My First NYTTS Annual Show

On Saturday, June 2, I attended the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society's Annual Show.  Here, NYTTS members exhibit their pets and receive awards for the quality of their animals as well as the quality of their husbandry.

What fun it was to see all the various turtles and tortoises, some wandering freely in the enclosed playground at the Village Community School where the show was held.

Some tortoises posed for pictures.

Pinta Island Tortoise now extinct

Updated July 3, 2012

Turtle Tidbit #7 reports the June 24, 2012, death of Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises (Chelonoidis abingdoni) that lived in the Galagapos Islands of Equador. Though it is tragic to see a species become extinct, George's death was not in vain. His situation - being the last of his kind - simulated "an extraordinary effort by the government of Ecuador to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also to improve the status of other endangered and threatened species," says Galapagos National Park Public Relations.

The Plight of Red Eared Sliders

Dinky, admiring his own reflection.  Isn't he pretty?

In honor of World Turtle Day, I want to focus on the problems associated with the breed of turtle that I own: the Red Eared Slider (Latin name: Trachemys scripta elegans, but commonly abbreviated as RES). These turtles, the size of a small coin as hatchlings, are widely sold by street vendors, flea markets, Chinatown tourist shops, carnivals and fairs. Buyers are rarely aware RES live 70+ years and grow as big as 12-inch dinner plates. Those who buy the cute little green turtles receive no information -- or wrong information -- about their care, even though raising a healthy turtle requires very specific elements and becomes more expensive as the turtle gets bigger and bigger.

Hawksbill Turtles Adapt

Turtle Tidbit #6 reports the amazing discovery that the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle, thought to be nearly extinct in the eastern tropical Pacific, may not be in fact not so close to extinction after all.  Now that fact alone is newsworthy, but the reason behind that statement is what really excited me. Get this: Hawksbill Turtles moved to a new habitat!  Researcher Alexander R. Gaos says, "This is a unique behavior that represents a new life history paradigm for this species..."   And we are talking about a species that's been around for millions of years.  Imagine that!!

Galapagos Tortoises

Turtle Tidbit #5 is an "eyewitness report" on the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands. A friend of mine recently vacationed in the Galapagos Islands. Her adventure is recorded on her blog via the link below. In her post on August 17, 2011, Nancy writes about her reactions as well as about the tortoises. What she says is exactly what I imagine I would be thinking if I had been there. I totally recommend this post to you, and be sure to double-click on her high resolution photos. Each time you click, the picture get bigger! 

Andre Returns to the Sea

Turtle Tidbit #4 is a report on Andre, a green sea turtle who was severely injured by motorboat propellers in June 2010.  Advanced medical techniques such as VAC therapy and Strattice Reconstructive Tissue Matrix implants saved Andre's life.  Green sea turtles are classified as endangered in Florida, where this incident took place.  Coverage appeared on Reuters website on August 5, 2011.

JFK's Tweeting Turtles

Wikipedia's public domain photo by Mary Hollinger, NODC biologist, NOAA

Turtle Tidbit #3 is a report on the diamondback terrapins on the runway today at JFK International Airport. Flights were delayed by about 30 minutes while airport officials picked up the turtles and relocated them to a safer nesting area. JFK Airport borders Jamaica Bay where the turtles live. They leave the water every year around this time to lay eggs, and their appearance at JFK is an annual event. Today there seemed to be an unusually large number of them -- the highest count I read was 150.

The press had a field day with this story. Please check all the links below for the variety of pictures they contain as well as the audio from the flight tower.

Advice on Snapping Turtle Eggs

Photo by Brian Cook, used with permission

My friend Brian was excited to discover that his resident snapping turtle (Common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina) laid eggs in the field near the pond on his property. Sadly, the eggs never hatched. Instead, they provided a gourmet breakfast for some local crows. Brian wondered if he should have done something to protect the vulnerable eggs. Good question!

Trying to provide him with some sound advice, I checked all my favorite turtle sites on the internet and did numerous Google searches. Interestingly, I didn't come up with very much information, so I took my many questions to Julie Maguire, a New York State Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who runs Turtle Rescue of Long Island. Here are her answers:

Turtles Pay Tribute to Victims of War

Turtle Tidbit #2 is a report on the sculpture installation by French artist Rachid Khimoune. Now installed on Normandy's Omaha Beach, the exhibit consists of 1000 soldier's helmets fashioned as turtles. It protests global violence and commemorates the 67th anniversary of D-Day. Coverage by The Associated Press appeared in many newspapers today.

