r/aww • u/abhitchc • 3d ago
I fed this female box tortoise some raspberries at the beginning of the summer. Now, she follows me all over the garden, and visits me almost daily looking for handouts.
14.0k
u/abhitchc 3d ago
10.2k
u/TheAJGman 3d ago edited 3d ago
You might have just made a long lived friend.
My grandfather had a turtle that came back every year for 20 odd years after he fed him once. He'd show up one day during peak strawberry season, patiently wait at the fence gate for his quart of berries, gorge himself until he couldn't move, lay in the sun for a few hours, and then venture back into the woods for the rest of the year. Knew it was the same turtle each year because it had a chipped shell from a run in with someone's lawnmower.
2.5k
u/Proglamer 3d ago
Unexpectedly great memory AND keen sense of time!
975
u/TheAJGman 3d ago
I always wondered if he could smell them or if he'd check in at night. He would always be there when the strawberry patch was at its peak, didn't matter if it was May or July.
326
u/AnotherReddit415 3d ago
“Time to go pick em, tortoise says they’re ripe”
→ More replies (1)204
u/TheAJGman 3d ago
Pretty much. There would be plenty of ripe berries before and after he showed, but I swear they always tasted best the week before and after his visit.
→ More replies (1)121
u/AnotherReddit415 3d ago
They’re a lot smarter than we think. My Snapper fattens his fish for a bit and will wait to eat em. Recognizes me and all that too🤣😭🫶
→ More replies (1)105
u/myasterism 3d ago
So many animals are much, much more than we humans are willing to give them credit for.
→ More replies (4)26
u/DasKobra 2d ago
I'm just hopeful that within our lifetime we'll get a good means of effective direct translation/ communication with them. I'm sure most animals have amazing, sweet and pure personalities that we can't always understand but I choose to believe that they all have something to tell us.
→ More replies (1)10
604
u/RadicalLynx 3d ago
"hm, that bush-food smells good now, but hasn't started dropping off the branches so I can eat it from the ground. Time to visit the human!"
183
u/tripl35oul 3d ago
"It's nesting season, buddy! You excited?"
"Nah, I'm gonna go eat some strawberries"
→ More replies (1)104
→ More replies (1)15
u/ranged_ 3d ago
You can 100% smell good strawberries! If you're at the store and can't smell them when you pick them up, they usually aren't worth it and are the gassed-to-ripe kind.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (4)106
u/CrystallineCrypts 3d ago
Look man.. I live in Massachusetts. There is an unspoken countdown until clam season. Don't need a calendar. Don't need no stinkin clock. You just wake up one day and you know, like a scent on the breeze... north shore... north shore... fisherman's platter... lobster roll...
→ More replies (1)470
u/Im_inappropriate 3d ago
Turtles never forget good food
→ More replies (8)515
u/campercolate 3d ago
I too am turtle.
→ More replies (9)127
103
u/Blursday 3d ago
I live in a city, my neighbors house was vacant when I moved in and their basement windows have like a 2 foot drop from the yard. A duck nested there and I saved the ducklings that couldn’t get out when they hatched, 10 years later every spring I am saving ducks…. I honestly would prefer a turtle.
→ More replies (7)1.5k
u/SchnoodleDoodleDo 3d ago edited 3d ago
’My grandfather had a turtle that came back every year for 20 odd years after he fed him once.’
hello, it’s me ~ i’m back again
i won’t forget you, lifelong fren
the kindness shown so long ago
meant more than you could ever know
the seasons change, the years pass by
the berries ripen
then
they die
the sweetest taste i’d ever known
was offered me by You, alone
n so each year i’ll find your gate
n patiently
for you i’ll wait
i hope that you will find me there :)
i’m old
n i have time
to spare…
for No one else can take your place!
slow n steady
Wins
the race
♥️
edit: love your stories u/TheAJGman & u/abhitchc
217
u/more_cheese_please_ 3d ago
I did not have crying over a turtle poem in my plans for the day, yet here we are.
→ More replies (3)66
127
85
u/BThriillzz 3d ago
Fresh off the press!
Schnoodle, you make adorable posts even more precious. Thank you for spreading the joy that you do.
