Smart. Sensitive. Sociable (at least with lady box turtles and anything you want to eat). Flexible. Multi-talented. Strong. Speedy. Great climber. Good swimmer. Five-star hibernator. These are just some of the many awesome things about being a 3-toed box turtle. But one of the coolest is your scutes (pronounced “scoots”). The scutes are located onContinueContinue reading “Day 90: Scutes. Scoots.”
Tag Archives: turtle rescue
Day 87: Survivor, Box Turtle Edition
The 3-toed box turtle is a very unique species even among chelonians (that is what the large shell-less beings call individuals who look like you). Not only do you have (count ’em) three toes on each of your adorable back legs, but you also have a fancy-schmancy hinged box you can use as your personalContinueContinue reading “Day 87: Survivor, Box Turtle Edition”
Day 84: A Very Surprised Box Turtle
Being born with a home on your back is pretty brilliant. When your home is also a totally secure hinged box you can duck into at any time, you can pretty much move to the top of the food chain. But when you can also climb anything climbable (and some things that aren’t), well, that’sContinueContinue reading “Day 84: A Very Surprised Box Turtle”
Day 81: We Love Bruce!
The large shell-less being here…. Bruce joined our little flock during a very tumultuous time. Malti had spontaneously taken off on what was to be a six-day wilderness adventure – announcing her plans to no one, least of all her overprotective, anxiety-prone, first-time tortoise mama. After six days of nonstop searching, literally beating bushes, crawlingContinueContinue reading “Day 81: We Love Bruce!”
Day 78: Turtle Versus Tortoise
When you are born with a shell on your back, making sure your large shell-less assistant knows precisely which species you are can be pretty important. Unfortunately, your taxonomony (what the shell-less beings call your rank, file and serial number, aka your classification) doesn’t exactly make this easy. Technically, all shelled beings are “turtles.” YetContinueContinue reading “Day 78: Turtle Versus Tortoise”
Day 75: Marvelous Meaty Mealworms
Dinnertime in an interspecies flock can sure get interesting. There is your small loud feathery brother, who seems intent on repopulating the forest floor with his evening rice….not to mention anything else flingable he can purloin from his mommy’s dinner plate. Then there is your round and robust shelled sister who is always hungry andContinueContinue reading “Day 75: Marvelous Meaty Mealworms”
Day 72: Scoping for Lady Turtles
When you are an exceptionally handsome male 3-toed box turtle (and even the horrid scary shell-less beings in the white lab coats say so), the end of hibernation and the start of spring means you have just one thing on your mind. Lady turtles. Less motivated beings might think you’d be keen for a heftyContinueContinue reading “Day 72: Scoping for Lady Turtles”
Day 69: A Turtle In a Hay Pile
When the large shell-less beings think of hay, they typically think of the large, ponderous, gassy beings who all seem to be named “Moo.” But this is just because the shell-less beings don’t hibernate. Hibernation is awesome, by the way. All you have to do is find a really comfy snoozing spot, dial down yourContinueContinue reading “Day 69: A Turtle In a Hay Pile”
Day 66: A Box Turtle Wakes Up!
The large shell-less being here…. Bruce technically woke up from a whopping FIVE MONTHS of hibernation on March 10. But when, less than a week after waking up, another cold front swept the north (and thus the south) portions of our great continent, a certain tropical box turtle was having none of it. He wentContinueContinue reading “Day 66: A Box Turtle Wakes Up!”
Day 63: Boy Box Turtles Will Be Boy Box Turtles
If there is one thing that can reliably produce grey hairs in any large shell-less being, it is a boy box turtle. Boys of any species seem to have a special knack for attracting trouble. But boy box turtles can turn a knack into a fine art. For instance, say you are a boy boxContinueContinue reading “Day 63: Boy Box Turtles Will Be Boy Box Turtles”
Love & Feathers & Shells 