In Pursuit of the Elusive Gopher Tortoise

(This post is a follow-up to my previous post dated May 18, 2011.)

Less than a week after learning gopher tortoises existed, I found myself in gopher tortoise territory. If there were enough gopher tortoises to warrant road signs, surely I could see one during our four-day visit to Sanibel Island to attend my cousin's wedding. I vowed to check out a few places where gopher tortoises might be seen in the free time between wedding events and family gatherings.

Gopher Tortoise and NASA Space Shuttle

Turtle Tidbit #1 (the first post in my new series) is an AFP photo by Bruce Weaver published by Yahoo! News. The photo, seen by clicking the link below, was taken at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  It depicts a gopher tortoise against the backdrop of a NASA space shuttle.  This photo is truly a contrast between the old and the new because the gopher tortoise originated in North America 60 million years ago, making it one of the oldest living species.

Close Encounter with a Snapping Turtle

I had seen real, live snapping turtles before, in zoos or shelters, but not in the middle of a lonely country road. As snappers go, he wasn't even that big, but he was still an awesome sight. Here he is, just as I saw him from the car, happily basking in the late afternoon sun smack in the center of the road in Greene County, New York (which is in the Catskill Mountains).

A few rays of hope...

We've all been sickened by all the continuing horrors of the BP oil spill and its perverse effects on the environment. Dead sea turtles floating in pools of oil or washed up limp and lifeless on the oily beaches. Gulls and pelicans doused with oil. The heartbreaking images seem unending.

Still, a few people are trying to do what they can. On June 4 the New York Times carried a story about the rehab work with the brown pelicans of Fort Jackson, Louisiana. Once very common in that area, the brown pelican was nearly wiped out in the 1960's by the effects of DDT pesticides. Since then it has made an amazing comeback, and last year the brown pelican was taken off the endangered species list. Now its existence is threatened again. Rescue workers are trying to prevent that. They have been capturing the birds, as many as possible, some so heavily coated with oil that they cannot stand. They are fed and hydrated and cleaned up, and as of June 4th all of the rescued birds had survived. Please click the link here and read the story for more details.

On June 16 CNN ran video report on the rescue of a nest of 105 Loggerhead turtle eggs laid on Orange Beach, Alabama. The hatchlings would be in danger from the oil as well as from the cleanup efforts. Again, a few people did what they could. They moved and protected the nest, and when the eggs hatch, they will be moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where the water is still clean. Please click here and watch the short video.

I know the efforts of these few good people are only a drop in the proverbial bucket. The number of birds that can be cleaned will be only a small percentage of those that will die. The turtle that laid the eggs has already returned to the oily sea, and one wonders about her fate. And hey, the reason turtles lay so many eggs is that the survival rate of hatching is low even in good times. (Very small turtles are quickly gobbled up by other sea creatures and probably brown pelicans too!) Still, we cling to these few rays of hope that endangered species will survive and that the environment will not be ruined forever.

© 2010, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Turtle Troubles

It's been a while since this blog has seen news of my turtles, so I think it's time for an update. As you recall, I have two male Red Eared Sliders. In my post entitled What's in a Name? I recounted our difficulties in naming them. Based on their recent behavior we have reverted to the names my son originally gave to them: Dinky and Doofus. As you might expect, Dinky has always been the smaller of the two, his carapace (shell) now measuring 5" from head and tail. Doofus is now 6" long. Here's a pair of pictures to illustrate how much they've grown.

May 2006: Notice that both turtles fit between the supports
of the floating turtle dock.

September 2008: Now they fill the entire dock!

At five years of age, Doofus and Dinky are solidly into their adolescence and hormones abound. The courting ritual for aquatic turtles begins when the male turtle positions himself face to face with the female and extends both paws so that they touch the sides of the female's face. As the male flutters his paws, his long toenails stroke the sides of the female's face. This fluttering is a definite turn-on and leads to mating. Unfortunately for Doofus, the suitor, no amount of courting will entice Dinky, the wooed, into a role for which he is simply not equiped!

