Kory Steele keeps three box turtles within the confines of a habitat he created in the back yard of his Newport News home.
They stay in his protective custody because, for various reasons, they can't survive in the wild.
"Watch this," says Kory, picking up a large strawberry from a small container of fruit.
He places the strawberry where one of the turtles easily sees it. The usually slow turtle turns turbo, stretching and stretching her rubber-like, long neck to nibble, nibble and nibble some more. When Kory moves the strawberry, the turtle scrambles to stay with it.
"When she gets going, she won't even stop to swallow the first bite," he says, laughing.
Within minutes, most of the strawberry is gone and the turtle throttles her appetite into low gear.
She's had enough for now but she still watches what little strawberry Kory still holds.
"I can chop up veggies and strawberries and they will pick the strawberry out," he says.
The eastern box turtle is Virginia's only terrestrial turtle; all others are aquatic, according to Kory, who is president of the Virginia Herpetology Society.
"Not every turtle you see is a snapping turtle," he says. "We have about 20 species of turtles native to Virginia, not including sea turtles."'
How can homeowners help turtles who may cross their paths? Inspect an area before you run the lawn mower, Kory suggests. A lot of box turtles suffer horrific injuries and deaths from mowers. To help aquatic turtles, stop using fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides because they can run off into bodies of water where those turtles live. And, please, stop your dog from digging up turtle eggs.
"If you live on a private pond, placing a downed tree partially into the water benefits the aquatic turtles greatly," he says. "In some habitats, the number of turtles far out number the basking sites for them to get warm in the sun."
Here's what Kory says about five commonly seen native turtles; you can also see and learn about them at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
Eastern box turtles are known to live their entire lives in an area the size of a football field, and are very aware of when they can find water and which fruits ripen at certain times of the year.
Box turtles grow slowly and have late maturation, which doesn't help their population numbers since it is difficult to replace an adult turtle that has been killed. Box turtles suffer from a number of problems including natural disease (although environmental stressors contribute), winter mortality (freezing while hibernating), road mortality (since they spend more time on land than other turtles) and removal for the pet trade. Box turtles in Virginia are probably in decline, although there isn't any specific study that has proven so. All evidence points towards a population decline in most suburban areas. Also, there are an abundance of nonreleasable turtles with rescue organizations around the country. There really isn't any reason to take a turtle out of the wild when there is one at a rescue waiting for a good home.
Eastern painted turtle
I call painted turtles the "basking buddies" for the redbelly cooter since they are almost always seen together out basking on logs. Most people mistake painted turtles as being baby turtles of the larger turtles, but they are full size at 4-6 inches. They also are the most colorful, and are the only Virginia turtle with both yellow and red stripes on their neck.
Redbelly cooter turtle
Of any of the turtles you'll see basking on a log, this will be the largest and one of the most common. This species can grow to dinner plate size, 10 to 12 inches long in shell length. They are known for being mostly herbivorous as they get to adult age, and their beak has been modified with serrated edges to cut just like a knife. These turtles are important because they keep our reservoirs from getting choked with aquatic plants. These turtles can be seen in late summer chomping at the duckweed on the surface of the pond by the aviary at the Virginia Living Museum.
The redbelly, too, has benefited from man's pond creations, but continues to have problems crossing man's many roads.
This is probably one of Virginia's most misunderstood turtle. Most people's only exposure to this animal is a female on land trying to find a place to dig a nest. It should be understandable that an animal that spends 95 percent of its life in water would be a little scared about coming out onto land. Snapping turtles are not nearly as defensive in water. They have been studied and shown that they don't significantly impact fish or bird populations, mostly because they only prey upon diseased, week or very young animals. In fact snapping turtles are very herbivorous. Researchers have found snapping turtles with more than a pound of corn and more than 100 muscadine grapes in their stomachs! I have personally observed snapping turtles eating Peltandra virginica, or green arrow arum, at Newport News Park.