So PETA has recently posted an article about helping turtles across the road. While this sounds great, the article is loaded with nasty images of turtles who have been crushed by cars. The images are close-up, gory, and overall terrible to look at. So, for those of you out there who don’t want to see that, I’m making a post with happy pictures instead:
So turtles are amazing. I mean, look at that face
And often times during the warm months you will see turtles on the roadway just trying to get where they’re going. Unlike this little guy who’s already found the perfect spot
If you see a turtle in the road. The best thing to do is put on your hazard lights and safely pull over. watch for other cars as you examine the situation. Most turtles you come across aren’t super aggressive, so if you go to pick them up, the only thing they’ll do is this
if the turtle isn’t a snapping turtle or other aggressive turtle, simply pick it up like a hamburger to reduce the risk of injuring it, and take it to the side of the road that it’s trying to get to.
If it is a snapping turtle like this guy
or another kind of more agressive turtle, keep your distance. try to find a stick or something else you can goad it into focusing on. If you’re lucky, it will keep trying to attack the stick and you can “kite” it across the road. If not, call animal control and wait until they arrive. They’re trained to handle the situation.
In either case DO NOT take and wild turtles or tortoises home. I realize that they are incredible adorable
but you can seriously disrupt their environment and the overall population by keeping wild animals as pets. If you are looking for a pet reptile, it’s best to adopt from a shelter, or if you can’t find one, find a breeder that raises their reptiles ethically.
In addition, do not take them to a different area either, even if it’s a nearby lake in town. You could be taking it too far away from it’s home, lessening it’s chance of survival. Only take it to where it was already going.
Thank you all for reading, please share to help spread the word. Images I posted are not mine, with the exception of the sulcata tortoise hiding in the grass (That’s my shy boy).
IMPORTANT PSA (also adorable shell photos hee please give your boy some head skritches from us)
A reminder: never ever ever pick up a turtle by its tail. When it comes to snapping turtles, it’s a tempting option, but you risk permanently damaging their spines (which are attached to their tails directly). And always remember to help the turtle across the road in the direction it was headed.
My favorite method is using the back of its shell as “handles,” which you’ll see in the video, and I’m doing here:
Granted, this is difficult if the turtle is extremely muddy! You’ll see plenty of options in the video for helping these guys across the road!
Also remember that even non-snappers have sharp claws they will use to try to “dig” away from you, so be prepared before you pick them up so you don’t get startled and drop them!
Finally, it’s not only bad for the environment to take a turtle home, but in most places (like Ohio), it is Very illegal to collect eastern box turtles! They’re in the wild for a reason; the ecosystem needs them! SO leave them alone to do their jobs.
Thank you for keeping our wildlife safe!
Also! Never place a turtle or tortoise that you’ve found in the water unless you are 100% certain that it is a turtle and can swim. If you’re not quite sure, put it right next to any readily available water, let it decide.
Soft-shell turtles look kind of like grey pancakes and are going to be very difficult to move. The edges of the shell are soft, so you have to get a hand under them for support, and they have a very long neck that they can bite at you with. Your best bet might be to annoy it out of the road, or slide something under it to move it. They also release a musk. it stinks.
And, as stated above, always put the turtle on the side of the road it was headed towards. If you don’t, it’ll just get back onto the road and try again.
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