Anne,

What happened with the box turtle? Did you find a rescue group, or let the
guy go off on his own?

I had a wild turtle that lived in my garden in Florida who had three legs,
but grew bigger every year, so obviously he thrived with three legs.
Presumably if food is plentiful, a missing leg is only important to protect
against predators. Mine was one of those nasty snapping turtles with a long
piggish snout, and he was not only big, but AGGRESSIVE. I literally had to
watch my, er, backside, when I squatted to weed the verbena bed, because he
was so fast even with three legs, and he WANTED a nice juicy chunk of me.

Thinking about your turtle reminded me, and now that I'm safe from him, I
can laugh about it. grin

laurie (Mother Mastiff)

"Anne Lurie" wrote in message
.com...
Yesterday, I noticed a Box Turtle (I think that's what it was) next to one
of my raised beds. Actually, I nearly stepped on the poor guy, because I
wasn't expecting any surprises there!

The turtle seems to be missing one of its front legs. I don't know how
this
affects its ability to move around, it's apparent that the turtle uses its
front legs to pull off pieces of food to eat -- when I put down a few
slices of melon, it used one front foot to hold down the melon while
pulling
pieces off.

Anybody have any suggestions what I should do -- if anything -- to
help
this turtle out? I say "if anything" because I'd hate to see the turtle
become dependent upon my putting down food for it under the hedge. I'm
not
going to put it in a cage, nor am I going to relocate it if I can help it,
because right now it's safe from my own dogs (and other dogs), and there
are
lots of places for it to find cover.

Thanks,

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh