Wood Turtles

Captive care and husbandry.

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reptologist
Posts: 80
Joined: July 28th, 2013, 7:56 am

Wood Turtles

Post by reptologist »

After asking a question in another post I realized that a few folks here like wood turtles. They have always fascinated me and when they finally became legal to own in my state I decided that I wanted to start a project with them. I proudly present some photos of my pair. I purchased the male as a hatchling and purchased a female of the same age as soon as I could determine the sex of the hatchling. They have been very rewarding to work with and possess incredible personalities.
Here is the male as a hatchling.
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Another hatchling photo
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Recent photo of my female
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Another shot of the female
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Her shell pattern
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Close up of the male
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Male stretching out
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Male and female breeding attempt
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More breeding
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His shell pattern
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Close up of his neck
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Pattern on his body parts
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The pair
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The pair again
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I hope you enjoyed these.
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Berkeley Boone
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by Berkeley Boone »

reptologist wrote:After asking a question in another post I realized that a few folks here like wood turtles.

I proudly present some photos of my pair.

I hope you enjoyed these.
Yes I did! Wow! You should definitely be proud of those. You did a great job of raising them up- really good looking shells!
Insculpta-ed indeed!
--Berkeley
Kfen
Posts: 413
Joined: June 17th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: CT

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by Kfen »

I agree, they look great! How long did it take you to raise your male from hatchling to adult size?
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Kelly Mc
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Joined: October 18th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by Kelly Mc »

They are really great.

I have to say it though, your ownership of them is an exception to the rule, depending on where you live its a tricky quandary placing babies responsibly. These are not indoor pets as you know, the prospect of someone keeping one of these guys in a "tank set up" is troubling.

Remember many people think a 55 gal tank is big, when in reality it is as long as 2 footsteps.

I think its wonderful your animals found a fate with you, but other than conservatory programs , creating little baby wood turtles is a big responsibility.
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reptologist
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Joined: July 28th, 2013, 7:56 am

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by reptologist »

Kfen wrote:I agree, they look great! How long did it take you to raise your male from hatchling to adult size?
You can thank the awful weather for a quick response. It is snowing here now and I have nothing to do. Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, I did not hibernate him for the first 3 years so by the age of 5 he displayed the size and attitude of a mature male having approximately a 7" shell length. I can't say for sure if was actually ready to breed because I did not allow them to attempt breeding till last year. I wanted to be sure the female was more than just at the minimum age. I remember reading that breeding a female early can cause problems later. She did dig a hole 2 Summers ago but laid no eggs in it.
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reptologist
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Joined: July 28th, 2013, 7:56 am

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by reptologist »

Kelly Mc wrote:They are really great.

I have to say it though, your ownership of them is an exception to the rule, depending on where you live its a tricky quandary placing babies responsibly. These are not indoor pets as you know, the prospect of someone keeping one of these guys in a "tank set up" is troubling.

Remember many people think a 55 gal tank is big, when in reality it is as long as 2 footsteps.

I think its wonderful your animals found a fate with you, but other than conservatory programs , creating little baby wood turtles is a big responsibility.
Thanks for your comments as sharing ideas and information is exactly why I posted. I agree with you about these being outdoor pets. I did keep mine indoors for the first 3 years because I was afraid that they were too small to defend/survive an attack from even a small predator. Maybe I am the exception, I can't say because I don't know anyone else that keeps them. I did not acquire these to become a wood turtle reproduction machine. I wanted to work with them because I had heard that they have intelligence and personality. That is an understatement. There is no doubt that they have intelligence. Clearly they recognize me and always show interest in whatever I am doing in the enclosure. I can even snap my fingers and they come expecting to be fed, even if they can't see me. That's a trick my friends and family are amazed by. Working with them has been a complete pleasure. If they successfully produced babies that would be the ultimate accomplishment, one that would bring me an enormous amount of satisfaction. As far as the offspring, should I be fortunate enough to breed them, I would only be interested in offering them to qualified individuals or facilities. I have too much time invested with them to just ship them off to a confirmed pay pal address. I totally understand your comment about this issue and can respect that.
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Kelly Mc
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Re: Wood Turtles

Post by Kelly Mc »

Thanks for replying in the good spirit, so intended :)

You definitely have some lucky turtles to have met with such deserved appreciation.

Yes my tank indoors was meant in adult husbandry. Even large turtle tables or wood corral is a challenge - they are like little climbing apes with a shell!

So many people love turtles and Wood Turtles are described so glowingly. And they are so special, they so are . Not as many people that are attracted to them will be able to really do it.

I have similar situations with certain taxa I won't produce even though they would sell, but are high management, per temperate indoor situ.

You really have some fine animals, welcome to the forum and looking forward to seeing and hearing about more of your works :thumb:
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by BillMcGighan »

Very, very nice animals.

I have to 2nd what Berkely said, "You did a great job of raising them up- really good looking shells!"

You took me back to a long time ago, as a kid, where they were common and very often found in my back yard. To say they are intelligent is an understatement.

We had a phenomena in our area where every other year we would have a February warm spell (get to 45 F for a few days), and invariable with these warm ups, someone locally would find a young male walking around. This was usually turned over to the local biology teacher, who would give it to me to keep, till the real spring thaw happened.
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reptologist
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Re: Wood Turtles

Post by reptologist »

BillMcGighan wrote:Very, very nice animals.

I have to 2nd what Berkely said, "You did a great job of raising them up- really good looking shells!"

You took me back to a long time ago, as a kid, where they were common and very often found in my back yard. To say they are intelligent is an understatement.

We had a phenomena in our area where every other year we would have a February warm spell (get to 45 F for a few days), and invariable with these warm ups, someone locally would find a young male walking around. This was usually turned over to the local biology teacher, who would give it to me to keep, till the real spring thaw happened.
Thank you kindly Bill. Your story is one that I wish happened to me. I spend a lot of time in the field and in most of the states where wood turtles exist but have never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild. I have hiked/explored in many states within their range. It's not as if I have specifically targeted them on a trip to find one but I know that I have been in what would be considered classic wood turtle habitat many times. To hear how you did not have to leave your yard to see one hurts. Just kidding of course, I'm glad you shared your experience.
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Wood Turtles

Post by BillMcGighan »

I spend a lot of time in the field and in most of the states where wood turtles exist but have never been fortunate enough to see one in the wild.
Where I grew up was just north of you (Sussex Co.) and our house backed up to miles of Newark Water Shed property.
Finding them in the wild was usually at certain times of the year, with occasional random animals. There was/still is an old abandoned gravel pit where several species of turtles, insculpta included, laid their eggs. This was a place where seeing one in the wild was relatively consistent at the right time of the year.
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: Wood Turtles

Post by Berkeley Boone »

That would be the dream, having wood turtles walking through the backyard! Wow!

--Berkeley
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