There is a turtle in my bathtub.

[Night Owl Mama]

I loved reading this. The little things that make up the tapestry of our lives are so unexpected and random at times. You have a good heart, and you did the right thing.

 

[FlowerGarden]

Glad you made the decision to return the turtle. We live where there is a body of water with lots of turtles. The turtles here come to the dry land to bury their eggs usually. Once in a while we get a stray turtle that hangs around for days and someone will put it back near the water.

 

[Copabanana]

someone will put it back near the water

We are glad we brought him back but still feel bad about those 2 dogs that were running towards him. M believes they would have killed him.

He was about 8" wide. Does he have defenses against dogs? I just want to put this to rest. Not him. The fear.

 

[Lil]

Copa that's what the shell is for! Of course he has a defense. Dogs can't bite through a shell...he pulls his head and legs in and he just waits it out ff one is trying to get him. A dog can't pry a turtle open and would give up pretty quickly in favor of easier food. Those dogs don't care about that one little turtle.

He's FINE! Really! You did him a favor by getting him off the road. A car could have crushed him. A dog can't.

And speaking as someone who has been bitten by a turtle - they have a pretty good offense too! When I was little a turtle grabbed me by the finger while I was trying to feed it. My cousin had to pry his mouth open with a car key to get him to let go. He was hanging on til Judgment Day!

 

[GoingNorth]

Lil, I was appalled many years ago to discover that at least a small, female German Shepherd is quite capable of biting through a turtle's shell.

She also was planning on eating it and was NOT happy when I made her drop the (now dead) turtle. I have no doubt that she would've been able to separate the carapace and plastron to get at the meat inside.

Also, many turtles and tortoises are not able to fully retract the head and neck, so there's that vulnerability as well.

 

[Copabanana]

turtles and tortoises

Lil was trying to make me feel better so that I did not feel responsible (partly) for M's picking up the turtle in the middle of the road. It may well be that he met another bad fate because we intervened to save him. Maybe there is a moral of the story with respect to our difficult kids.

Everybody meets their destiny.

 

[GoingNorth]

Sorry, Copa. I tend to be rather literal in my interpretations of both speech and the written word. That didn't even occur to me.

I'm sorry if I made you feel sad or worried.

If it's any consolation, I do know that a domestic cat cannot kill a turtle, except perhaps a newly hatched one. When I lived up North, my Jakey (RIP little man) showed up batting something around and throwing it all over the drive way.

I went to see what all the racket was and initially thought it was a hockey puck. Once I got Jakey detached from his toy, I realized that it was a baby red slider turtle. (endangered, and not just this individual). Sliders are able to pull everything into their shell and slam the door, which this baby luckily had.

I took the little one down to the end of the property, hiked down the ravine to the swamp, and desposited the little one on a dry tussock in the swampy area I figured it'd come from.

I waited, hidden behind some brush. It took that poor, little thing a half hour to recover enough from its fright to stick its head out of its shell. It finally made its slow way to the water and swam off.

 

[Copabanana]

It finally made its slow way to the water and swam off.

Thank you Going. I like this story.

And it is possible too that the dogs were coming after M and in their excitement about him, completely overlooked the turtle, giving him opportunity to getaway. After all, our little turtle *as well as the others living centuries and ions, had ways to meet head on their predators.

This is the turtle's life. We allowed him to live it. Now that is a moral of the story for our kids.

Thank you Going and LIl.

 

[Lil]

Lil, I was appalled many years ago to discover that at least a small, female German Shepherd is quite capable of biting through a turtle's shell.

She also was planning on eating it and was NOT happy when I made her drop the (now dead) turtle. I have no doubt that she would've been able to separate the carapace and plastron to get at the meat inside.

Also, many turtles and tortoises are not able to fully retract the head and neck, so there's that vulnerability as well.

How do I down vote this? LOL!
I stand corrected.

 

[Copabanana]

How do I down vote this? LOL!

Oh Lil...You were just trying to make me feel better. And you did!!!

And now, Going, now we are all a bit closer to being turtle/tortoise experts especially in terms of their domestic predators (M and I were skirting a little bit too close to this category but whew, we got ourselves out).

Thank you everybody.

 

[Lil]

I actually didn't think there was any way any dog short of maybe a Rottie or Pitbull could bite through a box turtle shell.

FWIW, I really do doubt very much those dogs cared about the turtle though. There are much easier meals out there.

 

[Copabanana]

As a direct consequence of this thread, I am now reasonably convinced that the dogs were coming after M, who conveniently distracted them from the turtle. And I bet that they were likely following M's retreat more closely than that of the turtle who they may not likely have seen at all. I like this, this hypothetical version of events.

In any event we all agree that the turtle is better off facing the reality of his life, rather than mine. I have no regrets about that decision.

Especially that I am a bathtub person and I bathe every morning before work. We all had to take sponge baths because the other master bathroom belongs to the dogs!

Thank you everybody. Lil. Talking about dogs, would you tell me a bit about your Boston Terriers, please?

 

[GoingNorth]

GSDs are up in about the top 4 in bite strength. They have longer and sharper teeth, and a longer muzzle, but do not have quite the same jaw musculature as is evidenced by the shape of their heads.

In Hanni's case, she picked up the turtle while frolicking in a stream in Germany. Smell must've told her there was "meat" inside that shell as she immediate bit through it (GSDs can also shatter a cow femur or bite the end off a beef knuckle bone.)

She also caught fish. GSDs are NOT known as water dogs, but she loved the water and swam quite well for a breed not at all designed for swimming.

What scares me a lot more than critters that can bite through a turtle's shell are critters, such as sharks and some crocodilians that can DIGEST a turtle's shell. Yep. Just swallow the sucker whole.

