1. Q: I have had my box turtle for several years and would like to return him to the wild. How can I go about releasing my captive box turtle?
A: First - thanks for caring. Returning a captive turtle to its natural habitat may sound like the best thing to do, but please consider the following:
2. Q: I have had my Red-eared Slider turtle for several years and would like to release him into the wild. How can I go about releasing my captive water turtle?
A: First - thanks for caring. Returning a captive water turtle to a natural wild habitat may sound like the best thing for you to do, but please carefully consider the following information:
3. Q: I just found a turtle in the street and I think it's some kind of water turtle. It isn't hurt and doesn't look sick. Can I go ahead and release it near a nice pond I know about?
A: If you are not positive about the species identification of a turtle, do not release it.
Many times exotic non-native species are found by people. These turtles have been pets and are escapees. Many are not capable of living on there own in the wild due to specific climate or diet requirements. Quite often the public misidentifies turtles. Some turtles can drown if put into water. Water turtles must be in water in order to eat. Turtles that have been pets can be sick and spread disease to native wild populations. Introducing a species not native to an area could also be bad for the environment.
Many non-native species can resemble native species to an untrained eye. You might be able to identify the turtle using our picture database. Even if you can positively identify a turtle, depending on where it was found, it possibly should not be released. (See the other two questions on pet turtles and release.) Contact the GCTTS and discuss the specific situation with us and we will help you decide what should be done with the turtle.
4. Q: Can you help me identify my turtle or tortoise?
A: We have an ever expanding collection of turtle and tortoise pictures that might help identify your animal. Please see our picture database.
5. Q: How much does a turtle cost? Can I buy a Turtle from the GCTTS? I have a great outdoor area for turtles and would like to get some more - does GCTTS have any <name the species> for sale?
A: GCTTS does not sell turtles or tortoises. We will adopt animals to our members that have suitable outdoor housing available. If you are not a member, you may join. See our Adoption Guidelines.
6. Q: My box turtle has developed very long toenails. How can they be safely trimmed?
A: The long term, best solution is to house your turtle outdoors where is has access to rough ground. Nails are seldom a problem for box turtles that are housed in natural outdoor pens.
The main concern with trimming the nails is avoiding the vein that is in the nail. The best way to clip nails is to buy a scissor type nail clipper meant for birds, or one with a magnifying glass meant for babies, and cut the nail gradually over several months. Some box turtles have clear nails making it easy to clip them without hitting a vein, but the dark nails may need to be cut next to a bright light or flashlight so you don't cut too far.
If you nick the vein, you can use styptic powder or a silver nitrate pen to stop any minor bleeding. Your vet may carry the silver nitrate pen - remember to use it ONLY on the nails and keep it away from mouth/eyes/as it can burn the tissues.
Patient, gradual trimming on a regular schedule will keep the nails short.
Allowing the turtle regular access to a concrete patio and a rough surface such as flagstone or a cinderblock for climbing in the pen may help keep the nails down as well.
7. Q: I have had water turtles living together in a large aquarium for some time, but suddenly one of them is acting very aggressive towards the others. What happened?
A: This can happen as turtles reach sexual maturity. As they mature and start seeking mates, males in particular may become agressive towards other males or may start to harass females. If the turtles are housed in a spacious outdoor habitat, this is seldom a problem as the turtles can get away from each other. When kept in an aquaurium there may be no way for the turtles to avoid contact with each other.
Aquariums are not good permanent homes for turtles. The aquarium will quickly be outgrown by most water turtles and, at least as important, they need access to direct unfiltered sunlight outside to remain healthy (In spite of information that you may find on the Internet and at pet stores). There simply is no available substitute for natural light.
Another problem with aquariums is that female turtles must have access to dirt in order to lay eggs. If denied this access, the turtle can become seriously ill and die.
8. Q: I have a box/water turtle living in a tank inside. It recently stopped eating and isn't as active. Since it is Fall I assume it is hibernating. I'm I right?