→ More replies (31)12
203
u/MarkHirsbrunner 3d ago
My grandmother had a pet box turtle named Toby for years. She had a pond on her property and she would go down there to feed the fish in it, and she noticed several times that, when she went there, this same turtle would come out of the underbrush and watch her. She started bringing tomatoes for the turtle when she went to the pond. He would try to follow her home after a while and she was afraid he'd get run over looking for her, so she brought him home. He outlived her and I'm not sure what was done about Toby after she died. The whole family loves animals and loved Toby so I'm sure that, if he wasn't rehomed, he would have been released into the wild somewhere safe.
118
u/Havoc325 2d ago
I had no idea turtles were so capable of becoming human companions at their own volition. What an incredible story
→ More replies (2)66
u/michelle032499 2d ago
I had a tortoise as a neighbor for years. He'd come out of we cut the grass and would eat a banana whole, peel and all. I still miss him :(
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (33)88
u/ballerina22 3d ago
I had one who came back every summer for a good 8 years. During the summer it would come and live underneath our back deck. I'd feed it lettuce and carrots and the like. Honestly, I remember being maybe 4 and stomach-crawling under the deck in the mud. We moved, so I hope the next owners were kind too.
→ More replies (1)872
419
u/alluraborealis 3d ago
pls give her a gentle head tap for me 🥹
485
u/IAmBadAtInternet 3d ago
Turtles have nerve endings in their shells. Give them shell rubs. They love it.
267
u/BongWaterOnCarpet 3d ago
Hold a soft toothbrush out for them to rub on, they love it!!
206
u/RadicalLynx 3d ago
Imagine how good it must feel to finally itch that spot you can't reach yourself
48
68
u/abhitchc 3d ago
Thanks @BongWaterOnCarpet
46
u/PurpleT0rnado 2d ago
Hey OP are you in Virginia? I ask because that turtle looks like its shell has been scalloped. There is a special 100-year project out of one of the Universities here to count and record sitings of these box turtles.
You could be a citizen scientist volunteer!
→ More replies (3)18
u/Alternative_Egg_7382 2d ago
If you fix some soft hairbrushes in place turtles will move back and forth through them like a carwash
→ More replies (2)38
u/hamdandruff 3d ago
There is a turtle at one of the nearby ponds that I had been trying to figure out what species it was exactly. Hangs out at the corner with the smaller species that fight over the one log they have to bask on but they got eyes like hawks and dip seeing you a mile away so between that and all the scum it was hard to tell what it was exactly.
Must have caught it resting because it was right at the edge and I crouched down to swirl some scum out of the way. Turned out it’s way bigger than I thought so that already ruled out everything but a common snapper. Startled it a little but I scratched some gunk off of it and it seemed to like it! It untucked its head and moved backwards closer and raised its shell above the water more. Head stayed under the water and wasn’t craning towards me or anything like ‘I’m positioning to bite your hand off’ like I’m used to.
That’s just what it does now instead of swimming away so I’d like to think it enjoys it. Or it just knows I’m not/can’t hurt it and I’m just annoying it.
23
→ More replies (4)21
u/sara_bear_8888 3d ago
Wait, really? I wonder if it feels similar to when we rub our fingernails or toenails? I love learning little facts like this.
→ More replies (2)63
53
u/PsyOpBunnyHop 3d ago
So she believes you to be the raspberry princess and hoped all summer long to relive the glorious moment of raspberry bliss and YOU DENIED HER DREAMS OH THE AGONY AND DESPAIR!
12
→ More replies (39)10
2.5k
u/pacothebattlefly 3d ago
The…tortoise distribution system hard at work
→ More replies (2)1.0k
u/Snoopy_Dancer 3d ago
It does not move as fast as the Cat Distribution System because, you know, tortoises....
254
u/Academic_Deal7872 3d ago
Still faster than the Sloth Distro, been waiting 40 years
37
→ More replies (2)31
→ More replies (6)11
6.9k
u/abhitchc 3d ago
→ More replies (12)3.2k
u/_stinkys 3d ago
Congratulations! You now have a cat.
1.5k
u/HeadlessHookerClub 3d ago
Cat in a hard hat
294
→ More replies (3)22
u/SweetBearCub 3d ago
Cat in a hard hat
Yes, but oddly enough doesn't jump much, and hardly ever purrs.
266
241
u/REpassword 3d ago
Or Congrats to the tortoise for getting a new human. “I love them, but only wish they’d live longer” - The Tortoise.