 

[Copabanana]

This turtle will never ever know how much concern and interest he has generated in the short time his life intersected with ours and yours.

Or will he?

 

[Lil]

Talking about dogs, would you tell me a bit about your Boston Terriers, please?

Gosh, I'm not sure what to say about them. We have two, Mac and Suzie, who are litter-mates. We got them from a breeder when they were 8 weeks old and while I'd never do that again, next time I'll rescue, they've been such a joy.

Funny story, when Jabber and I and our son went to see the puppies, we really wanted a boy. I'd been told that girls aren't as good pets because the ladies get hormonal. lol We said we were just looking (funny that we took a carrier along) because we'd lost our little Cocker not long before and she was a snorer - she'd shake the walls - and it was too quiet in the bedroom. Jabber and I couldn't sleep! Anyway, the lady was pulling puppies out of the kennel, grabbed Suzie and said, "Oh they don't want you." and started to put her back...but I thought that was mean and said, "Oh no! Let her come play with her brothers!" We sat down and Suz waddled up to Jabber, climbed up his lap and torso and stuck her nose right in the crook of his neck. Which is basically where she stayed! She'd play a bit, then come back and go right to that position. Finally we asked the lady for a minute and when she walked away, Jabber said, "You know we have to get this one." For some reason though, it never even occurred to us to NOT get a boy and get just one! So the lady gave us a $100 per puppy discount and we took two puppies home.

Two was a dream though. They cried at 3 a.m. the first night to potty...and never did again. Slept thru the night every night. They really are inseparable. If one has to go to the vet the other is SO SAD. I don't know what we'll do when one passes on.

They are funny little dogs. BARK AT EVERYTHING! At least in the house. Outside (on a leash, always) they don't make a peep. The neighbors think they're so quiet. LOL! They played SO ROUGH when they were little - Boston's play this game called "Bitey-face" where they grab each other by the jowls and tug and pull and growl and anyone who doesn't know better would think they're killing each other. But it's a game. I've seen one literally pull the other across the carpet on their back - by their face! Blood has been shed. They did grow out of that after about 3 years. I think they're about 10 now.

Mac is, sadly, blind. He got basically the Boston Genetic Defect jackpot. He's got weak knees, bad eyes, and allergies. We give him eye drops 4 x a day and he's a trooper about it. He still has some sight, so we hesitate to take the medical steps that would stop us from having to give him drops, but would also cost what's left of his vision. He has a condition that causes his eyes to hold too much liquid in the cornea and cataracts on top of that.

Suzie is healthy as can be thank God. All she has is some skin issues. They may be littermates, but they are night and day, in both build and personality. Mac has little man syndrome and thinks he can beat up a Rottie. Suzie has literally bellied-up to a teacup poodle. The only dog she doesn't submit to is Mac...and any dog that dares pick on him. The ONE time I saw her act aggressive to another dog was when one jumped Mac. He yelped and she hit the end of her leash raising Hell and fully planning on taking that big dog apart for hurting her brother!

Can you tell I like my dogs a little bit?

They are SMART, funny, little dogs. Have jaws like a rottie though...chew on everything and EAT anything that hits the floor! They literally dig the grout out of our tile and eat it. They can't have toys because they destroy them in minutes. Even the stuffed firehose toys. And chews like hooves are great, but they both have to have the SAME ONE. We've tried giving them 3, and Mac gets that many in his mouth. We tried giving 4 or 5, thinking he couldn't hog that many, they still always want the one the other one has. Annoying, but pretty funny really.

 

[1905]

I ride my bike in a wildlife preserve every single morning. The turtles, birds, deer, etc.. are so beautiful, thats their home. I wouldn't even pick a flower much less take an animal to my house! Turtles can go under the dirt and they aren't totally slow. That turtle will be fine, I and am glad it's back.

 

[GoingNorth]

1905, in this case the turtle was found in the middle of a road. Copa's SO picked it up and bought it home because he was afraid it would be hit by a car and killed.

Why he brought it home I don't know, but I think his motives were pure.

 

[Lil]

Why he brought it home I don't know, but I think his motives were pure.

I think he was rescuing it. Personally, I'd have just moved it the other side of the road it was going towards. But then again, like I said, turtles in the road are SO common here.

I can't get over how sweet M and Copa are. M rescues the little guy out of fear of squashing. They give up their bathtub - and apparently bathing - so the fella can have a home.

It's just unbearably cute.

 

[donna723]

Lil, I think you've got the Boston thing down! I've got three of them, two girls and a boy. I've never noticed much difference in temperament between the boy and the girls but their personalities are completely different. They are all affectionate and playful but in different ways. Katy was already spayed when I got her but I really didn't notice any difference in Ragan after she was spayed. Mine are all senior citizens, 10, 12 and 14. Ragan just turned 14 and is almost completely blind but gets around fine. The thing about Bostons is that they are fearless with other dogs. If challenged, they would take on a Rottweiler, no problem. They have no idea how little they really are. They're tough little dogs. I think of them as velvet covered rocks. And every one of them plays bitey face. It's truly a Boston thing. And Katy does what I've always called a nose nudge. She'll be sitting in my lap and then quickly lunge forward and firmly bump her nose in to mine, then give me this look like ... "Gotcha"! She thinks it's funny. And it is! And forget about the toys! The only ones they can't destroy are the Cuz's and some of the heavy duty black rubber Kong toys.

 

[Lil]

And every one of them plays bitey face. It's truly a Boston thing.

Ours seemed to outgrow bitey face at a certain age. They still play, but Mac's eyesight has settled him way down.

Do yours sneeze-fight? Ours will be playing and suddenly start this vicious sneezing - both of them. Snot flying everywhere. It's both disgusting and hilarious.