# Turtles and their eggs, take 2



## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Well, so much for careful handling of reptile eggs. Caught a nice big red eared slider in May that became dinner. She spent two days in the fridge till I had time to deal with her and the eggs that had shelled up spent the next night uncovered on a plate in the fridge while I tried to come up with some way to cook them that was tasty. Failing that I planted them 5 inches deep in a flower bed and guess what?

We have 4 little green turtles today :bouncy:

Just great, four more mouths to feed lol but the kids (and I) are thrilled they hatched!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Need pics of tiny turtles.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Need pics of tiny turtles.


Yes we do!


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh I KNOW you do but its OUT OF CHARGE!!!!

And just today I found a little treefroglet nestled between two ripening cherry tomatoes and had a dead camera :sob:


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Ooh, ooh!! I took this one INSIDE my kitchen window,a few mornings back.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Ooh, ooh!! I took this one INSIDE my kitchen window,a few mornings back.


FANTASTIC!!!!

What kind is it?

The one popping about the grass out back here are Squirrel Tree Frogs.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

What kind? :shrug:

IDK, the adorable ones that are the size of your thumbnail.
Certainly a treefrog, but not sure which variety.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> What kind? :shrug:
> 
> IDK, the adorable ones that are the size of your thumbnail.
> Certainly a treefrog, but not sure which variety.


It must be a Darling Frog! Thats what my daughter calls little tree frogs.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh? Good to know their proper name. 


(I am SO calling them that, from now on.)


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Oh? Good to know their proper name.
> 
> 
> (I am SO calling them that, from now on.)



It pleases her mightily to be spreading the proper names of things around lol.

Managed to take a picture of little treefroglet in the tomato plant but it wasnt between the tomatoes anymore, just on a leaf.

Tomorrows project (today's was build a bookcase) is pictures of adorable turtles.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

I may have missed a chance at having baby snappers hibernate within the eggs and hatch in the spring. 4-lane US highway and 65 MPH speed limit and no stopping or turning around. Saw a dead snapper at the edge of the highway and no chance to stop in the heavy traffic. This would be very late for turtles to lay eggs and it was a small female coming out for her first time. A pity that I don't have a chance to correct what someone else messed up. 

Martin


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Paquebot said:


> Saw a dead snapper at the edge of the highway and no chance to stop in the heavy traffic. This would be very late for turtles to lay eggs and it was a small female coming out for her first time. A pity that I don't have a chance to correct what someone else messed up.
> 
> Martin


Saw the biggest turtle I have EVER seen dead on the road a few months ago but as it was gone when we went home a few hours later I think someone picked it up. That was before I knew about the egg thing. Now I woud have picked it up and put it on ice.

HATE seeing them where I cant pick them up though :grit:


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## birdsong (Jul 25, 2010)

I have hunted and grabbed turtles for years. Here is what I know about them. If you get a female in the spring with good hard eggs in her, save them. Bury them about 3 inches deep in a half bucket of sand. Moisten and keep in a warm (but not direct sun ) location. Keep the sand moist and do not disturb them. In 90 days they will hatch and you will have a new crop for the future. I have hatched and turned loose many more turtles than I have ever caught.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Here's a frog photo I grabbed out of a local paper.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Awwwwww cute!


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

Hmmm...son-in-law works down in Florida for the gov. and lately they have been counting turtles and finding their eggs on the beach. Been trying to protect them from prey. Different type of turtles..I suppose. But, I guess I just don't get eating turtles..and yet again..I suppose many from down south can't see how up north a lot of people go deer hunting for meat either.


