Baby turtle!

[Ariana Celeste]

My SO found him walking around in the parking lot.

[SeattleGirl]

1. He's so tiny, and so cute!!!

:loveya:

[Ariana Celeste]

4. I know!

:melt:

[SeattleGirl]

5. I sent the link to the thread to my daughter

She is gonna melt too!

[radwriter0555]

41. Did you see this page on his care and feeding?

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/chrysemyscare.htm

Has a lot of great information.

[Ava]

2. either that is a giant penny or that is one small turtle

lol :rofl:

[Ariana Celeste]

3. I am in love!

I want to raise the little guy for awhile until he gets a bit bigger- he's such a tiny thing!

[ceile]

6. Oh, my!!

I had to pull out a penny to compare for myself! I still can't imagine anything that small. Are turtles always that little when they're babies (I don't know the first thing about turtles)?

[Ariana Celeste]

7. I'm not sure

I'm guessing he must have just very recently hatched or something! I've never seen a baby turtle before this little guy :loveya:

[ceile]

8. I hope you keep him! n/t

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Awww :)

I want one! :loveya:

Whaya gonna call him?

Lincoln?

[Ariana Celeste]

12. I dunno yet!

I need some kind of unisex name cuz we dunno if this little guy is really a guy or not. :D

[CottonBear]

16. link about turtle sexing and breeding:

http://www.pogospals.com/pogospals/Box_Turtle_Breeding_and_Eggs.html

[Arugula Latte]

44. You can name it "Pat" after the SNL character.

Or Chris, Robin, Kelly ...

[Ariana Celeste]

47. haha

Well we decided last night to just name it Mr. Bawkbagawk and to hell with gender! :)

[Shine]

10. oh, how precious!!

I love, Love, LOVE turtles....:loveya:

[KitchenWitch]

11. So cute!

:hi:

[Beaverhausen]

13. WOW! That's a little turtle

aren't turtles thought to be pretty much the same as they were millions of year ago? I think they are really cool!

[CottonBear]

14. I have a link to a great turtle site about Box Turtle feeding and care.

This is a link to the health & diet section. The turtle can become ill, deformed and weak with out the proper diet, water, moisture and habitat.
http://www.pogospals.com/pogospals/Box_Turtle_Health_Pg_1.html

Here's the main page: http://www.pogospals.com/pogospals/index.html
Good Luck! :)

[Ariana Celeste]

15. Thanks!

I was looking at another site earlier but this one looks better :D

[CottonBear]

18. I think you have a box turtle but I'm not sure. There are lots of species

of box turtles.

The main page has links to sections about other kinds of turtles. This site is the best!

Your turtle is so cute! I saw one lay eggs last year but they never hatched. :( I think a racoon or more likely, fire ants ate them.

[Ariana Celeste]

20. That's what I think too

Maybe the eggs weren't fertile?

[CottonBear]

23. That's possible. The mositure levels might have been wrong too.

The mama turtle laid the eggs at the edge of a horse pasture, under a tree next to a pony pen! We put some wood jumps over the area where she laid them so that the horses wouldn't step on them. I counted the days until they should have hatched but no baby turtles. :(

The turtle website is great! This guy keeps turtles in habitats and he keeps some in his house over the winter! They need to be taken out and soaked in water every month or so. Your little one will need a saucer or pan in which to soak as well. The website has instructions.

[Crunchy Frog]

27. Doesn't look like a box turtle to me. Looks like a painted.

Completely different care requirements.

[_testify_]

17. now you can make baby turtle soup!

[caty]

19. Really cute.

And so little. (Make sure you wash your hands after handling the little guy. They carry salmonella.)

[Ariana Celeste]

22. eek

good thing I wash my hands a lot.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. Aww...

I used to have a baby turtle names Speedy Gonzales. I'm serious. :D

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. Awwww!

If you release him, take him as close to the place where he was as possible (without putting him in the middle of the road). Try to recall which direction he was headed in, and face him in that direction. He's probably pretty disoriented right now...

