Head Starting Basics

Nests and Egg Extraction

By Isabella, Grace, Trinity

Where nests are found:
Many Blanding's turtle nests can be found in a plethora of different places.
You may find nests on beaches, shorelines, lakes, ponds, grasslands, roadsides,
gravel roads, front yards, and gardens. To find theses nests the headstarters
can radio track the nesting places. Through this they can rescue a few turtles
and giving those turtles a 40% chance of making it to adulthood. Once the
Blanding's turtles lay their eggs the mothers return back to their habitat and
leave their young, providing no care or nourishment. This makes the turtles very
vulnerable. This is where the Head Start program comes in, it helps extract the
eggs and provide the care that the turtles need.

Blanding's Turtle Nest, Reptile Fact

Why they were taken:
Blanding's turtles are taken from their nests because of the threats
around their habitat. Some of these threats include cars, human, raccoons
and other animals. These organizations, such as Headstart, take these turtles
out of their nests after they hatch to protect them for a few months until
they are allowed to venture back out to their natural habitat to start
a new generation of turtles.
Note from Michael E. , Allie V. , and Stefano A.:
They also have said that giving them a little head start there eggs have 30 times
better chance of surviving 

Head Starting Our Turtles:


When we meet the turtles they were only a few weeks old. They were very small and had been taken from their nests a short while before we saw them. We were not allowed to hold them yet because they were very frail and tiny. 

We were informed about the threats to the Blanding's turtles. Some of their threats include cars, raccoons, and other animals. We have watched the turtles grow and become young adult turtles. If they were not taken from the nest chances are they would not have made it to this age. One experience was when one of the turtles would not eat their food so a special type of food had to be made. If they were never take out of their nests they would not have been able to be supplied with this special food.

Data
By Thomas, Jack, Anna, Dmitri, Tyler, Cole
When we worked with Kestrel we learned how to measure and weigh the turtles.

To measure the turtles we put the calipers at the front and back of the shell.
Not the head or tail that would injure them.

Original photo taken by RMS 7th graders

To weigh the turtles used a scale and then put a plastic container

Original photo taken by RMS 7th graders

to hold the turtle on it. Then zero it (click tare button).
Then put the turtle in the container.

In our science class, the turtles come in once a month we measure and weigh them. Then we record the data.  After we record the data we looked at the data from the week before. We looked at it to see if it grew at all. It also  told us what to expect for next month. We also got to vote on names for the turtles. We chose the names Bert and Ernie.

We have been measuring their length and mass as they have been growing. We have been monitoring for about the whole school year and they are growing so much. On April 10, Bert was 65 grams and Ernie was 52 grams, When they [first arrived at Kestrel] Bert was 11 grams and Ernie was 9 grams in November! So Bert has grown 54 grams and Ernie grown 43 grams.  
  
Care
By Brady, Autumn, Madison, Caleb, Alex, Emily

Turtles biggest threats are roadways and other animals that may eat them while the turtles are small. The turtles are not finding the way back to their family or habitat. Also, they like warm weather from 70-80 degrees. Blanding's turtles are hard to take care of so they need people with experience to take care of them. You should use a UV and thermometer to control the temperature. Also, give the turtle plenty of untreated natural spring water one thing to help is to get a water filter.

 They need 78-82 degree water and need lots of sunlight. They need soft food for when they’re young. They need lots of cover, and require a tank about 20 gallons.

We would care for the turtles by measuring and weighing them each month. Our class has two turtles and we named them Bert and Ernie. On the first month Bert weighed 9 grams and was 36 millimeters. Almost a month later, he had grown nine more grams and was 45.9 millimeters long. After about five months, Bert weighed 64 grams and was 71 millimeters long. Our other turtle was Ernie. On the first month, Ernie was 38.2 millimeters long and weighed 9 grams. By the end of our six months caring for the turtles, he weighed 52 grams and was 64 millimeters long. Ernie was always smaller than Bert. In the beginning, he would not eat so he had to have special food made for him. Eventually, his weight and length started catching up.


Expectations
By Gracie, Cam, Drew, Neil
They must be smart because they always have a plan when it comes to hunting or catching their prey. We have also found that some turtles are different than others. Specifically when they eat. For one, Bert eats way more than Ernie. We kind of wonder why that is though because they are both getting fed the same, and cared the same.

Sources:

Blanding's Turtles, Zoo New England
Turtles Care 101, Pet MD