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October 29, 2008
Backyard Turtle
When I was a kid my parent's next door neighbors in Carroll Garens had a pet turtle that lived in the backyard. It was pretty darn old - so it must've been getting along fine with not a tremendous amount of care. I'm wondering if any Brownstoner readers out there have a backyard pet turtle and can give me some tips and pointers as I'm thinking of getting one. I've done some web research and based on what I've read it seems that its not a great idea. But I know there are people in Brooklyn who have kept them for many years with no problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Comments
i didn't grow up in brooklyn but i did have a box turtle in the back yard: in the winter it buried itself and emerged in the spring. if the yard is secure and you properly prepare (for instance, i wouldn't put one out now, since it's already turned cold), it could work. but be careful, you don't want this to happen:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/05/brooklyn_outraged_over_spraypa.html
Posted by: Jimmy Legs at October 29, 2008 4:08 PM
I didn't grow up in Brooklyn either, but this reminds me of a story...
= = = = = = =
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.
The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was. The old rancher said, "When you're drivin' down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. "You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb a** put her up there to begin with."
Posted by: SnarkSlope at October 29, 2008 4:28 PM
I have a florida box turtle. I keep my turtle in doors because they require a consistent temp and humidity. It obviously gets too cold for them if you just kept them out doors. They also like to dig, so another reason to not necessarily put them outside. If you keep them inside, just make sure they have a big enough space and that they can dig.
Posted by: Shoots and Leaves at October 29, 2008 5:11 PM
So, you've done some research and discovered it might not be a great idea, but you're asking for opinions here because...? You also say that you know there are people in Brooklyn who've kept them for many years, and my question then would be how you know this, since you don't seem to know any of them personally. I know I'm probably sounding overly harsh to you, but there is really no reason or justification, imho, for introducing a turtle to what is probably a fairly tiny Brooklyn back yard. Try to bear in mind that I grew up in a very rural area with lots of turtles; we had a three-acre back yard. Every spring we'd paint an initial on the shells of the turtles we found out there, but we never seemed to see the same turtle twice.
There are plenty of cats and dogs up for adoption. Nothing wrong with a traditional pet.... Just sayin'.
Posted by: Iris at October 29, 2008 8:51 PM
"what is probably a fairly tiny Brooklyn back yard"
And Speedy the Turtle requires...how much space?
Posted by: cmu at October 29, 2008 8:54 PM
Thanks for the interesting feedback Jimmy Legs. And Iris - I'm soliciting advice from someone who actually keeps a pet turtle in their backyard and may be able to offer advice. Not mean comments from someone who has nothing useful to offer. Please - direct your nastiness elsewhere.
Posted by: fexleycb at October 29, 2008 10:59 PM
This from the first google hit, from Davidson college: "Eastern box turtles are amazingly versatile animals and inhabit a wide variety of habitats from wooded swamps to dry, grassy fields. Although these turtles can live in a variety of different habitats, they are most abundant and healthy in moist forested areas with plenty of underbrush. Although not aquatic, box turtles will often venture into shallow water at the edge of ponds or streams or in puddles. Box turtles do not travel far, usually living within an area less than 200m in diameter. In cold climates they hibernate through the winter in loose soil at a depth of up to two feet."
And this from the third google hit: "Box turtles can live for more than 120 years in the wild. They live the longest of all North American Wildlife. They will also live their entire lives in a relatively small patch of woods no larger than a football field.... If the turtle was purchased at a pet store, then more than likely it was a wild caught turtle collected for the pet trade - a sad thing indeed. Always try to buy captive bred turtles. There's a 95% chance they will be healthy. They will do much better in captivity than a turtle that has lived most of it's life in the wild and now has to adapt to captivity. Wild caught turtles also go through stressful shipping and are usually transferred in over packed containers in filthy conditions. Many die from this alone."
I only omitted info from the second link because it didn't mention space requirements. Is your back yard even a quarter the size of football field, fexleycb? (That would be roughly 75x75 feet.)
And I was trying to be helpful in my earlier post. But you did admit that your research indicated it wasn't a good idea, and my two minutes of research convinced me that it's even a worse idea than I thought it was when I was "mean" to you. I'm sorry I can't tell you what you want to hear.
Posted by: Iris at October 30, 2008 1:21 AM
Iris - please find someone else to argue with. I'm simply not interested. Lost of people on this site seem to enjoy this sort of thing - but not me.
Posted by: fexleycb at October 30, 2008 10:10 AM
can i dress up like a turtle and live in your backyard?
-r
Posted by: PitbullNYC at October 30, 2008 11:21 AM
Just keep in mind that some turtles are amazingly agile (whodathunkit?) and can climb through chain link fences, etc. That's how I ended up with the Texas Mud Turtle who currently resides in a tank in my kitchen. He apparently made a break for it from a neighbor's pond and ended up in my yard, where I, on first glance, thought he was a hand grenade! What can I say-he is that perfect olive drab color and I have an active imagination.
Posted by: bigmissfrenchie at October 30, 2008 1:37 PM
I really had no interest in arguing with you, fexleycb, and now I worry that my tone may have made you even more determined to acquire a turtle for your backyard. So please, if you do acquire one, try to ensure that it was hand-raised and not taken from the wild.
Posted by: Iris at October 31, 2008 10:04 AM
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