[obol] (off topic) turtles

[DOUG KNUTSEN]

Howdy, I'm a frequent prowler of OBOL (I am, after all, a birder) but I've also been involved with Oregon herpetology for most of my 58 years on the planet. 

Pamela, I get called frequently by law enforcement agencies and the Humane Society on reptile issues. The Number One turtle, on a turtle call, is by far the Red-eared Slider. I have one out in a stock tank right now that came from somewhere near Aumsville, which is worrying because there's a good population of native Western Painted turtles at the Aumsville Ponds. Most generally, these calls involve a big female Red-ear. The females, which get much larger than the males, start out life as a cute little turtles but develop, as they grow, an attitude that a Snapping Turtle would admire. It's my theory that when that attitude manifests, the bewildered (and bleeding) owners decide their pets would be better off in the wild and.....you know the rest of the story.

Incidentally, the #2 turtle I get called on is the Common Snapper, one of which I picked up from between Salem and Aumsville a couple of years back that weighed in at 27 pounds. 

The big problem with many "exotic" species is not, in the case of turtles, that they will out-compete our native turtles (though snappers will happily dine on baby turtles of any species). The big worry is that one, or more, of these well-meaning turtle owners will introduce some disease or parasite that our native turtles have no experience with, or resistance to.

Both Red-eared Sliders and Snappers are on ODFW's prohibited list but I've even seen Red-ears for sale in pet stores in recent years. The prohibition from the late Sixties/early Seventies is on baby turtles of any species. Many turtles harbor salmonella in their intestinal tract. This doesn't bother the turtles but, by playing on the fears of parents that baby turtles would infect their children, enabled a nation-wide prohibition of an "industry" that condemned thousands of baby turtles, mostly Red-ears, to death every year from improper care.  As an aside, you can still mail-order baby turtles if you send a statement that the animals will be for "educational or display purposes only." Go figure.

Doug Knutsen
Polk County


essage ----- 
  From: pamela johnston<mailto:pamelaj at spiritone.com> 
  To: obol<mailto:obol at lists.oregonstate.edu> 
  Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 1:22 PM
  Subject: Re: [obol] (off topic) turtles


  Come on Kyle, people haven't been able to buy Red-eared Sliders since the 
  mid-70s. Do you really think they're still getting rid of the kids' pets 
  now?

  Pamela Johnston
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Kyle Spinks" <kspinks at thprd.com<mailto:kspinks at thprd.com>>
  To: <obol at lists.oregonstate.edu<mailto:obol at lists.oregonstate.edu>>
  Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 12:21 PM
  Subject: [obol] (off topic) turtles


  Hi Darrel,
  ...and thanks Elaine!

  >From the description and behavior, my guess is that the turtle you saw
  was a slider.  Red-eared sliders are one of the many species listed by
  Elaine that are illegally dumped in local wetlands.  The native turtles
  I've worked with in the area bask out of water, as you described, but
  the snapper do not bask in this way.  Also, red-eared sliders can get to
  a foot or more long, but our natives usually max out at about 8 inches,
  usually a bit smaller.

  I must note that I really don't believe the people dropping off the
  turtles have anything but the best intentions.  They've probably had
  their turtles for a while and, for various reasons, need to get rid of
  the pet (moving to a new house, the kids have grown up...you get the
  picture).  So they take it to the local pond and release it, thinking
  that it's back in a friendly environment.  And, arguably, the turtles
  are often in good habitats for them.  The problem is that there are
  often no natural 'limiters' on their population growth, so they can
  become a problem for other, native species.

  Case in point: I've now removed 27 common snapping turtles from Koll
  Center Wetlands pond (Creekside for the birders that visit the site)
  over a two-year period.  And in 6 years of working for the park district
  and visiting the pond regularly, I've never seen a native turtle in the
  area, despite the fact that the area is prime habitat for our native
  turtles and Fanno Creek, a stream known to be inhabited by native
  turtles, is less than 1/4 mile away.  I have found several snapper nests
  and nesting females, so breeding is going on.

  my 2 cents...
  Kyle Spinks

  Natural Resources Technician
  Tualatin Hills Park & Rec. Dist.
  5500 SW Arctic Drive, E. Annex, Ste 2
  Beaverton, Oregon 97005
  503 629-6305 x2952
  Fax: 503-629-6307 Cell: 503-780-7631
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