113
→ More replies (23)19
3.0k
u/abhitchc 3d ago
625
→ More replies (2)148
u/puns4nuns 3d ago
omg he’s so much smaller than I thought. He’s going to outlive you, so now ur next of kin must continue to feed him and maybe their next of kin
18
3.4k
u/abhitchc 3d ago
Her favorite foods are blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and the occasional earthworm (when I can find one).
866
u/eleanor61 3d ago
Try to catch some June bugs! Our turtles LOVED ‘em. Crunchy snacks!
→ More replies (6)198
u/bay_lamb 3d ago
i was wondering if anything ate those things!!! had piles of dead june bugs on my deck for a month.
282
u/Ouisch 3d ago
Tangential story: Years ago my Mom and I were standing in line at the local Arby's waiting to order (drive-thru not a thing yet). I remember I was wearing a blue windbreaker and suddenly I heard this weird buzzing/flapping noise. I looked up and down and around and then saw a huge June bug attached to my sleeve. I screeched in panic and jumped and flapped my arm, and (I'm not making this up) the man standing behind me raised his hands and announced loudly "I didn't touch her!!"
201
u/Frondswithbenefits 3d ago
When I was little, around 3-4, I had an imaginary alligator friend. My mom took me to my dad's office so we could go to lunch. We get in the elevator, and a man gets in on another floor. After the guy stepped on, I screamed, "You fool, you stepped on Clarence!"
→ More replies (7)48
u/Equivalent_Mechanic5 3d ago
This made me cry laughing. Are we best friends?
→ More replies (2)40
16
u/bay_lamb 3d ago
hahahahaaa! oh man those things are hell to unhook from your clothes. that poor guy lol.
→ More replies (3)15
→ More replies (17)18
u/jsting 3d ago
Dogs will. Then throw up from eating too many. They are kinda like cicadas, their goal in life is to be food for other creatures.
→ More replies (3)78
u/wishmydogwashere 3d ago
My box turtle loves dandelions and melons. Thanks for sharing with that cutie. My box says to tell her "How you doin'".
56
u/PunchDrunkPsyche 3d ago
Just be careful that you don’t overload her on sugars it can really mess some tortoise up They also love dandelion greens, spinach, kale, lettuce, etc. No hate intended just lettin ya know
12
u/missdead_lee138 2d ago
I was going to tell her this same thing. & also encourage her to give her dark greens as well. 👌 🥰
41
17
u/cryptobro42069 3d ago
You can put a piece of cardboard down on the dirt overnight and a bunch of them will come to the surface. Old fisherman's trick.
→ More replies (23)42
1.8k
u/Fantastic-You9420 3d ago
There was an article in the Washington Post (last year?) about a man who had property in the wild who wanted to keep it so. He finally found a buyer who would keep it the same. There was a box turtle on the property who visited the man every spring for strawberries. After the sale, the new owner invited the previous owner to return. The man called for the turtle and it came, running as fast as it could to see its old friend and get a strawberry. 🥹
240
u/btveron 3d ago
I'd love a link because I tried a dozen differently worded google searches and have only gotten articles about sea turtle migration and threats to it, Snapping turtles in Cape Cod, and the real estate market in DC.
→ More replies (1)263
u/Fantastic-You9420 3d ago
→ More replies (7)107
u/Fantastic-You9420 3d ago
Hope the link works. I tried to gift the article but couldn’t figure out how to send it to Reddit. 🤷♀️
→ More replies (5)84
→ More replies (4)56
2.3k
u/abhitchc 3d ago
359
u/Faiakishi 2d ago
I love how you're just dumping cute turtle pics on us throughout the thread like some kind of benevolent turtle god.
25
156
→ More replies (8)11
319
u/Appropriate-Copy-949 3d ago
When I lived in Greenpoint in Brooklyn, NY, there was an elderly neighbor couple with a beautiful backyard garden. I lived on the second floor and could watch them gardening, which was so peaceful compared to the rest of NYC life. I befriended the man when his wife passed, and he told me that he had three turtles living in the backyard. They were over thirty years old, and they would hibernate through the winter by burying themselves down into the dirt. It was such a wonderful slice of life to think of their idyllic life living amongst the flowers and towering plants there while the traffic of the BQE rumbled close by.
→ More replies (5)33
216
645
u/Good_Collection_7257 3d ago
Cute! You have a yard pet now! My grandma started to feed a duck years ago and then the duck started squawking at her daily until she fed it. Once you start you can’t stop because they become dependent on you.
