Awwwwwwww! Baby Turtles. They are just adorable. And it’s a good sign, too, because a healthy reptile population is a good indicator of a healthy environment.
I’m glad you are letting him go back to his woods. Part of the reason that turtles are decreasing in number is because, unlike most animals, they have no mating call, they emit no pheromones, etc., to attract a mate. Rather, they just have to strumble across each other. So the greater the number of turtles, the greater the chances there will be more baby turtles. *
And who can resist a baby turtle?
*I heard this on a nature walk. Either that or I hallucinated the entire thing.
When I was young I used to catch turtles all the time since there weren’t any tortoises that I was aware of in the area. From my initial research I heard that the rule was 5 inches. I guess it is better to be on the “safer” side. That one sure was cute though I wouldn’t have guessed it was a box turtle because it didn’t have the shell markings that I am accustomed to see from my first and only box turtle.
Actually, some turtles do release pheromones. I have had personal experience with this in caring for several captive bred sulcata tortoises. The males will occasionally release a foul-smelling fluid upon meeting a female, especially a female they haven’t met before. It smells like a combination of dirty aquarium/dirty socks/rotting vegetation, but it apparently drives the lady turtles wild. Of course, sulcatas are desert tortoises native to the African continent; I don’t know much about N. American turtles. Maybe they do have to just wander around hoping to find Mr/s. Right- just like us humans.
Jonathan Chance- hooray for you and Spanky! I wish him all the best in his new life. May it be a long and happy one, filled with abundant leafy greens.
