DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club - New article - Turtle Spring = I found a turtle, what do I do?!

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Hello Friends,I would like to share with you a NEW article I wrote and posted on our DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club's website www.dfwttc.org. I hope you find it interesting or at least informative :-) Please feel free to share with your friends.Sincerely,BarbaraDFW Turtle & Tortoise Clubwww.dfwttc.orghttp://pets.DFWTurtleandTortoiseClub/- - -Support Our Turtle Clubwww.petisnotarock.comGet Your Turtle Club T-shirts - Great Mother's Day Gifts- - -www.urbanveggie.comCruelty Free RecipesTurtle Spring = I found a turtle, what do I do?!And spring is here!

Yay, we are over the murky winter! Hopefully all turtles (and other

creatures) successfully hibernated and now are ready for another

wonderful year of adventurous life of searching for a mate, reproducing

and hatching the next generation of chelonians.Spring is a busy and challenging season for turtles and tortoises. After turtles emerge from hibernation they are on the quest of filling their bellies and finding a mate to reproduce. Some

turtles can be woken up early or even evicted from their spot by eager

humans spring cleaning their properties from shrubs and leaves – a

turtle's favored spots to safely overwinter.If such a thing happens

and you find a turtle on your property, and you live on a nice natural

property with shrubs, trees, and a creek nearby and away from busy

streets, you can probably leave the turtle where you found it. Keep

your dogs away from the yard for a day or two so the turtle can find a

safe retreat. If you found the turtle at a spot that you think is unsafe, or you are not sure what to do, you can contact us DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club or any other turtle club or herpetological society in your area for further advice or assistance. You can reach the DFW Herpetological Society at: contact or (972) 949-4191. Or if you are near Houston area contact Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society www.gctts.org .The

best thing is to take pictures of the turtle and possibly the area for

easy identification. Most cell phones have a camera now and you can

text MMS the photos to our email DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club. You can also visit www.texasturtles.org to try to identify the turtle.The

usual situation when people encounter turtles is on the roads,

especially during a rainy and cloudy day. That's the time when turtles

travel to find a better location, mates, or the best spot to lay eggs.

Females can travel considerable distances to find the perfect spot and

that includes crossing busy roads and highways. Most road-killed

turtles are female. One study says that some

turtles like the sandy banks of the road for its loose sandy soil with

sunny warmth promising stable temperatures for incubating the eggs. This could help explain the larger number of females found on the roads. What

to do when you find a turtle like this? The best thing is to move the

turtle off the road and point it in the direction they were heading.

Turtles are very determined about where they want to go, so putting

them back in the other direction is not a good idea, even if that

direction looks better to you. It only gives them another chance to get hit by a car when they turn around to go where they were going in the first place. If

you find the turtle on a busy highway and you wonder where it could

possibly come from my conclusion is that the turtle may have come

through culverts under the road. I think that was the case with this turtle we came across a couple of days ago on I-35 by Lake Dallas. It

was a male with the long Freddy-Kreuger-like front nails and long tail.

I believe he was a painted turtle (not the usual red eared slider) as

the nice reddish color of his shell was peeking from under the mud and

algae that covered him. There was a fence along the grass and highway

as you can see on the other side. He was sitting on this mini parking

spot totally perplexed (at least I think) :-) . I couldn't find a good

place to put him and I left my rescue plastic box at home of course.

Luckily I had a paper bag so I put him there and we drove around to

find the nearest access to the lake. I had to wake my daughter up; she

would never forgive me if I didn't, and we went to release the guy into

the lake. It was very happy moment. He didn't even hesitate to say thanks.That

day turned out to be quite a turtle day. While driving down the road I

saw another familiar shape in the middle of the neighborhood road. This

time it was a Common snapping turtle. And by a quick look I could tell

it was a guy. There was a little creek at the

side of the road flowing in and out of the concrete duct. He was

sitting in the middle of the road facing the direction of the cars. The

road had a green belt in between and further on the other side was a

neighborhood pond with a fountain. That was the best bet for safe

release. The snapping turtles seem to me to be lot less skittish then

the sliders. But don't let this fool ya. They can extend their neck

back quite far and deliver a powerful bite. The safest handling of a

small one is to hold it by the back of the shell, with your hands above

the back legs, grabbing the back edge of the top shell. NEVER HOLD TURTLE BY ITS TAIL! This

can dislocate their vertebrae and cause fatal injury. If the turtle is

too large or you are not sure, use a stick to push the turtle off the

road (but do not push the soft body, hold the stick vertical and just

lean at the edge of the shell near the tail, like sweeping the turtle

forward). The

saddest moment is always when we encounter an injured or even dead

turtle. Though even with an injured turtle, you have several options

you can do to help. Pick up the injured turtle and place it in a box

where it cannot slide side to site to sustain further injuries. It is best is to take the turtle to a wildlife rehabilitator. You can check here for list of wildlife rehabilitators:Wildlife Rehabilitators by County Or you can call 214-368-5911 www.911wildlife.com

or check http://www.911wildlife.com/relatedLinks.html . There is always

someone on the line who can help to find the rehabber closest to you. Or you can take the turtle to the nearest veterinarian's office and ask if they are licensed and willing to take wildlife. The only people or organizations who may be able to come pick up the turtle if you call them are volunteers. All

their expenses are paid from their own pockets, so I encourage you to

give a donation - it is always nice and welcomed. Care and vet bills

can get expensive.Last but not least I would like to point out

that when you try to save any animal, try not to put your life in

danger. Stopping suddenly on the busy road or running out of your car

without looking first for other cars can be fatal. Also make sure when

you have children in your car that they are buckled up and remain

seated and in the car before you can safely get to the animals. Yes

there was a case of a little girl unbuckling herself and getting out of

the car before the parent got to her and she was killed instantly when

she ran into a highway to save a turtle. Many cars have a child locks

on the door that have to be released by the driver before any door can

open.Enjoy turtles in wild and leave them in wild. If you are already guardian of a turtle or two take care of them well.Thanks for reading. :-)Barbara D.Barbara

Dillard is founder of DFW Turtle & Tortoise Club, Member of DFW

Herpetological Society, Member of World Chelonian Trust, DFW Wildlife

Coalition, Wildcare, and partner of BTPTedited by Michael Smith