A Conversation for Turtle
Turtle
minorvogonpoet Started conversation Oct 18, 2020
Do you get turtles where you live, Dmitri? On the River Allegheny along with the geese? I always thought turtles needed a warmer winter.
Though there was a Mutant Ninja Turtle craze in the UK when people went out and bought turtles, got bored with them and dumped them in ponds, where they survived.
Turtle
Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor Posted Oct 18, 2020
Thanks for asking, MVP! There are no end of turtles and terrapins in Pennsylvania!
Box turtles, mud turtles, painted turtles, redbelly turtles, snapping turtles (which are Bad News, hence the name), etc, etc.
Here are some:
http://www.fishandboat.com/Resource/AmphibiansandReptiles/Pages/TurtlePhotos.aspx
I don't know if that turtle was native. I suspect so, but it lives at the zoo. Farmer Hoggett is a big turtle expert. All I can say is, 'Yes, this is a turtle.'
northcountrypublicradio says, 'Unlike frogs, turtles don't hibernate through the winter. In fact, sometimes you can see snappers and other species moving around under the ice. While their metabolism runs at very low ebb in the cold, they remain alert to changes in light and temperature that signal the coming spring.'
Even alligators have been known to survive cold weather - when the water gets cold, they stick their snouts above the water line before it freezes, so they'll be able to breathe. Then, being amphibians, they slow down their metabolism.
I didn't know turtles were scarce in the UK! Now I've learned something.
Turtle
minorvogonpoet Posted Oct 18, 2020
There are no native turtles or tortoises in the UK, not even many native snakes or lizards either. I'm not sure why.
Turtle
paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant Posted Oct 19, 2020
We get some beautiful turtles in our trailer park, too.
Alas, when they lay their eggs, the newly-hatched young don't head for the water, but crawl across the road and often get squashed by cars. (
Turtle
Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor Posted Oct 19, 2020
That's a shame, Paul - I wonder if you called the agricultural extension office or animal control, if they'd have any suggestions.
Turtle
paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant Posted Oct 19, 2020
I can just imagine their suggestions.
This is Boston, not a wellspring of sympathy for much of anything. Overworked, underpaid workers who fervently wish for the hard questions to be answered by the guy on the next shift.
If they can muster any enthusiasm, it's for any problem that can solve itself.
Turtle
Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor Posted Oct 19, 2020
That's a shame. Here's some info from a friendlier state, then.
http://www.farmanddairy.com/top-stories/how-to-help-turtles-cross-the-road-without-doing-harm/558329.html
Also the Fish and Wildlife Service:
http://medium.com/usfws/turtles-are-crossing-the-road-96dafc2b3515
Key: Complain about this post
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- 1: minorvogonpoet (Oct 18, 2020)
- 2: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Oct 18, 2020)
- 3: minorvogonpoet (Oct 18, 2020)
- 4: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Oct 18, 2020)
- 5: paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant (Oct 19, 2020)
- 6: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Oct 19, 2020)
- 7: paulh, vaccinated against the Omigod Variant (Oct 19, 2020)
- 8: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Oct 19, 2020)
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