Turtle Journal

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) Hatchling

The Turtle Journal team was shocked this morning to find a tiny Eastern box turtle hatchling that had emerged from its first winter brumation (hibernation).  Discovering a hatchling or yearling box turtle, after they have left the nest and disappeared into the wild, is a rare and extraordinary experience.  In fact, the first few years of a turtle’s life are called the “Lost Years,” because hatchlings, yearlings and juveniles can’t be found as they hide in secluded habitats from legions of predators.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling with Quarters

You can imagine our surprise upon discovering this precious little character today, motionless within a dense concentration of pine needles, grass, weeds and wildflowers.  We placed the hatchling with two quarters to give a sense of its size.  From the hatchling’s color and pattern, you can infer how well these camouflaged critters blend into their woodland habitat.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling Plastron

This baby box turtle hatched late last summer and shortly thereafter burrowed into thick vegetation for winter brumation.  Examining the center of its abdominal plastron scutes (see above), we noted the spot where the yolk sac had been absorbed over fall and winter.  We also observed that the hatchling’s left front limb had been nibbled by some predator below the “knuckles.”  The wound has healed.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling Weighs 6 Grams (0.2 Ounce)

This Eastern box turtle hatchling hit the scale at 6 grams, or approximately 0.2 ounce.  It appeared a bit dehydrated and we have allowed it to soak in warm fresh water this evening before we release it back into the wild.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling ~ 1.25 Inch Carapace

The hatchling’s carapace measured a little more than 3 centimeters long.  Among our local turtle species, Eastern box turtle hatchlings seem larger, on average, than spotted, painted, snapper and terrapin hatchlings.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling and Mature Male Box Turtle

With this surprise discovery, we had the rare opportunity to compare a hatchling box turtle and a mature adult (male) box turtle.  While clearly an unnatural set up, the portrait offers a great perspective on the future growth expectation for this tiny hatchling.

Tiny One Inch Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) Hatchling

Saturday proved perfect for turtles and turtlologists.  With luck and pluck, the Turtle Journal team encountered four species of local turtles.  Sue Wieber Nourse started the streak by finding this perfect little painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) hatchling basking in a SouthCoast bog.

Tiny Over-Wintered Painted Turtle Hatchling

The tiny critter’s shell measured 2.46 centimeters long, less than an inch, and the hatchling weighed a mere 5 grams (less than 0.2 ounces).

Tiny Painted Turtle Hatchling with Absorbed and Healed Yolk Sac

Examining the center of this hatchling’s abdominal scutes, we observed the healed remnant of the absorbed yolk sac, clearly indicating that this baby had been born in the fall and recently emerged from its first winter’s slumber.

Large Male Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

At the opposite end of the spectrum from the tiny painted hatchling stands this large male snapping turtle.  We snagged this 35-pound specimen at a local SouthCoast bog.  The adventure of that capture is documented in Snapper Hunt, a Turtle Journal posting from May 4th.

Male Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

In between the extremes of tiny hatchling and large snapper, we observed a bright yellow, almost glow-in-the-dark male box turtle.

Male Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Measuring around 6 inches in shell length and 1 1/4 pounds, this fellow sported the most riveting crimson eyes, complementing a color scheme that screamed “gaudy.”

Adult Painted Turtle and Spotted Turtle Pair

We also found an adult painted turtle and several pairs of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a local SouthCoast bog.

Release of Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Spring in the Great White North has been cold, late and lacking any heat spikes.  By this date, we should have been able to add a fifth local species, the Northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin), to the list for May 3rd.  As reported in Amazing First Terrapin Capture in Windy Sippican Harbor, we captured our first and only terrapin of the 2014 season on April 14th.  Since then, the weather has turned cold, windy and punctuated by storms.  Terrapins have plunged back to the bottom, turned off the lights, covered themselves with another layer of ooze, and are waiting for a saner weather pattern to set in.  Fortunately, the Turtle Journal team has kept busy with spotted turtles who are considerably more cold tolerant and less fussy than diamondback terrapins.  Give spotteds a bit of sunshine and a taste of 50 degrees, and they’re ready for action in secluded mating aggregations across the SouthCoast.

What Lies Beneath Every Pond and Lake?

Count your fingers, count your toes; if you’re diving, check your nose!  Peer deeply through the murky darkness into the mucky bottom of every pond, lake and favorite watering hole, and you’ll find a large, humorless, 35-to-60 pound snapping turtle … waiting.

Aggressive Male 35-Pound Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

Every encounter with a snapping turtle is memorable; the bigger the turtle, the more memorable the event.  We were fortunate to find this pleasant critter cruising the bottom of a flooded SouthCoast bog on Saturday morning.  Water magnifies objects and creatures.  So, Don Lewis discounted the enormity of the image Sue Wieber Nourse spotted as he readied the net to bring the creature ashore for closer examination.