A: You could be right BUT turtles kept indoors at normal room temperatures can not properly hibernate! When turtles do not receive 12-14 hours of light per day, hibernation mode can be triggered and your turtle will stop eating and become less active. To properly hibernate (brumate) a turtle must have temperatures under 55 degrees. Temperatures above 55 but below 75 degrees or so, allow a turtles metabolism to slow down enough that it does not want to eat but is still high enough to use up stored energy. Basically, a turtle in this unnatural situation is starving. They can live a long time like this but chances are they will develop major organ damage and eventually die. Sometimes respiratory infections start first and if not recognized early can cause death.
Turtles (unless it is an exotic species that is not supposed to hibernate) should be housed outside year round and allowed to hibernate naturally under normal conditions. Some species that are not native to your area or have been ill recently may need to be housed indoors over the winter. Otherwise, turtles need to be outside. Any turtle wintered over indoors needs 12-14 hours of light per day and have a warm basking area. See our page on wintering over non native turtles indoors.
9. Q: I would like to let my native water turtle hibernate, but my pond is only about a foot deep. Will this be successful?
A: There are two problems with water that shallow. One is that it is not deep enough to maintain a constant temperature when we get warm days and cold nights. Water warming on sunny days can harm turtles that normally go to deep water to avoid temperature fluctuations. They need to stay cold during hibernation / brumation. The other problem is that it can ice over solid at the top, preventing the turtle from getting surface air. The only way to maintain a water turtle in shallow water is to have it in full shade during it's brumation time and trickle a hose in it if it freezes. A hole drilled a few inches below the surface of the pond will prevent the water from overflowing and the escape of the turtle. Then when it is time to come out of brumation (and you won't really know when that is) it has to be moved back to a sunny area. And then back to full shade when the water temperature reaches 85 degrees. Pretty tricky.
If a shallow pond is the only option, I would bring it in and keep it warm, active and feeding through the winter. A problem with this, however, is that females will often need to lay offseason when overwintered indoors, and if your turtle does not have access to land, she will very likely try to retain her eggs. This can result in eggbinding - a grave and potentially fatal situation for turtles.
If your turtle is a female, even if she has never mated, she could form infertile eggs. Fully aquatic housing (without access to a land area) is not at all appropriate for them.
These big water turtles need big ponds. A foot of water can overheat and kill turtles in the summer. Unless you have a large in-ground pond with a land area easy accessible to the turtle, she really should be released in the spring.
10. Q: Isn't it against the law to sell turtles that are smaller than 4 inches? I have seen baby turtles for sale at <some store> and wondered what to do about it? How would I go about reporting this pet store? They were giving very poor care information too.
A: The "4 Inch Law", is actually an FDA regulation and not a law. It was first written in 1975 as a response to the concern about salmonella poisoning resulting from the wholesale distribution of baby water turtles that was occurring at the time.
One unfortunate unintended consequence of this federal regulation is that that the commercial breeders of these turtles were forced to seek other markets. As a result, there are thriving colonies of red eared turtles in England, Europe, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. These turtles are very hardy, and often they often displace native turtle populations.
The Federal "4 Inch Law" can be read here. There is an exception to the regulation that allows the sale of small turtles for "bona fide scientific, educational, or exhibitional purposes, other than use as pets." Many stores operate under this exception, or claim to. They will post a notice that the turtles are being sold for educational purposes. It is difficult to prove otherwise.
Another way that the regulation is skirted is to sell the supplies needed for the turtle (a "turtle bowl", turtle food, and other supplies) and then give the customer the turtle.
Since it is an FDA regulation, you should try to contact a local office of the FDA. Be aware that the penalty imposed by the FDA is to destroy the turtles. See the above link.
None of this is to say that you shouldn't try, but it will be frustrating.
It is possible, if unlikely, that the seller is simply ignorant. You might try providing the seller with proper care information, for example a copy of:
http://gctts.org/include/WaterTurtleCare.pdf
If the seller seems teachable, they can contact GCTTS for more information.
Also see:
http://gctts.org/WS/WS.php/Public/WaterTurtleCare