Turtle Education Materials
How to Safely Hold a Turtle
Safety is always first, so it’s important to know how to safely hold a turtle in case you need to help one cross the road or help one out of a window well. Hold them with both hands on the back half of their body. Some turtles, such as snapping turtles, can extend their neck and bite as far back as half way up their shell! Never hold a turtle by its tail because you can cause spinal trauma. Turtles also have sharp claws so if they are fractious, use gloves so you don’t get scratched! Lastly, be cautious if wounds are present and use extra gentle caution in those areas of the body until you can get them to a rehabilitator.
Native Northern Colorado Turtles
Several species of native turtles and tortoises can be found in Northern Colorado, but they are pretty rare to see in general. It is important to note that western box turtles are called turtles, but they are actually a tortoise and do not swim in water.
Red-eared Sliders vs Painted Turtle
Red-eared sliders and painted turtles are very similar, but this similarity causes conflicts within our ecosystems. These two turtle species are not only similar in appearances, but also in diet and lifestyle. That means when irresponsible pet owners release their pet red-eared sliders into wild ecosystems, they can easily outcompete the smaller, native painted turtles already living there. Thankfully, red-eared sliders are easy to identify by, you guessed it, the red stripe near where an ear opening would be if turtles had external ears. If we get a red-eared slider in as a patient, we will still care for them and do everything in our power to save their life, but once they have healed we don’t release them. Instead we transfer them to adoption nonprofits to get them out of the native ecosystems and back into the care of responsible turtle loving owners.
How a Turtle Works
Wildlife rehabilitation teams have to debunk many wildlife myths that run through the community, but we are happy to do so. One myth that comes up every so often is that turtles can be removed from their shell. This is super not true and please never try it! As you can see, turtles are completely attached to their shells. Testudines have some impressive anatomy across the board, and this anatomy plays a huge role in turtle defense. All wild testudines, aquatic turtles and the land tortoises, found in Colorado have very similar defenses towards predators, and their shells are at the top of that list. Using specialized muscles, turtles can fit almost their entire body into the shell. Some species, such as the western box turtle, even have a specialized hinge on their plastron to help cover up even more.