IF YOU HAVE AN iPAD & CAN’T SEE VIDEO, CLICK HERE.

Snapper!

The video speaks eloquently for itself.  And it poignantly reminds us to be careful for what we wish; after all, we may get it.

Rufus the Turtle Dog Exclaims:  “That’s no turtle.”

When Don lugged this large snapper on shore, Rufus the Turtle Dog examined it closely with furrowed brows.  She looked up at Don with thought bubbles projecting, “That’s no turtle.”

Rufus the Turtle Dog:  “That’s a dinosaur … and it’s all yours!”

She stood up, walked away from the creature and formed more thought bubbles that said, “That’s a dinosaur, and it’s all yours!”

Sizing and Perspective for Male Snapping Turtle

The Turtle Journal team has a full complement of scientific devices for documenting field discoveries.  In the case of a very large, angry, and aggressive snapping turtle, we eschew those delicate instruments in favor of more durable, if less precise measuring methods.  For weight, we use the reliable “back stress test.”  We lift the turtle with the 10-foot net, allowing the full strain to focus on the small of the back.  Yep, 35 pounds.  For shell length, we prefer not to hold a measuring tape above the critter’s gaping jaws.  Instead, our sneaker gently laid across its carapace provides the best reading:  really big.

Male Snapping Turtle Ventral Side and Plastron

The 10-foot net pole also allows us to examine, from a healthy distance, the turtle’s plastron and tail, offering a good indicator of its gender.  As we have noted in earlier posts, the smallish plastron of the snapper does not provide adequate protection for all its vulnerable parts; a factor that Turtle Journal believes contributes significantly to its aggressive behavior.

Male Snapper Tail (with Leech on Left Rear Leg)

Nothing says ancient, dinosaur-like creature more eloquently than a snapper’s tail.  You may note that this specimen sports a leech on its left rear leg (see image above).  It’s difficult to describe how challenging it was for us to remove the leech from the snapper’s limb without the snapper removing portions of our limbs.  Still, a reptile’s “gratelessness” is one of the attributes for which we admire them.  No one accused a snapping turtle of bonding with its human rescuer, unless munching is a form of bonding.

Male Snapping Turtle Heading Back Home

After suffering the ignominy of this encounter with humans, the snapper said his fond (sic) adieu and headed back to the depth of his bog.  If you’re looking for an example of determination, you may wish to review the video one more time.

What Lies Beneath … Once Again?

As the snapper plunged into the water and disappeared into the murk, we got one last glimpse of him submerging, “through a glass darkly.”  Bringing us full circle, the question lingered in the air, “What DOES lie beneath these murky waters?”

Male Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

The Turtle Journal team found our first Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) of the 2014 season at noon on Thursday, May 1st, in an upland woods on Outer Cape Cod.  As pictured above peering through the partially closed hinged plastron, the turtle’s bright red eyes confirm his masculine gender.

Eastern Box Turtle #1110 in Wellfleet Woodlands

We had committed to search a wooded upland property off Old Kings Highway in Wellfleet for Eastern box turtles.  As we well know, this spring has been especially chilly and box turtles have remained inactive, lingering in hibernacula, and delaying the timing for this sweep.  Because  the forecast promised temperatures in the upper 50s accompanied by torrential rain, the Turtle Journal team selected Thursday as the first viable opportunity to find box turtles on the site.  And so we did.

Don Lewis Discovers Eastern Box Turtle #1110

As we swept these woodlands, we looked for box turtle “forms,” which are shallow depressions covered by grass, leaves and debris.  We sometimes call these forms “garages” because box turtles “park” themselves inside.  Eastern Box Turtle #1110 had left its most recent form and was lazing in the warm rain, rehydrating after a long, hard winter brumation.  His domed bright yellow shell seemed quite gaudy in contrast to the surrounding pine needles, oak leaves and winter grass.

Sue Wieber Nourse Examines Male Eastern Box Turtle #1110

The turtle proved shy and “boxed” himself up tightly with his hinged plastron.  Still, we could easily identify his gender based on the concavity in his abdominal scutes and confirmed later by his bright red eyes.

Male Eastern Box Turtle #1110 Carapace (Top Shell)

Male Eastern Box Turtle #1110 Plastron (Bottom Shell)

Male Eastern Box Turtle #1110’s carapace (top shell) measured 14.9 centimeters (5.9 inches) long and 12.3 centimeters (4.8 inches) wide.  He weighed 571 grams (1.26 pounds).  His girth (bottom to top) measured 6.8 centimeters (2.7 inches) at the hinge.  This hinged plastron provides a survival edge for box turtles when confronting a predator.  The anterior (front) and posterior (back) sections of the plastron swing on the hinge to close up like a sealed box … giving this turtle its common name.