Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

A few years back my parents found a turtle in their backyard. When they told me they found it, I thought it was going to be a box turtle. But it wasn't. At the time, I didn't know what it was.
We released it where we found it.

I'm going by memory, but I would swear it was a wood turtle. Does anyone know if there have been other reports of wood turtles being found in central North Carolina?

Thanks!
Ed

No, the nearest populations of Wood turtles are about 400 miles from the Northernmost portions of NC. However, I have heard several reports of those keeping Wood turtles that have had them escape. This wasn't, perhaps, close to Salisbury?

Thanks for the reply. I'm quite confident it was a wood turtle. I'm not sure why I didn't keep it for a few days to get some pics!

It was found in Raleigh, which is not in the known range for wood turtles, but it is closer to that range than Salisbury. If
there are known populations in northern VA, I think that's a little under 300 miles north of Raleigh. (Sorry for the nitpick.)

I'm thinking about getting some wood turtles. I put in a small
pond in my back yard, and I can put a small wall around it. Right now the only herp I have is an eastern Indigo.

Thanks!
Ed

>>No, the nearest populations of Wood turtles are about 400 miles from the Northernmost portions of NC. However, I have heard several reports of those keeping Wood turtles that have had them escape. This wasn't, perhaps, close to Salisbury?

Yeah, your estimate of 300 miles is probably closer.

The reason that I asked specifically about Salibury is that I have a friend from there that had a Wood turtle escape 5 to 10 years ago.

The turtle you found was most likely an escaped or released pet. I know of at least 4 people in the Raleigh area that keep NA Woods outdoors. They are a common pet turtle, and escapes are also common.

I have been in pristine, cool mountain stream areas of Western NC that looked very much like my original Woodie herping grounds in PA and have said aloud to myself, "How could there not be Wood turtles still here?" Historically, their range extended to Florida...based on fossil records. The climate in much of Western NC is not very different from areas where they are found in VA and WV. While this is something I wish for more than I can express...they just aren't there. The herpetofauna in NC is very well studied, so finding a relict animal or hidden population borders on a miracle. This is especially true of the Raleigh area.

I highly recommend Wood turtles as pets. There are tons of cb Woodies available, and they reach adult size relatively quickly. They can be kept outdoors in the Raleigh area year round in the proper habitat. Although, a colder brumation temperature(in a fridge) may increase breeding success. Good luck if you get some. You couldn't really ask for a better captive.

Some juvies...

Thanks, I agree it was probably an escapee. I'm certain
it was a wood turtle now, it was pretty much identical to
the the one in the the picture below. By chance, do any of
those 4 Wood Turtle owners you know live in north Raleigh
near the Greystone area?

Thanks for the info. Do you breed them? Or any recommendations for a good breeder? I've seen some ads in the classifeds and in some magazines, but I like to get personal references if possible.

Thanks again,
Ed

>>Yeah, your estimate of 300 miles is probably closer.
>>
>>The reason that I asked specifically about Salibury is that I have a friend from there that had a Wood turtle escape 5 to 10 years ago.
>>
>>The turtle you found was most likely an escaped or released pet. I know of at least 4 people in the Raleigh area that keep NA Woods outdoors. They are a common pet turtle, and escapes are also common.
>>
>>I have been in pristine, cool mountain stream areas of Western NC that looked very much like my original Woodie herping grounds in PA and have said aloud to myself, "How could there not be Wood turtles still here?" Historically, their range extended to Florida...based on fossil records. The climate in much of Western NC is not very different from areas where they are found in VA and WV. While this is something I wish for more than I can express...they just aren't there. The herpetofauna in NC is very well studied, so finding a relict animal or hidden population borders on a miracle. This is especially true of the Raleigh area.
>>
>>I highly recommend Wood turtles as pets. There are tons of cb Woodies available, and they reach adult size relatively quickly. They can be kept outdoors in the Raleigh area year round in the proper habitat. Although, a colder brumation temperature(in a fridge) may increase breeding success. Good luck if you get some. You couldn't really ask for a better captive.
>>
>>Some juvies...
>>

The only one I have an exact location on is in the Cary area. If you go to the next NC Herp. Society meeting, you can ask around. It is almost certain that at least one fellow Woodie fanatic will be there. NC Herps has a website.

I do breed them, but not for the purpose of selling. By far, the best Wood turtle breeder I have ever met is Marc Cantos. He has a new website, www.theturtlesource.com. Those juvies in the picture I posted were from him. His have amazing, vibrant colors, and he doesn't deal with WC Woodies. He's in Florida.

Thanks. I've been thinking about joining the NC Herp. Society,
maybe this is a good time to jump in. BTW, I live in Cary. It would have been neat if the turtle showed up in my yard rather
than my parents'.

I saw some ads for theturtlesource, the woods in some of the pictures were beautiful.

My wife finally got me to do some yard work, so I freshened up the pond area for which I'm thinking of using for the turtle enclosure. One more question, if you don't mind - is there much risk in not having a covered enclosure for turtles that are greater than 4" in length? I've never seen a raccoon, but I guess it's possible they might venture into my backyard from the woods across the street, and there are stray cats around.

Thanks again for the info.

Ed

>>The only one I have an exact location on is in the Cary area. If you go to the next NC Herp. Society meeting, you can ask around. It is almost certain that at least one fellow Woodie fanatic will be there. NC Herps has a website.
>>
>>I do breed them, but not for the purpose of selling. By far, the best Wood turtle breeder I have ever met is Marc Cantos. He has a new website, www.theturtlesource.com. Those juvies in the picture I posted were from him. His have amazing, vibrant colors, and he doesn't deal with WC Woodies. He's in Florida.

You have a nice land area there that you could fence in, so I would think that you could use that for a couple of juvie Woods. The water feature is a bit small for adults, though. Some people only supply a small pool for Woods, but I personally think that they really benefit from a large pond of cool, highly filtered water. You would also need to shade the water somehow, as it would probably get too hot in the summer sun for a Woodie. And, they aren't great swimmers, so they would need a lot of structure in the water to help them crawl out.

As far as covering them...I do until they are closer to 6 inches. A chubby captive juvenile Wood turtle is very vulnerable to raccoons and opossum. You can try to run a little electric fencing along the top edge of the turtle fence...it is suprisingly easy and inexpensive.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

I'm planning on putting a shade tree/shrubs and a lot of smaller plants/shrubbery in the area. It is in direct sun much of the day, so that's a must. I'm also going to make a mini-stream with the pumped water coming out of the pond. And of course some hide areas.

The electric fence is a great idea, I'll have to look into that. (Not so sure my wife will appreciate it as much as I do, though.)

Thanks for all of your help. If I'm ever lucky enough to get clutch of babies, one has your name on it.

Thanks again,
Ed

>>You have a nice land area there that you could fence in, so I would think that you could use that for a couple of juvie Woods. The water feature is a bit small for adults, though. Some people only supply a small pool for Woods, but I personally think that they really benefit from a large pond of cool, highly filtered water. You would also need to shade the water somehow, as it would probably get too hot in the summer sun for a Woodie. And, they aren't great swimmers, so they would need a lot of structure in the water to help them crawl out.
>>
>>As far as covering them...I do until they are closer to 6 inches. A chubby captive juvenile Wood turtle is very vulnerable to raccoons and opossum. You can try to run a little electric fencing along the top edge of the turtle fence...it is suprisingly easy and inexpensive.
>>
>>Hope this helps. Good luck.

Great! Thank you!