Sudbury river turtles (red ear terras)

hi keith

thanks for posting. as far as i know, although egg-laying by Red Ears has been recently observed in southern england, no hatchlings have yet been recorded anywhere in the uk. others please correct me if im wrong but i think its because a long spell of continuous high humidity is required to successfully incubate the eggs. presently (though the situation may be changing with global warming), the UK climate does not offer this.

they easily survive our winters by slowing their heart-rate to tickover (thereby requiring little oxygen) and hibernating in the mud at the bottom of ponds,canals etc.

when i was a kid i put mine in the garden pond one springtime. i only intended keeping them there for the summer.
however, they disappeared in the autumn and i assumed they had (sadly for me) died.
it was quite a shock to see them out basking again the following spring!
a very happy moment at the time.

posting under "aliens" on RAUK is quite "political" or "controversial" here.
should you consider a species one that "should be removed" or alternatively, "no threat" when you choose which category to post under?
i guess its up to the individual herper and their opinion.
its interesting to read who's posted what and where!

perhaps one could argue that human activity is just another part of "nature" so if we move species about then thats just another common aspect of the planets evolution. i mean the Normans brought rabbits here and they became handy meal for our native foxes and buzzards, so Red Ear hatchlings could easily become a food source for herons etc and slot in.
every case isnt a "Grey Squirrel disaster" - far from it and many species cannot thrive in UK habitat in any case.
plus some "aliens" (what does that word even mean? - all lifeforms are Earth residents) find their way here without mans intervention.
eg Little Egret, various insects and possibly European Eagle Owl - though the source of the latter has been lately cast in doubt i believe?

if anyone thinks im talking crap, well fair enough - stick your neck out and voice an opinion then. forums are most potent and interesting when they are for discussion and debate surely?
no offence to anyone intended!

having kept Red Ears for years, grown fond of the species and occasionally sighting them in "the wild" myself, then if im honest i guess i enjoy the Herp diversity that they bring. maybe thats selfish ha ha!
since the uk (sadly) has relatively few reptiles and its like bumping into an old school friend years later if i see one.
however, im glad they are noted and monitored by the experts.
caution is well-advised.

Red Eared Terrapins can live for many decades of course. even here.
its successful breeding thats the problem - for them!

cheers keith and nice pix as usual!

all the best mate,
ben

Gemma and Ben I have not seen any young unns so its right to assume these are releases,but always a possibility of a clutch, but its nice to see they have found a mate as in friend as individual releases means a life of solitude, and I would rather see them enjoying some freedom ,as a lot were the victims of callous bastards who flushed them down the bog in the 1970s/80s,would one be right in saying they were about 20/30 year olds as counting the plates around the edge of their shells I think is the way to age them ??I think Robert Vaughan is more familiar with them around Epping forest ponds and would have a good idea if any have bred ? Keith

Edited by AGILIS - 15 May 2011 at 11:17am

Funny thing Ben your predicament in Witherspoons is a bit like mine

Dear Agilis