Enchanted Turtle Retreat
Turtles in Trouble
Turtles are the stuff of legends. In the 200 million years they've been around, turtles have survived natural events that wiped out other species. They are variously portrayed as
strong, slow, wise, clever, comical, steady, and Ninjas. In mythologies around the world, it is said that the turtle holds the earth on its back.
Do you remember the original dime-store turtle
that
so many of us owned as children? We did not realize our
turtles could actually grow into adults! Click on the photo of the baby RES and you'll see an adult female resting on the palm of my hand. She is big! Those cute little creatures
actually cost a lot of money to house and feed correctly. We did not have the slightest idea how to properly care for our
Red-eared Slider (RES) or Trachemys scripta elegans. Pet turtles ceased to be
adorable once they reached a few inches in size, and most owners did not want their turtle anymore. So many turtles were let loose in nearby rivers, streams, lakes and public ponds that RES established
breeding populations all over the world. You could make a science fiction movie out of the rapid spread of the Red-eared Slider around the planet! Huge numbers of pet RES end up with
rescue groups such as Enchanted Turtle Retreat.
Sadly, most other turtle and tortoise species around the globe are declining in population. Some turtles battle the RES invaders for space in their own native habitats, and they often
lose to the hardy RES. A bigger threat to turtles and tortoises is exploitation for trade. The Convention in International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) is an international
agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Participation in CITES is voluntary,
and CITES currently is in effect in 175 states or nations. Three appendices, numbered I-III, are attached to the agreement and contain lists of species according to the status of their population
in the wild. Appendix I species are endangered and threatened with extinction. Sanctioned trade in Appendix I species occurs only for exceptional circumstances.
Two species of tortoises at the Enchanted Turtle are CITES Appendix I and are nearly extinct in the wild. We have 3.0.0 Testudo kleinmanni (Egyptian or Kleinman's tortoise) and 0.0.2
Pyxis arachnoides (Spider tortoise). The numbering system lists the count of males, females, and unsexable, respectively. So, we have three male Egyptians and two unknown sex
Spider tortoises. All five tortoises are captive bred (CB) from long-term captive (LTC) adults. LTC tortoises and turtles cannot be returned to the wild, primarily to prevent
diseases common to captives from being introduced to wild populations.
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