This behavior began some months ago. Doofus would flirt for a while, then get distracted and swim away. But just after Christmas we noticed that the courting had intensified. Doofus seemed unable to do anything else. He chased Dinky around the tank, fluttering those paws like a hopeless, lovelorn idiot! Dinky would occasionally snap back, but when even that response failed to drive Doofus away, Dinky withdrew into his shell and sank like a rock to the bottom of the tank. We tried separating them for brief periods, relegating Doofus to a 20 gallon tank. This strategy did nothing to discourage him. The amorous Doofus resumed his relentless courting whenever he found himself back in the 55 gallon tank with Dinky.

Realizing that courting behavior between two males is an attempt by the aggressor to establish dominance, we came to grips with the fact that Dinky's quality of life was doomed if he continued to live with Doofus. The turtles would have to be separated permanently. Separation meant finding one of them a new home or getting a second tank. Being more fond of the turtles than much of the furniture and miscellaneous nonsense that crowds my apartment, I threw out an old desk and some other useless items to make room for another tank.

I devoted my 3-day President's Day weekend (February 14-16) to Doofus's new home. On Saturday morning, with the help of my husband and son and a U-Haul panel truck, we moved all the stuff I had purchased from a Craigslist seller in Brooklyn to our Manhattan apartment. Saturday evening I cleaned and re-sealed the tank. Sunday I cleaned the 2 Eheim filters which were included. Monday I had new hoses installed on the Eheim filters, and by Monday night we filled the tank and put Doofus in his new environment. Voila!


The new tank is still a work in progress. At the moment, as you can see, it has only the necessities of life -- water, filtration, UVB lighting, and a floating turtle dock for basking. It looks pretty bare right now. I'll post more pictures when it's all decorated and finished.

Finally, the turtles are at peace. They show no signs of missing each other. In his 90 gallon tank, Doofus has room to dive deep and stretch his legs. He basks happily under his lamp and begs for food whenever I pass by. Dinky's 55 gallon tank seems more spacious now that he's the only one in it, and he often plays happily in the current of the output hose. He can bask on his dock or sleep on his brick without being knocked off every time he gets comfortable. What pampered turtles they are! Of the two, however, I can't help but think Dinky is the luckier one. Not only did I save him from the fate of most red eared sliders, from shell rot, and from drowning (see Lucky Larry), I set up another tank to free him from harrassment. What next?

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Turtle Ornament from Lauscha

My husband and I have been collecting Christmas tree ornaments for many years. This past Christmas our new ornament was a glittery, gold hand blown glass sea turtle purchased in a Greenwich Village gift shop. The store clerk thought it was made shortly after World War II in a German town called Lauscha.

Lauscha has long been famous for glass production. By 1597 glass blowers from Swabia who settled there were making drinking glasses and bulls eye panes. Legend has it that around 1860 a glass blower, too poor to afford real apples and nuts to decorate his Christmas tree, made painted glass replicas. While we can never know if poverty was the motivating factor, surely the invention of the glass mold was the enabling factor, and from 1860 onwards glass ornaments became increasingly popular. In the years that followed, toy wholesalers from Sonnenberg began exporting Lauschan ornaments all over the world. Around 1880, F. W. Woolworth, founder of the first chain of discount department stores, brought Lauchan ornaments to his store in Lancaster, Pennslyvania, and by 1900 Woolworth's business was such that he could order 200,000 ornaments for sale in America.

World War II and the split of Germany created difficult circumstances for the continuation of hand blown glass, where molds and methods were passed down from generation to generation. Some of the glass blowing families remained in Russian occupied East German Lauscha, while others moved to the American occupied region of Neustadt. East Germany's need for commerce dictated that hand blown glass ornaments made by artisans be replaced by mass produced glass ornaments made in state owned factories. By the time German unification arrived, times were hard in Lauscha, and the glass factory with its 1300 employees was languishing. In the early 1990's Krebs Glas, a leading West German manufacturing company, gained control of the business from the state. Krebs returned to the historic hand blown methods, opting for quality over quantity. That decision returned Lauscha to its rightful place as the "world's capital" of hand blown glass ornaments. Prosperity has returned, and most of the people in this small village make their living from the glass businesses.

I didn't know anything about Lauscha or the history of blown glass ornaments, so I found all this information fascinating. Also, I'm intrigued by the idea that someone in a landlocked, mountainous region thought it would be cool to hang a sea turtle on a Christmas tree.

