Blanding's Turtles Return to Campus

"The heater must never be turned on when exposed to air, otherwise the heat mechanism inside can crack open and electrocute the turtles,” said Emilie Wilder, a biologist from Zoo New England.

Baby Blanding’s turtles are back on campus and Science Faculty Ken Schopf is learning how to set up the tank—it has to be tilted so there is a deep end and a shallow end, the water must be kept around 80 degrees (but 85 degrees is too warm for turtle safety), tap water is okay to use (but only if it’s been sitting out for a couple days so the chlorine dissipates), and there’s even a sunbathing platform fitted with a special UV light so the turtles get enough vitamin D to support shell growth.

Luckily, turtles are not as sensitive as fish, they can handle dirty water. “You will complain about the smell before the turtles do!” said Ms. Wilder. The tank is located at the end of the hallway just outside the Science Department office.

Mr. Schopf won’t have to care for the turtles alone. Eventually, a "turtle team" of two Class I students will clean the tank—one of many rotating jobs that students will hold as they care for the Blanding’s turtles over the course of the school year. Winsor is caring for turtles number 618 and 620. The siblings will soon receive names, carefully chosen and voted on by Class I. At least once a month, Class I students will submit data to Zoo New England on turtle weight and body length. 

Other turtle team jobs include twice daily feedings. Turtles aren’t fed in their tank but in a separate container. Ms. Wilder shared, “Sometimes you have shy turtles who want to eat in their tank, but I picked some robust ones for Winsor.” Students will have to scoop turtles out of their tank and place them in a separate container, being sure to add enough water to cover the turtles’ shells. “They should get an all you can eat buffet, twice a day, for fifteen minutes,” said Ms. Wilder. In the wild, turtles are carnivorous eating insects and worms.

“We want the turtles to get bigger and stronger so they are more likely to survive to adulthood,” said Ms. Wilder, who gave presentations to Class I students during science. Ms. Wilder spent class time educating students on the Blanding’s turtle population decline. Citing habitat loss, roads, cars, and predators as factors, there are only about 1,000 Blanding’s turtles left in all of Massachusetts.

Adult Blanding’s turtles are about the size of a football and live from 90 to 100 years. “There is no animal that can crunch down on an adult Blanding’s turtle, not even a bear,” shared Ms. Wilder. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for cars. 

Blanding’s turtles face many obstacles to make it to adulthood. Eggs are eaten by foxes, raccoons, and coyotes. That’s where Zoo New England comes in. Turtles typically lay their eggs in June in an open, sunny location. Since they need a spot that’s easy to dig, turtle eggs are often deposited on people’s lawns. Using a tracking beacon, Zoo New England knows which door bells to ring and will work with neighbors to erect a protective cage structure around the eggs. When the hatchlings hatch, Zoo New England places them with schools, like Winsor. Starting out around the size of a quarter, baby turtles are particularly vulnerable. Students learned that when Blanding's turtles are small, predators can be anything—even insects, chipmunks, frogs, snakes, mink, and fish. 

“We’re trying to give the turtles a helping hand from fifth graders,” explained Mr. Schopf. “By the end of the year, the turtles should be cheeseburger sized,” added Ms. Wilder. 

Even though students will be experts at caring for turtles by the end of the school year, Ms. Wilder doesn’t believe it’s good practice to keep turtles as pets. “You are their temporary caretakers,” she emphasized. 

“From the moment they’re born, turtles know how to swim, what foods are good to eat, how to hide from predators,” so repopulation and release is very easy. “I don’t recommend getting a turtle as a pet because they live a very, very long time. They might be alive longer than you are! The big problem is that people dump their turtles in ponds when they can’t find someone else to care for them, and they are not often animals that can survive in Massachusetts.” Assuming they can survive the cold weather, diseases and bacteria can be transmitted and inadvertently wipe out native turtles. 

After her presentation, it was time for a meet and greet. Ms. Wilder cautioned students to use their indoor voices and reiterated that we were meeting the turtles with our eyes today. “Today is their first day of school,” said Ms. Wilder, “it’s a scary moment for them.”

The turtles were born on September 7, 2021, in Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and will be released there at the end of the school year in May or June—a much anticipated Class I field trip, COVID-19 permitting.

Ms. Wilder added, “Thank you for being a turtle conservation hero! Because of schools like yours, we’re actually seeing an increase in the population and we’re no longer afraid of them going extinct. A huge thank you for helping us raise all these baby Blanding’s turtles.”