In mid-November last year, just before Archer got sick, Southern California was hit by a series of huge rain storms.
Now to those of you suffering through this horrible season of blizzards, I know rain storms may not seem like much but to us these were monsters. There was even flooding in some areas. Northern San Diego county was wet but the worst of the damage that I know of came from power outages, downed trees, and some damaged roofs.
Thankfully, Paul and I didn’t have any damage, but we did have one surprise. One afternoon I was walking the dogs to the potty area in the backyard. They needed an escort as they were trying to avoid the deluge as much as possible. Right in the middle of the sidewalk was a tiny little box turtle.
All four dogs stopped in place and peered down at this tiny little guy – the size of a quarter – and he looked back. A brave little soul. I scooped him up and, in the rain, looked around for any siblings. I couldn’t find any, so inside we went.
We have adult box turtles and they often lay eggs in their enclosure. Our climate is usually too dry for them to hatch normally, though, so we only have babies if I see a clutch being laid. I dig them up later to incubate in the house. I usually find out there has been a clutch laid when I dig a hole to plant something and find a bunch of dried up eggs.
As I checked out this little guy I could see that the umbilical spot on his plastron (bottom shell) was still pink and fresh so he was newly hatched. He was probably about ready to hatch when the rains hit and he got flooded out. Then he went exploring.
Yoki, as we named him, has been in a terrarium inside since then and has been thriving. He has a huge appetite and his favorite foods are red worms and earthworms. Since I do a lot of composting I have lots of those. I offer a variety of wiggling things for him to eat, so he has a varied diet.
Something I bet you didn’t know: adult box turtles are omnivores. They’ll eat many different foods and I’ve found that mine enjoy strawberries, bananas, pumpkin, squash, and tomatoes, as well as insects, worms, and grubs.
Hatchling box turtles, however, are carnivores for the first couple of years of life. Whenever we have hatchlings I continue to offer different foods. This way they don’t become set on just one type of food, and are willing to try new things. They usually enjoy live foods.
I was concerned that Yoki might not thrive given the circumstances of his hatching. Reptilian babies can be fragile and sensitive to the cold. Also, I have no idea how long he was roaming the backyard in the cold winter rains. However, he’s been doing great. As you can see by his photo, he’s bigger than a quarter now. And he’s so cute! Look at those bright eyes and tiny little claws!
Photo credit: Yoki, a three month old box turtle, photo by Liz Palika
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