's pointless to try to populate your back yard with them, because they WILL leave unless they hatched there.

Its also one of the main reasons they suggest not picking them up at all because in their journey to get back, they will likely have to cross MANY roads. Also, if you see one trying to cross a road, put it on the side it is FACING. They know where they are going, and won't turn back no matter which way you turn them! So just help him get across it safely, in the same direction he's already going.
 
Oh great. I had just put the chickens up, (Early, thank goodness) when I hear all sorts of chicken hollering going on. I ran outside to see what was going on and there is a gray cat trying to get into the run. We had noticed him this week across the lake watching the geese families. Don't know who he belongs to. Probably a feral cat. Now what do I do? No worries about them in the coop/run, but we let them outside during the day. Does anyone know if a cat is that much of a danger to a full grown chicken or a duck? No roosters here for protection.
 
RoboDuck said:
The one lower right in the picture looks like an Ornate Box Turtle instead of an Eastern.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/cornata.html
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They pretty much are the same, with one major exception - range of habitat. Eastern box turtles are found along the eastern states. Ornate box turtles (sometimes called Western Box Turtles) are found in the central states such as Texas.

It could VERY well be an ornate that was released around here at some point, or the ornate box turtles may be moving eastward. But ornate box turtles are also MUCH more difficult to raise, and die easily. This one has not only thrived, but laid eggs for me. Pretty sure she's eastern.
 
ChickDancer said:
They pretty much are the same, with one major exception - range of habitat. Eastern box turtles are found along the eastern states. Ornate box turtles (sometimes called Western Box Turtles) are found in the central states such as Texas.

It could VERY well be an ornate that was released around here at some point, or the ornate box turtles may be moving eastward. But ornate box turtles are also MUCH more difficult to raise, and die easily. This one has not only thrived, but laid eggs for me. Pretty sure she's eastern.
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Whatever she is, she's gorgeous. Turtles are awesome.
 
I have caught a lot of ornate box turtles over the years. When people assign 'ranges" for them, they don't always tell the turtles where the lines are. Anyhow, the "star burst" pattern is very different than the eastern's pattern. Check the link I added. Not that it matters, you seem to be doing well with them. And I don't think they're quite as sensitive as they seem to think. I never had one die on me and they ate just fine.
 

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