I'm not sure how to confirm the age of my ornament. Given the history above, it's more likely that the ornament was made in the 1990's than in the late 40's or early 50's, so maybe it's not really an antique. However, googling around the internet has convinced me that my glittery, gold hand blown glass sea turtle is definitely unique. I found other turtle ornaments, but nothing quite like my little guy. I'm sure I'll look forward to his appearance on our tree for many years to come.

Photo by Michael B Hood, used with permission

Facts for this post were drawn from the following websites:

1. German Christmas Ornaments History by Chrysta Baker
2. The History of Krebs Glas Lauscha GmbH
3. For a Special Christmas, Glass Ornaments from Lauscha (great pictures)
4. German Christmas Ornaments
5. The History of Glass Christmas Ornaments from Lauscha
6. How a Christmas Ornament is Created!
7. Lauscha Glas Creation (ornaments for sale)

© 2009, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

New Aquatic Turtle Species Found in Scotland

With apologies for my long silence on this blog, I'm back with news of the discovery of a new species of aquatic turtle! Called Eileanchelys waldmaniare, this new species dates back 164 million years to the Middle Jurassic period. Turtle remains found on the Scottish Isle of Skye provided the basis for this discovery. After months of painstaking work extracting turtle skeletons from the rock in which they were embedded, four of the skeletons emerged nearly intact and represent the best specimens to date from this period.

Actually, in the past two years scientists uncovered two other new species from the mid-Jurassic era. Those came from Russia and Argentina. Previously, scientists hadn't known that aquatic turtles existed before the Late Jurassic period. Now they're able to date more accurately the period during which land turtles dating to 210 million years ago (in the Triassic era) evolved into water turtles. Differences in the turtles' skulls provides crucial information which distinguishes the two types. Since these turtles found in Scotland were in such remarkably good shape, they confirmed theories offered when the turtles in Russia and Argentina were discovered.

Scientists believe that the turtles found in Scotland lived in shallow bodies of fresh water. They base this theory on the geological qualities of the rock in which the fossils were found (shale and limestone containing layers of mud) and the fossils of sharks and salamanders found with the turtles.

Appropriately, the name Eileanchelys waldmaniare incorporates the Gaelic word "eilean" meaning "island." Translated, Eileanchelys waldmaniare means "the turtle from the island."

As keeper of two aquatic turtles, I'm thrilled to learn more about their ancestry. And as a fan of traditional Irish and Scottish music, I absolutely LOVE the fact that the new species has a Gaelic word rolled into its name!

This post highlights information from the sources listed below. Please click on the first two, as they contain some rather amazing copyrighted pictures which I know you'll enjoy.

(1) "Ancient Turtle Discovered on Skye," BBC News website, 19 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 21 Nov 2008.
(2) "Earliest Aquatic Turtles Found in Scotland," Natural History Museum (Tring, England) website, 19 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 21 Nov 2008.
(3) "A New Stem Turtle From The Middle Jurassic Of Scotland: New Insights On The Evolution And Palaeoecology Of Basal Turtles," PubMed, National Center for BioTechnology Information website, 18 Nov 2008, as viewed online on 23 Nov 2008.
(4) "A new, nearly complete stem turtle from the Jurassic of South America with implications for turtle evolution," PubMed, National Center for BioTechnology Information website, 23 Jun 2008, as viewed online on 23 Nov 2008.


(Scientists involved in the discovery of the Scotland turtles were associated with University College London (UCL) and the Natural History Museum in Tring (about 35 miles northwest of London). Their report has been published in the journal entitled "Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences." The Scotland turtle fossils are housed at the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. The project was funded by the National Geographic Society.)

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Sea Turtles Nesting in Palm Coast, Florida

My husband, Dan, is standing beside a nest of sea turtle eggs at Cinnamon Beach, a condominium resort in the town of Palm Coast which is halfway between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine on Florida's Atlantic Coast. We attended a family gathering there during the last week in June. I had no idea that sea turtles nest in Florida, so finding these nests was a delightful surprise. Little did I know that the East Coast of Florida is the world's second largest nesting site for loggerhead turtles.

