Turtle Journal

Flower, the freeloading box turtle hatchling who took possession of my garage lab on 14 November, has begun to practice magic.  Waking as the first light of dawn poked through the oak leaf pile, under which she hides each night presumably from mythical garage owls, Flower plowed through her breakfast plate of chopped tomato, lettuce, mushroom and berries and sauntered across her makeshift terrarium.  She paused for a brief stopover at her wading pool to wash out the night’s cobwebs, then zigzagged to the converted sushi bowl, which serves as her swimming hole.  She slipped down a mossy patch, which subs as a safety ladder and spent the rest of the day lounging in her pool.

Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling

When I checked this evening, Flower had rumbled back across the terrarium to her secret hideaway.  And, amazingly, the entire sushi bowl was bare dry.  Not a hint of moisture remained.  How a quarter ounce hatchling manages to conceal a quarter cup of water indicates a level of magical power beyond mere mortal power to discern.

Yesterday afternoon residents spotted a 7–8 year old female terrapin plodding out of Chipman’s Cove, heading onto the beach.  She is a still immature female less than 12.5 centimeters plastron length and weighing only 472 grams.  She probably will not reach nesting maturity until the 2002 season.

Pre-Pubescent Female Diamondback Terrapin

Still groggy, she sports the telltale brownish stains which indicates recent withdrawal from her muddy hibernaculum.  Now, February 6 is not the date one expects terrapins to begin sashaying around the shoreline, especially out here at the end of the universe.  So, something unexpected woke her from slumber.

Pre-Pubescent Female Terrapin Carapace and Plastron

Her right eyelid swelled from an abrasion and her carapace showed cracks and scratches which appear to have been caused by a raking instrument.  (Yesterday brought an invitingly low tide for mucking on the tidal flats.)  With no open wound nor bleeding, the best bet seems to be trying to induce her back into brumation.  She’s being kept in a cool, dark, but comfortable environment, so with any luck, she can resume a well-earned winter rest.

“Flower” – Eastern Box Turtle Hatchling

Tiny Flower, the box turtle hatchling found cold-stunned and dropped on my doorstep on 14 November, has become quite active this last week.  In her makeshift terrarium with a beautiful southern exposure to the Fresh Brook marsh from my garage lab, she had settled into a slow but sure rhythm through December and January.  She would hunker down beneath her pile of oak leaves for a couple of days, then lumber over to her wading pool (a converted sushi bowl) where she’d lounge for a few hours, stopping and grazing at her food pile en route to the pool and back to her hiding place.

Eastern  Box Turtle Hatchling

For the last week or so, she’s begun daily power walks, active on and off from dawn to dusk.  She spends a lot more time in her two pools and almost no time hiding under the leaves.  If she’s reacting to the new sun angle in anticipation of spring, she seems a bit premature.  But on the other hand, when you live in a temperature-controlled, humidity-controlled habitat with a nice heat lamp to keep life warm and toasty, spring may simply be a state of mind.

A balmy 40+ degrees and a gentle breeze transformed the ice encrusted Fox Island marsh into a salty hayfield.  Exposed by the thaw, yet nearly invisible beneath thick, matted marsh grass, was the remains of an adult male terrapin.

Adult Male Terrapin Remains in Fox Island WMA

Plastron and carapace smooth by age, this mature male measured 12.1 centimeters straight-line carapace length and 10.5 centimeters plastron length.  The shell itself was water-logged from long exposure.  It exhibited no scratches nor predation marks.

 

Terrapin Carcass Embedded in Thick Marsh Grass

Since 3 November, the Fox Island Wildlife Management Area has revealed a total of 25 diamondback terrapin remains: 12 identified as male, 11 as female.  They ranged in age from several three-year-old juveniles to many smooth shelled elders.  Five had previously been observed and marked, including one male which was seen active and healthy as late as 30 September of this year.

Last year this same area yielded nearly a hundred dead turtles.

Wellfleet’s Fox Island Surrounded by Icy Flood Tide

At mid-tide today, summer residents, retreating to the end of the universe for a weekend break from the mainland bustle, found the remains of a six-year-old diamondback terrapin on Indian Neck’s Fox Island.

Male Terrapin Carcass Resting on Icy Marsh

They found the turtle near the center of the island in the north quadrant, fairly deep into the interior and quite distant from the high water line.

Dead 10 cm Male Terrapin

This mature male measured 10 centimeters carapace length and 8.25 centimeters plastron.  He still sported clearly visible annual growth lines.  While decomposed and desiccated, there were no tooth marks nor scratches to indicate predation.