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Any tortoise fanciers here? (1 Viewer)

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frankc

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We found this beauty floating in our swimming pool. I know it's a box tortoise of some type and did not need to be in a pool where it couldn't get out, but I don't know exactly what type it is. It doesn't retract all that much when I pick it up, so I wonder if it might be somebody's lost pet. We have posted on the Next Door app to see if anyone in our neighborhood has lost it. If no one claims it, we'll let it go because we don't really need another pet, but it sure is pretty.

_DSC2210.JPG _DSC2209.JPG
 
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frankc

frankc

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We have done some research and are pretty sure it is a particularly colorful specimen of a male three toed box turtle. (Also learned in the course of research that "box turtle" is correct, not "tortoise", as they do require spending time in shallow water now and then.) They are native to this area, so I am just going to let him go in the woods and hope he lives a happy life and stays away from the road.
 
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frankc

frankc

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Given that he did indeed have only 3 toes on the back feet, I'm going with he's a three-toed. However, apparently the two species do sometimes interbreed, so he could be both.
 
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