Although loggerheads are the most common, leatherbacks and green sea turtles are also known to nest in the area. All are classified as either threatened or endangered and are protected by state and federal laws. Here's a closeup of the sign posted on all the nest sites:


According to the Volusia and Flagler Turtle Patrol, turtles have been nesting on beaches there for 100 million years. The Atlantic coast nesting season extends from March through October. Each nest contains up to 100 eggs. The eggs incubate in the sand for 50-70 days before the little turtles break out of their shells and scramble down the beach towards the water. Click here to see a Turtle Patrol video of a hatchling crawl across the beach and dive into the surf! (Be patient while the video loads. It's worth the wait!)

In our condo I found a copy of the Turtle Patrol's brochure (page 1 and page 2). It warns against behaviors which might prevent hatchlings from finding their way to the water. For example, light can disorient the hatchlings who generally make their run from the beach to the water at night. Apparently they head towards the glow of the horizon. Flashlights or lights from nearby houses can cause them to be confused and to head away from the water. The brochure also advises filling in any holes children might leave in the sand as well as holes made by beach umbrellas and cabanas, since deep indentations in the sand represent deadly hazards for hatchlings. Recreational vehicles should not be driven in soft sand, and all litter should be removed from the beach to ensure hatchlings reach the sea safely.

Even when all these precautions are observed, hatchling survival rate is pretty low. Only about one hatchling in 1,000-10,000 become mature adults. Some succomb to pitfalls on the beach, others become food for sharks, large fish, or sea birds. Storms are a problem too, since hatchlings emerge in hurricane season and are sometimes washed ashore by storms and stranded. They get sick from polluted waters and generally suffer from loss of habitat as beachfront development often means sand gets pumped in from the sea to improve the beaches and sea wall construction is undertaken to protect adjacent real estate. In fact, beach building projects during nesting seasion can result in burying of sea turtle nests. Life is truly hard...

If all goes well, the hatchlings remain in the coastal waters of the Indian River Lagoon which runs between the mainland and the barrier islands along most of Florida's Atlantic coast. They eat sea grass beds and are protected by the reefs near the shore. Eventually, they swim out to sea. Fifteen to twenty-fived years later, females will return to the same beaches where they were born to lay their eggs. While they do not nest every year, females will lay between three to eight clutches of eggs in a nesting season.

I was fascinated to think that only five minutes from the condo we rented, 200-350 pound turtles had hauled themselves out of the sea to lay eggs in the sand. One night I actually went down to the beach at midnight, hoping to see a big turtle. No luck. But after returning home, I decided to contribute to the work of the Volusia and Flagler Turtle Patrol by adopting one of the nests they protect. They will earmark a nest on Cinnamon Beach as "my" nest and will update me when the eggs hatch. Won't that be exciting? I may not have seen a turtle, but perhaps I'll get news about the hatchlings that emerge from the mound of sand above.


© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Turtle Sighting in Lower Manhattan

Photograph by Michael Natale, used with permission.

Earlier this month Michael Natale photographed this turtle outside the Battery Maritime Building located between Battery Park and the Battery Park City apartment complex in Lower Manhattan. (see his 6/4/08 blog post) Based on the color around the edges of the shell, both top and bottom, it might be a very dirty slider or cooter, or even a western painted turtle.** All are fresh water turtles, so what was this guy doing in the brackish waters of New York Harbor?

Theory #1: He could be a pet that got dumped. Because of their plentiful numbers, red-eared sliders are the most commonly sold turtle. You can buy them in NYC’s Chinatown novelty stores and in every pet store that carries turtles. Sometimes they are given away as prizes at events like state and county fairs. Regardless of where you get them, it’s unlikely that you would receive any information about their care or about the habitat they require. If kept in a tank, you need a strong filtering system and lighting that gives off UVB rays. Acquiring a baby turtle may cost only a few dollars, but a proper habitat will cost at least $200. The cost will continue as the turtle grows and needs a bigger tank. Red-eared sliders can live 40 years and grow to 12 inches in diameter. Adult sliders need plentiful swimming space. Installing a pond in your yard is a good idea, as a 200+ gallon tank is impractical for most people. You can see why red-eared sliders get dumped when they get too big. People often don't know what else to do. But releasing them into a natural setting isn't good either. Being voracious eaters, they can upset the ecosystem, causing other species to suffer or die.