337
u/thyIacoIeo 3d ago
Me too. Got a pair of blackbirds that come up multiple times a day for raisins, earthworms, and bird suet.
That caught the attention of the local Jackdaws, so now a small family of them come up daily for peanuts in the shell.
A squirrel caught wind of that, so now there’s a rotating cast of squirrels that come to the window and take peanuts from my hand
And finally that brought in a tiny sparrow called Nugget, who loves to hop around after everyone else has gone and clean up the crumbs.
Highly recommend garden pets, it makes my day seeing their cute little faces. Especially when they see me through the window, get excited, and come running/flying from several houses over.
120
86
u/IngenuityGoddess21 3d ago
Pretty sure that means you're a Disney princess now🤣🤣
→ More replies (2)31
u/robbzilla 3d ago
When I go over to my Mother in Law's house, there's always a mooching squirrel hanging around. I've started grabbing an acorn or two from my oak tree to give to it. I figure it deserves something it's supposed to eat now and then. It never turns the acorn down, so we're both pretty happy about that.
11
u/Faiakishi 2d ago
There's a squirrel around my house that's notably fatter than the other squirrels. He apparently stows his nuts in my mother's garden pots, after she removes the flowers and it's just dirt left.
Earlier this year before she put in new plants, I saw him lounging in the planter with his belly up, like a beer-bellied dad lounges on an inner tube.
→ More replies (5)13
→ More replies (5)286
u/LadyClairemont 3d ago
Tell me about it. This guy is on my lanai at 6:30 AM on the dot, asking for breakfast. 😶
80
u/mcnunu 3d ago
My kids couldn't believe their eyes when they saw all the "Hei Heis" roaming around in Maui.
→ More replies (1)54
u/LadyClairemont 3d ago
So many Hei Heis on Kauai. 😆 We don't have mongoose so they are everywhere.
We got mo'o (Gold Dust Day Gecko), too. Our moa (chicken) is a bit miffed that these hatchlings are indoors but he has to stay out.
→ More replies (1)10
u/mcnunu 3d ago
They have never seen free roaming chickens outside of a farm, so for them to see Hei Hei walking across the parking lot of a strip mall was definitely a new experience lol.
Your cat appears to be asking for permission to go out and play with your chicken lol.
13
u/LadyClairemont 3d ago
The Shifu is only slightly brave when the glass door is closed.😅
The chickens here are something else! They are like puppy dragons...it's really hard not to get attached.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)21
u/Adorable-Cricket9370 3d ago
I want a lanai. 🌺
58
u/LadyClairemont 3d ago
🌺 East facing for beautiful mornings 🌄 Most want sunset facing lanai but the secret is morning sun or your place gets too hot!
→ More replies (2)
340
90
251
u/chrysanthemumasterac 3d ago
I have one that visits too, she won’t eat fruit but will eat Friskies wet cat food. Missing a leg but it doesn’t seem bothered by it at all, been visiting for 3 years. Such a sweet little friend.
84
u/heliumneon 3d ago
The ones with red eyes are the males, so this is a "he."
12
u/jessieallen 2d ago
Is it for every turtle or just this variety?
31
u/heliumneon 2d ago
For this particular species, Eastern Box Turtle, but also a few others, like Woodland Box Turtle and Ornate Box Turtle.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)27
u/Luffy99 3d ago
Wait, it doesn't eat fruit? ...But it eats wet cat food?
52
u/Krysaine 2d ago
Box turtles are omnivores. Kinda like teenagers but slower. They have preferences and often those missing legs or are old and arthritic will go for "slower" prey like cat food. I have a ~30 year old male Desert Box Turtle (one of the 4 North American species) who won't eat bugs anymore but loves the hell out of some senior formula wet cat food and berries. Tomatoes move when he tries to bite them, so he will just get frustrated and give up if no one can hold the tomato steady. But oh man, watch that beak if you are holding a raspberry!
→ More replies (1)17
151
u/Brazos_Bend 3d ago
OP youre my favorite poster on reddit today. What an adorable pair you two are. I love the pic of the trail of raspberries lol. Super cute. I love everything about this. ❤️
124
u/weemmza 3d ago
What country are you in? Is it normal to have wild tortoises about?
→ More replies (2)284
u/abhitchc 3d ago
Mississippi, USA
We actually have a huge amount of tortoises in our yard. I probably have several dozen that I see, and many juveniles and even babies, which are about the size of a large coin.
