EASTERN BOX TURTLES

Wantagh NY

Description

Good day all. It's that time of year again when Eastern Box Turtles make their way across our roads and landscape. We see them out as early as March, especially after a good rain on a sunny day. This years mild winter may even produce them earlier. Every year I get many phone calls from good hearted people that take these turtles thinking that they are doing good but more often than not, more harm is done than good. If you see a box turtle trying to cross the road and want to help out of fear of it being hit, place it on the side of the road that it was trying to get to. Please refrain from bringing them home as well. If you take a box turtle out of its habitat it will do WHATEVER it can to get back to where it came from no matter how far! They will dig and even climb fences to achieve their goal, which is going home, even if it means dying. It is in this journey that they will surely be killed. So please, if you want to really help them, leave them in their natural habitat unless they are injured. If you find one that is injured, write down exactly where you found him/her. By doing this, a rehabber like myself, will know where to release the turtle once healed. If we don't know where they came from then they can't be released. It is ILLEGAL to buy, sell, trade, capture, or own Eastern Box Turtles in NYS. Please help me preserve this natural beauty by doing the right thing. If you find one that needs help, make sure that whoever you give it to has a NYS Rehabbers license and ask to see it. If someone claiming to be a rehabilitator refuses to show their license, chances are they don't have one! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. Have a great spring and summer. :) Reigning Dragons Reptile & Wildlife Rescue