Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This Desert Box turtle is only a couple of months old. She(TSD) is growing so fast! I had to slow her down a bit because I can't put her outdoors until the Spring.

i just checked out your pics, great showing. best of all the luteola! always great to see those guys!
hasta, ian

Thanks Ian! Once I got myself out of the 'eastern box' mindset, I've really enjoyed these Deserts. Here's a different turtle at hatchling and one year.

neat, always great to see before and after pics. that hatchling is pretty domed, although a bit less so at a year old. do you have pics of the parents? i'll try to post some shots of new mexico luteolas in the next few weeks. i moved to NM when i was in 6th grade, came from IL, so i had only kept local carolina. my first luteola was a little yearling sitting on the bottom step of the alley a few weeks after moving to NM, (many people keep yard turtles here, and they often breed without people knowing, so it's not hard to find 'alley' turtles of all sizes in the middle of neighborhoods, far from habitat) and it has been all downhill from there! haha
-ian

I'd LOVE to see NM luteola! Unfortunately, my adults are hibernating and I don't have good pics. Mine are from extreme West Texas stock, and the adults are mostly straw-colored. I think that the New Mexico/Arizona luteola are prettier.

Look at all that yellow on the baby!!
That's the one thing I find so beautiful about my Janie.. she's got so much yellow on her.
I can't wait to see pics of this baby of yours all grown up.

I know.. it's going to be a looooooooong wait.
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PHRatz

Thanks Ratz! I don't know, this turtle is growing pretty fast! It's only a couple of months old, as nearly as big as some of my yearlings.

I sure hope it gets big like some of your females. I love big box turtles...the bigger the better! I wish they got as big as your Sulcata! Of course, then they'd probably try to eat us.

"I wish they got as big as your Sulcata! Of course, then they'd probably try to eat us."

Ha! I have one very large male that will bite at my toes if I go into the turtle pen barefoot! I can't imagine the damage he'd do if he were much bigger than he already is.

>>"I wish they got as big as your Sulcata! Of course, then they'd probably try to eat us."
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>>Ha! I have one very large male that will bite at my toes if I go into the turtle pen barefoot! I can't imagine the damage he'd do if he were much bigger than he already is.
>>
>>

ROFL!!
I learned a long time ago that I should not wear open toed shoes and I absolutely should NEVER paint my toenails. LOL

I'll tell ya, we love the sulcata but when we first adopted her everything I read, even on the best websites stated that they grow slowly. I thought this is GREAT.. I'll be able to handle her for several years before she's huge.
Oh my was I ever WRONG! LOL
It only took 2 years before I was no longer able to pick her up.
I am so glad they are herbivores.

Charity the box is huge for a box but at least I can pick her up! I really do need 2 hands for her though because she's so wide that I have to be careful not to let her slip.
Janie is only half a pound lighter than Charity but she's not that huge- not that wide. She doesn't look overweight & she doesn't feel all that heavy but the scales don't lie.. go figure.
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PHRatz