→ More replies (9)88
u/TensileStr3ngth 3d ago
I'm pretty sure this is an eastern box turtle. Theyre interesting in that they're turtles but fill a similar ecological niche as tortoises. Also are you north or south of I 20?
→ More replies (8)
43
88
83
80
u/Nuicakes 3d ago
I'm imagining a creep* of tortoises waiting in the yard chanting "All Hail abhitchc!"
- a group of tortoises is called a creep.
325
u/abhitchc 3d ago
I have caught her doing the dirty, so she will at least have children to tell tales of the fruit God.
52
u/markovianprocess 3d ago
I've become mildly obsessed with videos of turtles mating because of the ridiculous and hilarious sounds they make (did you know turtles can vocalize?).
100% I'm on some kind of a list.
→ More replies (2)148
u/abhitchc 3d ago
These ones were quiet lovers, but I had a pair earlier in the season in my driveway, where the male was making some very very strange grunt/hiss noises. It was almost uncomfortable to watch. Like I was intruding.
It was extra funny, as he had fallen backwards while he was still attached. Don’t worry though, when they were done, I found him stuck upside down and put him back the right way so he could go about his day.
59
→ More replies (3)19
→ More replies (7)102
u/Nuicakes 3d ago
NSFW
I love it! I guess you really are their god of fertility and food.
55
u/abhitchc 3d ago
Haha
18
u/Mistdwellerr 3d ago
If I remember correctly, Demeter is the goddess of fertility and harvest... Would you have any Greek ancestry OP? xD
18
15
u/violentpac 3d ago
Oh cool, just the other day a girl called me a group of tortoises!
→ More replies (2)
56
27
u/gpkgpk 3d ago
Beautiful baby! Guess you may have more on the way soon.
153
u/abhitchc 3d ago
I find babies in the yard all the time!
→ More replies (2)26
u/gpkgpk 3d ago
Holy moly,
hogtortoise heaven, so many pretty babies!Just watch for the salmonella poop.
28
u/Merdrabolt 3d ago
Very cute! Out of curiosity, how do you know it's a female?
→ More replies (3)103
20
46
17
u/jordaninvictus 3d ago
I’m a veterinarian who really enjoys less common animals, wildlife, and zoo animals.
Box turtles being picked up as wildlife is one of my least favorite things. Their “homing” instinct is incredibly strong. You’ve done a great thing here.
13
11
12
10
u/redditthrown123 3d ago
Thats awesome. If you have any old toothbrushes or firm brushes, they love to get their shells scratched with them. You should try it out since she already loves you lol
12
32
u/STLt71 3d ago
Lucky!!! I'm jealous! I wish I had a yard pet! This is adorable!
32
u/Legen_unfiltered 3d ago
Be careful what you wish for. My old roommate wanted to pet the neighborhood stray cats so started feeding one of them every now and again. Roommate has since left. However, I have recently been receiving dead rodents on my porch. I've had 2 birds, a baby bunny, a full grown chipmunk(didn't even know we had chipmunks in this area), and a vole.
→ More replies (4)
10
u/Equal_Dragonfruit125 3d ago
Giving a girl sweets and then nothing? Sounds like you're stringing her along. Maybe plant a tortoise and turtle friendly berrie patch with a sand box if anyone wants to deposit some eggs. It's eco friendly and you might get a berrie pie or tortoise tort out of the deal. They like flowers too.
27
51
17
u/ximdotcad 3d ago
Well , why are you surprised your fiancé wants to spend time with you after you proposed?
18
10
u/countdookee 3d ago
omg I love her! do they normally live in the wild where you live or could this be someone's pet that escaped?
32
u/abhitchc 3d ago
They are wild here. And we have many. It’s not uncommon to see one around, but for some reason, my yard seems to be a hotspot for them in the neighborhood. It’s got a lot of trees and wooded areas that are undisturbed, providing wonderful natural habitats for them. I see dozens of them.
→ More replies (2)
9
u/PandahHeart 3d ago
I would literally be adding berries to my weekly grocery list so she can have snacks every time she comes lol
9
7.9k
u/vanillatheflavor 3d ago
https://preview.redd.it/fiibs2ncsr8d1.png?width=84&format=png&auto=webp&s=c24cf5699c0b6a2425c8b9108227085bd8b5c6e4