Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Today my grandpa found a tiny ornate box turtle in our garden while digging. I took him in to show my mom and she was just asking if we should keep him when my grandpa said he found two more. I figured since they where underground they must be newly hatched and found I was right when we saw egg shells in the dirt and one more baby. So now I have four tiny quarter sized turtles and before anyone jumps on me I'm not keeping them. I just want to know where would be a good place to release them, and if it's ok to let them go some where other then where I found them. I really don't want to let them go around here cause our dog, plus others in the neighborhood would do a lot of damage to a little turtle, not to mention the cats and bratty little kids around here. I know that turtles die all the time but if these guys die I would rather it be to a natural predator then a dog or a car. Would there be anything wrong with taking them to a nature reserve to let them go if I asked permission? Thanks for any help, I've gotten pretty attached to these little guys and I just want whats best for them.
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People Who Say Money Can't Buy You Happiness Obviously Don't Know Where To Buy A Herp

1.0 Cornsnake 1.0 Ball Python 0.1 Cal Kingsnake 1.0 Bearded Dragon 0.1 Leo Gecko 0.1 Beauty Snake 0.2 Chilean Rose-haired Tarantulas 0.1 Egyptian Sand Boa

It is generally accepted that it is unsafe for a turtle population to release turtles from other areas into said population. I have a feeling that your nature preserve people would say, "Thanks, but no thanks."

I would recommend taking the little turtles no more than 1/4 of a mile to 1/2 mile from the nesting spot. If you can find somewhat of a secluded area nearby, by all means move them to it. If not, it's best to leave them where they were found. One of the best measures of a healthy turtle population is successful reproduction. You're either very lucky, or there is a nice healthy turtle population in your area.

Either way, WHAT A FIND!! They must be cute little buggers. I'd love to see a picture. I live in the land of Eastern Box turtles, and I'd love to see ornates in the wild...especially babies.

CB'05 ornata ornata

Thanks Ken, I understand what you mean, and I feel bad depleating our local population by moving them but I just don't feel they're safe in our yard/neiborhood.

I think I know a couple lage fields borded by trees nearby that might make good homes for these guys, all I can do is wish them the best of luck. I know we do have several adult box turtles around here cause we find them once in a while and my mom and grandpa are always complaining that they eat their tomatoes. ;p This is the first time I've found babies though, but we never would have found them if we hadn't been digging at that moment in that spot, so we may have missed babies in the past, I feel lucky anyways though.

They are extreamly cute, and I wish we could keep them but I'm against keeping wild animals unless they are hurt, can't survive on their own, or you can give them a better life then they would have in the wild, none of which aplies to these babies. Well here are the little guys, cute as can be. I'm calling them Tomatoe, Squash (for the veggies their parents ate), Root and Dozer.

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People Who Say Money Can't Buy You Happiness Obviously Don't Know Where To Buy A Herp

1.0 Cornsnake 1.0 Ball Python 0.1 Cal Kingsnake 1.0 Bearded Dragon 0.1 Leo Gecko 0.1 Beauty Snake 0.2 Chilean Rose-haired Tarantulas 0.1 Egyptian Sand Boa

Great pics! Thank you for those.