Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Tyrannis on September 22, 2011, 07:58:47 AM

Title: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Tyrannis on September 22, 2011, 07:58:47 AM
Walked outside today on a trip to the gas station, and what do i run into? a terrapin. Just sitting in the middle of the road. Poor thing almost got hit by a car when i found him.


Took him in right now, it looks pretty beat up. its got sections of its shell's frill missing, but he's not shy (Been nipping at me all morning  :lol)

But what i cant understand is, why would a terrapin be around MY house. the only large body of water is miles away. And we only have a very tiny creek that runs through town.

So anyone got some good advice as to where i should release him?  

Im a little nervous tho, Hes not shy at all around me. Which makes me think he may of been a pet. which in that case would it be wise to release him into the wild?
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Westy on September 22, 2011, 08:31:31 AM
Soup

http://www.msa.md.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002200/002292/html/terrapinsoup.html
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Dragon on September 22, 2011, 08:44:38 AM
Even if it was someones pet, turtles adapt very quickly and it would be fine to let it go.


Near the water would be best, but if not, the turtle will find it and get ready to hunker down for the winter.
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Wildcat1 on September 22, 2011, 09:50:07 AM
Soup

http://www.msa.md.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002200/002292/html/terrapinsoup.html
:rofl  :aok

I would take it to the water (near it, not on it)

Maybe he's being defensive, that's why he's nipping at you. I'm not the turtle guy tho so I wouldn't know
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Vudu15 on September 22, 2011, 11:06:13 AM
Forget that, kill that thing.... all they do is eat fish and baby ducks. aint worth anything. I kill em every chance I get.
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Big Rat on September 22, 2011, 11:28:21 AM
Drop him off at a pond by your house, he'll figure out the rest.  Don't keep him too long, as other mentioned it's about time for them to hunker down for the winter.

 :salute
BigRat
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Maverick on September 22, 2011, 11:37:00 AM
Look up what kind of turtle you have and if it is native to your area. If it is then turn him loose near water and let him do his thing. If it is a non native species, talk to game and fish about it. There are enough problems with non native critters spoiling the normal balance of the indigenous stuff.
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: oboe on September 22, 2011, 05:29:11 PM
Forget that, kill that thing.... all they do is eat fish and baby ducks. aint worth anything. I kill em every chance I get.

Vudu pretty sure you are thinking of a Snapping Turtle, not a Terrapin.
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Melvin on September 22, 2011, 05:33:09 PM
Look up what kind of turtle you have and if it is native to your area. If it is then turn him loose near water and let him do his thing. If it is a non native species, talk to game and fish about it. There are enough problems with non native critters spoiling the normal balance of the indigenous stuff.


This ^^^

Turtles are known to carry many bacteria, including salmonella.
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Ardy123 on September 22, 2011, 05:39:47 PM
I have a pet turtle and once they get used to you, they can be a bit nicer. give him some food (berries, lettuce, meal worms) and let his shell heal. Otherwise you could be setting him up for being a predators dinner. Also see if there are any experienced reptile oriented pet stores in your area, they could offer some suggestions on helping the poor guy before you let him free again.

Turtles are known to carry many bacteria, including salmonella.

Wash your hands after handling the turtle, always
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: F22RaptorDude on September 22, 2011, 05:57:18 PM
... to many dead turtles on images, I almost killed one thinking it could swim, chucked em into my pool, Dove in 15 mins later to save it and it lived
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Melvin on September 22, 2011, 05:59:46 PM
I found the vid of raptordude...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: M0nkey_Man on September 22, 2011, 06:01:48 PM
I found the vid of raptordude...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
:rofl
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: mbailey on September 22, 2011, 06:03:40 PM
Just a tune to play while your walking him to the pond, he'll feel right at home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k77EE3a7DUg&feature=related

Accidentialy hit a box turtle with my brush hog this past summer, banged up and cracked his shell pretty good.  Feeling a tad guilty, I took him to a "reptile rescue" a little ways from my house, they nursed him back to health, and fixed his shell with Bondo, cost me a couple of bucks for a donation, but what the heck.    

Sounds nuts i know, but felt bad for the little bugger, just walking along doing his turtle stuff, and all of a sudden WHAM!! caught in the blades of a friggin brushog........
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: M0nkey_Man on September 22, 2011, 06:10:59 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS8UXVsIiP4&feature=related
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Tyrannis on September 22, 2011, 06:32:01 PM
Well,

I ended up buying some nightcrawler bait, and by the end of it fed him the whole 7 worms of it.

Then i took him down to the Park Rangers station by east fork. They took him in, said they'd examine his skull. If he was sound, they said they'd release him close to the lake. If not they said they'd keep him over the winter and nurse him to health.

When i was younger i used to catch turtles all the time outside my grandparents house. they used to pop up like mad crazy on the sides of the back roads.

One day i was just walking along the edge of the road, happened to look down and Bam. there was a turtle. He had a really cool shell design on him so i kept him. Turned one of my OLLDDD toy boxes into a kinda home for him.
(Took cut up grass and bedded the place down, along with a container of water for him to do w.e he wanted to with)

Had him for 2 months, loved the little guy. Then one day i took him back to my grand parents. Figured i'd let him stretch his legs in the back yard. Was keeping an eye on him but my grandfather asked me to help him cut wood.

Started doing that, forgot all about the turtle, and by the time i remembered he was gone  :(

To this day i still miss that little guy  :cry
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Dichotomy on September 22, 2011, 06:45:49 PM
Pretty cool of you to take care of this one Ty  :salute  Tells me more about your character as a human being than a thousand posts ever could. 
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Widewing on September 22, 2011, 06:46:55 PM
You did the right and proper thing Tyrannis, kudos to you..... :salute
Title: Re: Terrapin found, need some advice
Post by: Tyrannis on September 22, 2011, 06:51:18 PM
Thnxs guys. I grew up on a farm out in the country, so i tend to have a soft heart when it comes to animals.  :salute