Theory #2: He could be a escapee from Chinatown markets. New York's Chinatown markets, like San Francisco and other Chinese settlements around the world, sell live turtles for food. Turtles are considered a delicacy. Chinese believe that eating turtle meat will bring wisdom, health, and long life. In an article entitled “Turtle Tragedy: Demand in Asia May Be Wiping Out Turtle Populations Worldwide(1),” Wendy Williams speculates that as China’s economic status rises, more and more Chinese people are able to afford turtle, which fuels the import trade. While some of the imported turtles are bred for export in the southern United States, large numbers of exported turtles are wild caught. Turtles are collected from all over the world, without regard for the impact on the species. Despite agreements at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Williams’ article reports the sale of endangered species from all over the world. Even non-endangered turtles like red-eared sliders suffer because of lack of shipping regulations. Shipping conditions are far from humane, and enforcement is next to impossible because of the massive numbers being exported. Domestic Chinese turtles are commercially extinct, so the need to import turtles is great. One US shipper has a standing order for a ton of turtles per week for shipment to China. In his article entitled “Declared Turtle Trade From the United States(2),” Darrell Senneke reports 31,783,380 turtles were declared for export in over a 3-year period.

Theory #3: More likely this guy was purchased by a Buddhist in Chinatown and released in the East River. On August 7, 2007, The New York Sun reported on this ancient practice called fangsheng, or release of life. Practitioners believe that "setting turtles or other animals free increases a Buddhist's merit, which is believed to translate into a better rebirth." The New York Sun article told of a couple who rescue as many as turtles as possible (mainly red-eared sliders) from the East River and place them in the Central Park Turtle Pond. This practice is discouraged by Central Park gardening staff, however, because there are already too many non-native turtles in the pond. If you are inclined to rescue a red eared slider, Turtle Homes provides advice: http://www.turtlehomes.org/usa/red_ear_slider_adoptions.shtml

Speculating on how the turtle pictured above ended up on a Battery Park shore introduced me to a whole host of turtle issues. All pretty depressing stuff. As I learn more about the laws regarding turtle exports from the US, shipping conditions, I'll post that information here. Perhaps there are ways we can have a positive impact and improve the sad plight of turtles. I surely hope so. For now, I can take comfort in the safe, privileged life that I provide my two red-eared sliders. They bring beauty and joy into my living room, and they have much to teach me about the world in which I live.


(1) Wendy Williams, “Turtle Tragedy: Demand in Asia May Be Wiping Out Turtle Populations Worldwide,” Originally printed in Scientific American, June 1999. Reprinted by permission (New York Turtle and Tortoise Society, nytts.org/asianturtlecrisis.html). As viewed online at online at http://nytts.org/asia/wwilliams.htm on June 10, 2008.

(2) Darrell Senneke, "Declared Turtle Trade From the United States," World Chelonia Trust, http://www.chelonia.org/, 2006. As viewed online (at starting with the introductory page) at http://www.chelonia.org/articles/us/USmarketintropage.htm, June 10, 2008.


** After this post was published, Tony Simmons from the Red-Eared Slider Yahoo group and Yvonne from the World Chelonian Trust Yahoo group agreed that this turtle is a melanistic male red-eared slider. Tony says he sees them all the time in Houston where he lives. Here's another photo of a melanistic slider for comparison purposes.


© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

World Turtle Day

Did you know today - May 23 - is World Turtle Day? Don't feel too badly if you didn't know. It's a relatively recent thing. It was initiated in 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue, a California group involved with rescue as well as issues of conservation and protection. Given the plight of turtles, I think such a day is very appropriate so I'm doing my part to publicize it.

Since two red-eared sliders came into my life in October of 2003, I have learned many things about domestic aquatic turtles and their care. I've also become interested in turtles in the wild and the issues facing the large sea turtles that swim the oceans. People send me links and newspaper clippings about turtles around the country and around the world. It seems as though the turtles that swim in a tank in my living room have connected me to the wider realm turtle concerns.

An article entitled Celebrate World Turtle Day on the website of The Humane Society of the United States explains why turtles should receive this honor and why a date in May was chosen. Please take a moment to read it.

