Articles: turtle

I can’t believe it’s still “a thing,” spontaneously buying red-eared slider turtles. Back in the day, in the 1950’s and ‘60 into the early 70’s, these turtles were commonly kept as pets. Typically, though, they suffered from poor care. Their habitats were plastic containers with a plastic tropical looking palm and a small place to…

Feeding a puppy to an alligator snapping turtle does not illustrate the “circle of life.” Puppies are domestic animals with no natural defenses, and they’re members of our families. However, this is what a longtime science teacher at Preston Junior High in Preston, Idaho, allegedly did. And, at this point, the teacher has not been fired…

People can deal with record low temperatures by putting on another layer of protection or not even venturing outdoors. Animals, however, have no choice in the matter. In Florida—in the water and on land—animals are paying a price. Iguanas are falling like coconuts from trees and appear to be frozen. The good news: Those that…

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a warning regarding Salmonella infections, particularly linked to pet turtles (mostly those known as red-eared sliders). The warning came on August 29, 2017, calling it a multi-state outbreak. In 13 states, 37 people have been diagnosed with the strain of Salmonella Agbeni. Illnesses have been identified from March 1…

John Fletcher, of Gloucester, England, saved his drowning tortoise’s life with the kiss of life. Unlike turtles, most tortoises can not swim, at least for more than a few moments. Somehow, the 45-year-old tortoise, named Freda, landed at the bottom of Fletcher’s garden pond and appeared dead. Fletcher began to perform CPR on the animal…

Every animal count, especially those that are endangered, like the loggerhead sea turtles. Akut-3, a 100-lb. looggerhead sea turtle was found floating in the water in July, 2014. He was injured by the propellor of a passing boat. He suffered a fractured jaw with almost 60 percent of the upper and lower jaw on the…

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Steve Dale’s Pet World – my first WGN Radio Sunday program (September 15 at 6:30 AM CDT). Listen HERE if you missed it.  I took your phone calls, and told the story about how Killian the dog discovered the babysitter was abusing the child, and found a way to warn the parents. Moral of this…

What makes a turtle cry? What do you get when you cross a turtle with a porcupine? A slow poke. No question – jokes like that may make a turtle cry. And since there’s no tissue in the Amazon for turtles, scientists have discovered that butterflies nurse their tears. Butterflies in the Amazon are hard-pressed…

While at the ACES Animal Shelter Conference in San Diego, San Diego SeaWorld offered tours to speakers and participants. My tour focused on the SeaWorld Stranded Animal Program.