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

25. I don't think it's a box turtle.

The shell looks too flat on top. I think it's a painted turtle. I used to find them wandering in weird places all the time.

http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/eastern%20painted%20turtle%20(juvenile).jpg

The link works if you copy and paste the whole line about and remove the space between %20 and (juvenile).jpg

[Ariana Celeste]

38. You're right

After I got some links upthread I spent an hour or so looking at pics of the different kinds of turtles common in my area- and I believe it's a Midland Painted.

[ET Awful]

26. Awwww, what a cute little critter

I want one! :P

[Crunchy Frog]

28. Looks like a baby painted.

It definitely looks aquatic. Please do not try to give it the care that is appropriate for a box turtle, as it will probably die. These little guys are carnivorous when young, and can only swallow while under water I believe.

Links to water turtle care.

http://www.winrosevet.com/Turtles.htm

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/chrysemyscare.htm

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesturtles/a/aquaticturtles.htm

Here's a link to some pictures of baby turtles. Yours looks like the painteds to me.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/babyphoto.htm

[Digit]

31. I agree

You can see pictures on Google Images if you search under painted turtle.

If I recall, these aquatic turtles sometimes could carry nasty bacteria such as e. coli, so be sure to be diligent with washing hands.

He's a cute little booger, isn't he.

[Crunchy Frog]

35. I believe the main concern is with salmonella.

As long as handwashing is practiced that shouldn't be a worry. Most of the concern about salmonella in reptiles has to do with young children handling them and then putting their hands in their mouths.

You can also search Google Images under "baby painted turtle" and get lots of pics.

It is VERY cute.:)

[Ariana Celeste]

36. After an hour or so of looking

through sites and pictures, that's what I'm thinking. A Midland Painted, as that's what's most common around here- little guy has red spots around the edge of his shell and yellow on his neck. Plus we have a man made lake in our complex and there's several aquatic turtles

[AlienGirl]

29. What a cutie! Got a reptile vet yet?

I'm with the people who think this looks more like a Painted Turtle than a Box Turtle. If you're going to keep him, the first thing you need is to find a local exotics vet who sees lots of reptiles. The vet can tell you for sure which kind of turtle you've got, and what its care requirements are, and make sure it's healthy.

Good luck!

Tucker

[Ariana Celeste]

37. Not yet...

haven't 100% decided if we are gonna keep him or not... but if we do, we would go to the same animal clinic we take our dog to. :hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. Awww! I love turtles.

[In_The_Wind]

32. We blocked part of a road to allow a huge old turtle a safe crossing.

It was more than a foot wide. It looked very old.

[Mrs. Venation]

43. Did You Know Turtles Don't Die of Old Age?

It's true. They don't age like humans with the inevitable cellular breakdown and loss of organ function. Isn't that cool!

[In_The_Wind]

46. I didn't know that.

He was an old one.

[reyd reid reed]

33. Awwwww

That has got to be the sweetest, tiniest little thing I've seen since....since....I don't know.

Found the little guy in a Parking lot?

Wow....

[Ariana Celeste]

39. Yeah the parking lot of my apt complex

Just kind of wandering around, on the sidewalk. Lol.

[reyd reid reed]

40. It's amazing he wasn't stepped on or kicked or worse..

Where'd he come from to begin with???

[YouthInAsia]

34. WOW is he small. Are you going to keep him?

[amitten]

42. Send it to cuteoverload.com. Rinse. Repeat.

I LOVE that website!!!

[blindpig]

45. I've been raising turtles for 35 years.

The care sheets linked above are very good. I might suggest Zoo Med aquatic turtle food, works like a charm for me. You should crush the pellets between two spoons at first, babies can choke on the whole until they get a little size and used to them.

[elehhhhna]

48. I get them in the pool this time of year. They ARE cute.

[Vektor]

49. OMG!! I am in love!

I have always loved turtles. Any size, any kind.

:loveya:

[bigwillq]

50. Awww..that's so cute!

:hi: :hug: