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Maybe I am mistaken but I thought I once saw on here that if a turtle is removed to a new location that it is just about a sure death sentence. I was devastated because every time I saw a box turtle in the road for several years I would take them to a special place where I knew for sure that many were thriving there. I stopped moving them and just started putting them out of the road where they were. I guess I have gotten 20 out of the road this year alone. At least two, that I know of, got back in the road and were killed and who knows how many were captured for pets.
Two yrs ago I found a special one, maybe piebald. It had several white scales on both front legs. It stood out and this one I brought home and released in my yard. Today I was leaving and looked up the road and there it was out sunning in the road. It had a rough night last night, something had gotten a hold of it and it was chewed up to where there was a little blood on the carapace, and the front rim of it's shell was chewed up pretty good. The thing I'm getting to is that after two years on it's own, there it was, less that 100 yards away from where it was released and except for the chewing, it is in great shape.

Should I go back to removing them to the special place or should I just move them out of the road?

I do not believe relocating box turtles is a death sentance. If that was the case every wild caught animal brought into captivity would die. Moving a box turtle from a busy road in the middle of suburbia to a secure place where you have found other wild box turtles is far better then leaving it in a neighborhood where dogs and cars are sure to give it a rough time.

common sense would seem that the new spot would become the territory. and I agree w/this post.

>>I do not believe relocating box turtles is a death sentance. If that was the case every wild caught animal brought into captivity would die. Moving a box turtle from a busy road in the middle of suburbia to a secure place where you have found other wild box turtles is far better then leaving it in a neighborhood where dogs and cars are sure to give it a rough time.
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Patsy

How far is it from where you're relocating them to where your finding them. You could introduce diseases to the other populations and I believe box turtles have a homing instinct. So they will return to the place where they were born.
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2 Taricha granulosa
1 male Terrapane carolina carolina
10 gal. tropical fish tank.

>>How far is it from where you're relocating them to where your finding them. You could introduce diseases to the other populations and I believe box turtles have a homing instinct. So they will return to the place where they were born.

Sea turtle will return to the very beach they were born on, but box turtles don't have such a strong instinct to do so. There have been cases where some turtles have a very strong urge to remain in the same area for years upon years, but even then some will change their home range after a few years. Others never have one but keep moving around-especially some young males. There is still so much to learn about them! We need more box turtle researchers Tess

I said the same thing in my earlier post but to be fair-there is research that shows many rehomed turtles do not fare well and there is a risk of spreading dieases into a population that doesn't have immunity to something a wild group doesn't have 20 miles away.

A natualist I spoke to in Texas said it was like playing god to relocate turtles and mix up the gene pool of various isolated groups. I told him Indians have been known to relocate turtles long before we ever came on the scene but it didn't seem to make a difference to him

We should try to avoid moving turtles too far from their home ranges but if it in the middle of a new road or home construction then what other options do we have-let them be buried or crushed? That appears to be the solution to some people in the business, but I think it better to rehome these turtles into good homes. Who knows-one day the only turtles in the world will be the ones we are taking care of right now. That is why it's important that we learn to give them good care. Tess

>>I do not believe relocating box turtles is a death sentance. If that was the case every wild caught animal brought into captivity would die. Moving a box turtle from a busy road in the middle of suburbia to a secure place where you have found other wild box turtles is far better then leaving it in a neighborhood where dogs and cars are sure to give it a rough time.

Is there more traffic on the roads now in the areas you have been seeing these turtles? You should contact the state DNR and tell them the story you told us (expect the part about moving the others to a specal place) and see if they can't somehow make a culvert to direct turtles under the road or maybe put up signs for motorists to slow down and watch out for turtles.

The state should be doing more to protect turtles-or naturally concerned citzens will risk their own lives moving turtles off the road and maybe even into new areas.

I don't believe it is always a death sentence to move turtles to a new location-I do believe it is a death senstence to leave a turtle on or near an area where there is nothing but roads! Our state wildlife departments need to learn how to protect turtles-it's not pet keepers who ae killing them --it's cars and drivers! Tess

>>Maybe I am mistaken but I thought I once saw on here that if a turtle is removed to a new location that it is just about a sure death sentence. I was devastated because every time I saw a box turtle in the road for several years I would take them to a special place where I knew for sure that many were thriving there. I stopped moving them and just started putting them out of the road where they were. I guess I have gotten 20 out of the road this year alone. At least two, that I know of, got back in the road and were killed and who knows how many were captured for pets.
>>Two yrs ago I found a special one, maybe piebald. It had several white scales on both front legs. It stood out and this one I brought home and released in my yard. Today I was leaving and looked up the road and there it was out sunning in the road. It had a rough night last night, something had gotten a hold of it and it was chewed up to where there was a little blood on the carapace, and the front rim of it's shell was chewed up pretty good. The thing I'm getting to is that after two years on it's own, there it was, less that 100 yards away from where it was released and except for the chewing, it is in great shape.
>>
>>Should I go back to removing them to the special place or should I just move them out of the road?

Thank you for your responses. To answer some of the questions, I find them in a three county area and sometimes the move is 30 miles, usually less. The relocation area is far enough from main roads in a deep ravine with natural wet areas for soaking, lots of black berry and wild strawberry. I really wish that I could have some kind of influence over the "powers that be" to get them to help with the problem, but it's just all along the main hwys in sw Va. These turtles are not commiting suicide, it's easy enough to spot a turtle 200-300 feet away and steer or brake to avoid them. It breaks my heart to see them crushed. I guess we all could tell stories about the cruelties we have seen. I think I will still stop and move them, but only to safer places nearer where they are found. It's been very dry this year and every time it rains they take to the road for the sun, and thats a good time to try to help. I am encouraged though that I have seen a few other people stop for them, so if you see a turtle on the road and there is traffic slowing, it might be a rescue operation, drive safely.

As mentioned already, I think the problem is they will "try" to go home, perhaps bringing them onto other roads or other trouble. There is some study on the net, where native and relocated boxies in the same area were hooked up with radio tracking. The natives stayed in a small territory, the transplants wandered erratically. However, do a search for "Nahrat box turtle" to see the wonderful story of Nahrat!!!! Every boxy person will LOVE this story and how it played out. So....it is possible to relocate a boxy. IMHO it is a good idea if habitat is completely destroyed by development etc. or new major roads. Boxies can live in relatively small areas if they have everything they need.

There are alot of opinions floating around which aren't backed by data. Do an internet search for "turtles" and "translocation" and get some info.

Numerous studies (with box turtles, gopher tortoises, rattlesnakes, and many other herps) have shown that moving herps out of their home range (which for box turtles is usually only a couple of acres) causes them to search for their home territory. These animals often wander in random directions and for great distances, which can cause them to use valuable energy reserves and place them in contact with new threats, such as new roads, dogs, lawnmowers, etc.

Imagine that you are grabbed, thrown in a plane and dropped in a foreign country... you would probably wander around aimlessly too looking for home, food, and security. It appears to be the same for box turtles.

It may not seem to be a great option, but the best bet for the turtle is to move it off the road, but leave it in the same area.

There are things that can be done to a translocated turtle to increase its odds of survival (called a soft release... penning the animal for a few seasons until it accepts that the new location is "home", then removing the pen), but that gets beyond the abilities of the average person.