Turtles of The Arboretum

Hey, everyone! This week we wanted to talk about some turtles that are right across the veterinary medicine campus at The Arboretum! This summer, we have been helping an international graduate student on her Master’s project. She’s been trapping turtles in the pond and we’ve been going out to help her work them up, as she is new to the world of clinical medicine. It feels great teaching someone skills that they can take home to educate even more people in our goal to help turtle populations thrive!

Since we typically work with box turtles, it’s really fun to get out and work with aquatic species, too. At The Arboretum, we have seen snappers, red-eared sliders, yellow-bellied sliders, musk, map, and painted turtles. Personally, The Arboretum is also one of my favorite sites to sample turtles because it is absolutely gorgeous. There are many times people will be taking graduation and wedding photos out there because that is how pretty it is. It’s also a bonus to be able to watch all of the wildlife who call The Arboretum home, such as chipmunks and a resident groundhog! There is even a large population of geese with babies that we have watched grow throughout the season!