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Welcome to my zone 9a habitat garden near Houston, Texas.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Son of Sam???

Sam Box the backyard box turtle still hasn't revealed herself to me this summer, nor have I again seen the anonymous box turtle visitor that I showed you earlier this month. But look what was waiting for me on my back porch early this morning.


Who's that hiding behind the cat food dispenser?


Why, it is a baby turtle - clean, shiny, new and not much bigger than a silver dollar.


I figured he was there for the cat food so, to make things easier for him, I spread some on the floor. I was hoping he would emerge from his shell and nibble so that I could get a picture of him in action. But as long as I was in the area, even when I hid myself and stood perfectly still, he remained tight in his shell - his mother obviously taught him not to trust strangers.

I would call him Son of Sam but that name has already been taken and besmirched so I'll just call him Sammy. What a lovely surprise and a nice way to begin my day.

I have remarked before about the abundance of young amphibians and reptiles in the yard this summer. It seems to have been a very good breeding year for them. I'm very glad to see that that success extends to box turtles.

2 comments:

  1. How cool! Are you close to a bog? I get excited when I spot a frog--the Hill Country is so hot and arid that frogs are almost rare in our yard.

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  2. We're less than a mile from Spring Creek and its adjoining wetlands, but these box turtles will live in many varied habitats. I have a couple of small water features in my yard that may attract them, as well as the frogs and toads, Kathleen. There are plenty of all of them around this year.

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