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

that's kind of a silly statement. most southern states have larger bag limits, longer deer seasons, more doe days, 2 ruts and no minimum age to hunt. southern states actually have better success recruiting young hunters & even a lot of yanks buy into southern leases so they can bring their kids earlier. a lot of southerners live entirely or almost off the deer they kill (which isn't too hard if you have annual bag limits of 6 or 12 or 15 or even no limit if you have access to DMAP tags).
you might also notice some of the turtle eaters here are from yankee states.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Son came to me with some interesting news today. The lake where I released a batch of snappers about 12 years ago is a new one which had no turtle population of any kind. He was exercising his dogs in the public area today and found a newly-hatched snapper on a trail. It's a fair-sized lake and would take several miles to walk around. Where the baby was found is a small public access area which also is close to where the 22 two-year olds were released. Even then, I'm certain that there were only 3 females in the lot and they were almost pets in that they recognized me as their "god". At least one of them survived and when it became time to come out to lay her eggs, she did so in the same small area where she entered the lake. (I'm impressed at how that works!) I've now introduced two batches of young into that lake and 10 years apart. Never thought that I'd see the day when I'd know that I'd see proof of my efforts. Almost all previous baby snapper hatchlings had always been released into the headwaters of streams eventually leading to the Wisconsin River. Now wishing that my son had brought the little thing home so that I could have told it that I knew its parents. Looking back, did turn out to be the best release point without my consideration. There's a continual slight upgrade to the edge of the DNR property where it crests in a seed corn field. That's an east-facing knoll and no ground disturbance for the 90 days required for hatching. The little one today isn't going to be the last! Almost feel like a proud grandpa! 

Martin


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Paquebot said:


> Son came to me with some interesting news today. The lake where I released a batch of snappers about 12 years ago is a new one which had no turtle population of any kind. He was exercising his dogs in the public area today and found a newly-hatched snapper on a trail. It's a fair-sized lake and would take several miles to walk around. Where the baby was found is a small public access area which also is close to where the 22 two-year olds were released. Even then, I'm certain that there were only 3 females in the lot and they were almost pets in that they recognized me as their "god". At least one of them survived and when it became time to come out to lay her eggs, she did so in the same small area where she entered the lake. (I'm impressed at how that works!) I've now introduced two batches of young into that lake and 10 years apart. Never thought that I'd see the day when I'd know that I'd see proof of my efforts. Almost all previous baby snapper hatchlings had always been released into the headwaters of streams eventually leading to the Wisconsin River. Now wishing that my son had brought the little thing home so that I could have told it that I knew its parents. Looking back, did turn out to be the best release point without my consideration. There's a continual slight upgrade to the edge of the DNR property where it crests in a seed corn field. That's an east-facing knoll and no ground disturbance for the 90 days required for hatching. The little one today isn't going to be the last! Almost feel like a proud grandpa!
> 
> Martin


Dontcha just feel GREAT when you know you did something good :clap:

My three remaining hatchlings (had a fatal accident with one of them) have learned to beg.

Aint that sweet :grin:


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## mistymomom (Jun 13, 2010)

Word of warning about the green tree frogs....Wash your hands very carefully after handling them. We had 2 that lived in our bathroom last winter. After touching him I rubbed my eye. Next time I will just pour gasoline in my eye and light it on fire. Ahhhhh very painful. Flushed with lots of water, no permanent damage but oh the pain. I think it is a defense mechanism.
I love the tiny turtles. I had some as a kid but haven't been able to find any for my children. I have 120 gallon aquarium that would be a great wet/dry turtle habitat.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

mistymomom said:


> Word of warning about the green tree frogs....Wash your hands very carefully after handling them. We had 2 that lived in our bathroom last winter. After touching him I rubbed my eye. Next time I will just pour gasoline in my eye and light it on fire. Ahhhhh very painful. Flushed with lots of water, no permanent damage but oh the pain. I think it is a defense mechanism.
> I love the tiny turtles. I had some as a kid but haven't been able to find any for my children. I have 120 gallon aquarium that would be a great wet/dry turtle habitat.


Just find a nice big turtle fresh dead on the road next spring (or catch it and eat it, they are GOOD food) and take the eggs out. Bury them about 5 or 6 inches deep and wait, they should hatch out just fine lol.

Thats how I got our three.


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## RWBlue01 (Aug 11, 2010)

Helena said:


> But, I guess I just don't get eating turtles..


I am a northerner.
If you catch a fresh water turtle and eat it, you will change your mind. Turtles are good eating.

Additionally, in many places they are considered a pest so, people who will not let you fish in their pond, will let you trap them out of their ponds.


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