Here are seven ways you can celebrate World Turtle Day:

1. Read the article above to learn of the plight of sea turtles and some of the solutions being employed and proposed. The article also contains information on the risks to domestic turtles posed by pollution and development as well as export for food in other countries.
2. Know what to do If You See a Turtle in the Road. (not likely in Manhattan, but friends in Connecticut and New Jersey often see turtles trying to cross the road)
3. Know what to do If You Find A Sea Turtle. (hey, people from around the world read my turtle posts!)
4. Observe the 12 Things You Can Do For Turtles.
5. If someone you know has a birthday coming up, buy a gift from HerpArts.com. During their special sale May 23-25, 10% of all proceeds will go to The Center for Biological Diversity's project to stop the commercial collection of turtles taking place in the southern United States.
6. And speaking of the Center for Biological Diversity, please sign their petition to protect wild freshwater turtles in the southern United States. The Center has organized a coalition of conservation and health groups seeking to end the commercial harvest of freshwater turtles in four southern states and to stop the sale of contaminated turtles to domestic and international food markets. Click here to take action.
7. Donate to an organization that helps turtles. Here's a few organizations that could use your help. And if your company matches charitable gifts, don't forget to send along the appropriate form.

Terrapin Conservation of the Wetlands Institute (donate online)

Sea Turtle, Inc. (donate online)

Center for Biological Diversity (donate online)

Turtle Conservation Fund (send checks c/o Chelonian Research Foundation -- an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Address: 168 Goodrich St., Lunenburg, MA, 01462 USA)

Humane Society of the United States (in addition to their education regarding turtles, they do wonderful work to stop cruelty to pets & farm animals)

If you know of other organizations, please leave that info in a comment.

Happy Turtle Day!

© 2008, Linda Mason Hood
Truffles, Turtles & Tunes Copyright Statement

Lucky Larry

On Monday Larry the turtle nearly drowned. Since turtles don’t have gills, they will drown if they can’t get to the surface to breathe. Larry got himself stuck on the poles underneath his sunning dock and if we hadn’t intervened, he would have been one dead turtle.

As you can see from this photo of the ZooMed Floating Turtle Dock, plastic poles pass through holes in the dock and attach to the sides of the tank with suction cups. This design allows the dock to adjust to the changing water level as evaporation occurs. The designers evidently didn’t anticipate that those poles could pose a hazard for an inquisitive and stubborn turtle.

Larry must have been trying to move one of the vertical poles just like he occasionally moves the weighted log which decorates the floor of his tank. That’s the only way I can explain how he managed to get the nubs at the front of his plastron (bottom shell) firmly clipped onto one of the poles underneath the dock. If you look carefully at this picture I found on Randy’s Turtles, you can see the little nubs that stick out from the plastron on either side of the turtle’s head. The shell between the nubs recedes a little to allow more room for the turtle to extend his neck.

I wish now I had taken a quick picture of Larry -- his body at a 90 degree angle as compared to the turtle pictured above, forming a T with the dock. His face was pushed against the glass, his head and neck sunk nearly all the way into his shell. His front legs were folded back against his shell and his motionless back legs extended straight out. His eyes were closed. It was about the strangest pose I'd ever seen.

Since turtles do sleep in odd positions, I chuckled and called this sight to my husband’s attention. He was skeptical, so we tapped on the side of the tank and tried to wake Larry up. He opened his eyes only slightly but otherwise remained motionless. We were immediately alarmed because red-eared sliders are very skittish, and our tapping should have induced frantic swimming and thrashing about. Suddenly we both realized Larry couldn’t move -- and might be dead! We ripped the suction cups off the glass, and my husband forced Larry’s shell off the pole. After a minute or so, Larry opened his mouth and it seemed there was hope. We checked his shell and thankfully it was not cracked. I held poor Larry in my hand as he caught his breath. When his breathing slowed down I put him back in the water. He swam normally, a good sign. Several times he opened his mouth very wide and finally burped up some water and particles. After that he resumed totally normal behavior and has seemed fine ever since.

So far Larry’s been lucky three times. (1) He ended up with me, bypassing the fate of most red-eared slider hatchlings. Check out this article if you want to see just how lucky! (2) His mild shell rot seems to be completely cured - a condition which, unattended, would have slowly killed him. (3) He’s been saved from drowning. If things come in three's, maybe his life will be less dangerous in the future. But if turtles have nine lives like cats are said to have, I hope his luck holds out, and my nerves as well!

© 2007, Linda Mason Hood
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