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How to catch a turtle

How to Catch a Turtle

Some people love to catch and keep turtles as pets. However, this act can be unhealthy and inhumane. If you decide to catch a turtle, ensure that you put him back to where you found him.

This article explains how to catch one and handle him without harm. If you live in America, take note of the law concerning catching turtles and other wild animals. All states except North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Minnesota, allow catching such animals for keeping as pets. It’s fully legal. This is a law that was passed in January 2, 2009.

That said, here’s how to catch one:

1. How to locate a place where turtles live.

If you live where there are a few ponds, you can easily spot turtles in those rocky hiding places inside the water. If it’s a dry season and the water level is a little bit down, then turtles like resting on the very edges of the water.

2. Preparation of the turtle’s trap

When digging your trap, it should be about ten inches deep, ten inches across, and with very steep sides so that the turtle doesn’t climb out. You can choose to make it either in square form, rectangle or circle. That’s up to you, but it doesn’t affect how you catch the turtle.

3. Put a bait in the trap

Turtles like to feed on lettuce and worms. However, if you like, you can experiment with other types of vegetables. If you will leave the trap unattended for a long time, say a day, place a good amount of bait inside the trap.

Put a good amount of bait around the trapIn this step, you are going to put a good amount of bait around the trap so that the turtle will notice it. However, ensure that you don’t fill up the trap though. If you like, you can go with shredded leaves of lettuce and a little bit of those scattered around the trap. That should do.

4. The turtle will notice the bait

Now, let your turtle feed on the leaves around the trap. As soon as they finish eating the bait, he will notice the leaves inside the bait. He will be tempted to reach for it. However, there’s no guarantee of reaching out for the rest of the bait, he might as well ignore it. If you suspect that he didn’t notice it, give it a quick tap on the tail with a little stick. Most likely, this will startle him and make him run forward. The result is, falling into the ditch.

5. Now you’ve caught him

When holding the turtle, ensure that you hold it around its middle section. And remember to keep your fingers away from his limbs. They can surprisingly have large and powerful limbs that are hard enough to harm you, plus these animals are biters too, so be careful.

Some quick tips that will help you in the process of how to catch a turtle(a) You can test his hunting skills by giving him live prey. You can give him small fish to eat. It’s also a good idea to give him live worms and vegetables to feed on.

(b) If you are attempting to catch the turtle for the first time and you realize you don’t have much time, just leave the trap for some days. It may take some time with each attempt because other things might feed on the bait. If you do it well, it will work for you eventually.

(c) Before you attempt catching a turtle, do a research and know about turtles which live in your area. Some of these are harmless, so you won’t even need a stick to handle them. It’s just a matter of going into the pond and catching them.

(d) If you are not that courageous with turtles, wear gardening gloves or snow gloves to avoid getting into direct contact with the turtle. This is also the surest way to avoid being scratched or bitten.

(e) It’s highly advisable that you leave the turtle on its natural habitat instead of taking it home with you. If it seems pleased with where it lives, just leave it there. On the other hand, if you caught it in a place where its life was in danger (such as in an industrialized area), you can boast about taking it to safety, and that’s all about how to catch a turtle.

How to Catch a Turtle Video Guide

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