Good Turtle Karma

[Andrea]

I stopped and helped a turtle out today. It was wandering in the street in a new neighborhood where each side of the street had barrier fence up, so it was very lost in trying to get to an opening where it could be off of the asphalt! It hissed at me, but I pointed out to it that there were several others up & down the street that weren't so lucky...

What about you guys? Stop? Keep going? Take them home & make them pets? I always stop- to the point that the guys I normally ride with know to watch for me to slow down & U turn...

[withm]

Here we have problems with turtles crossing a busy highway to lay eggs... the naturalists say to pick them up and deposit them on the other side of the road (snow fence) IN THE DIRECTION they were originally traveling. This could mean crossing 4 lanes of traffic where the speed limit is 55 but the traffic moves closer to 70mph. Thus, I've never attempted to expedite a turtle crossing the road; usually they are already pancakes when I see them. If I saw one on a different road, I would not hesitate, but I have to draw the line on the highway.

[Blueberry]

I've moved more than a few (but thankfully not on a 4 lane road). I mostly help box turtled - not a fan of snapping turtles.

CA

[Zen]

I'm with CA, boxes yes, snappers...

[madscot13]

you know you are faster than snapping turtles.

I have not seen a turtle crossing the road in a long time. I would have to stop the urge to bring it home. I love turtles.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I move the snappers too....even the big ones. You just have to grab their tail faster than they can spin around.

[Zen]

Can they stretch their necks far enough to reach their rear?

[Crankin]

I don't stop, but my riding partner always does...

[singletrackmind]

Every time I move one to the side of the road I imagine it's thinking

'Gee, thanks lady, but I was trying to get to the other side. Now I've gotta start all over!'

But I move them anyways, always to where they were aimed.

[redrhodie]

I saw one in the road when I was driving, pulled over, and made dbf head back to move it. It was a snapper, and actually leaped up at him, was hissing and trying to attack. I had no idea they were so fierce. Now I'm afarid of them.

[bmccasland]

I've moved various turtles, but not snappers. I think if I saw one of them, they'd be on their own. Oh, I've learned that turtle pee is not something you want to get on you.

[horsemom]

I am a long time turtle helper. My husband is a vet, and we do wildlife rehab, so even if they are hit but still alive (cracked shell) I pick them up and we give it a try. There are more than a few turtles in the wild now that have patched shells!!

The key to snappers is to get them to grab a stick or snow brush with their mouth, then pick them up by the tail and the stick to move them. I have even used a sneaker from my gym bag to have them snap at, then just drag them if they are too big.

Make sure you wash your hands or do the sanitizer thing after handling reptiles.

Laura

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Can they stretch their necks far enough to reach their rear?

Almost, but they can't quite reach their own tails, so if you are quick and grab the base of their tails before they can turn towards you, it's safe. Then just drag them off the road if they are heavy. I'm a long time snapper catcher. I've even leaped into a pond and grabbed them by their tails! Also have caught them by hand while swimming.

[rij73]

I will always stop to help any animal. I'll try to move it to safety. If it's something I'm scared of being bitten by, I'll use some object to coax it. Once when I was a kid, my mom refused to let me rescue a turtle on the side of the road. When I got back from school, I found it completely smushed. I was traumatized by that!

[tulip]

When I almost got to Big Meadow on Skyline Drive (Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia--all day climbing), I stopped and helped a box turtle across. I was only going about 4 mph at that point, so it was easy to convince myself to take a little helpful break.

My mom tried to move a big snapper with a snowshovel once and it whipped around and snapped the snowshovel and cracked it (plastic, not metal). Gotta be careful with those guys.