Keeping turtles out of melon patch?

[Laura]

I guess I have really persistent turtles!

Happily, no deer problem, though. I definitely prefer the turtles.

Laura

[Nicole H]

We have tortoises (as pets) and we just use some chicken wire to keep 'em out of stuff. They don't climb much and usually fall over if they do.

[Nicole H]

Actually it does unless the turtle is tiny. I have 7 yo desert tortoises (they're not large) and they can clear about

[Nicole H]

On this note, you can trellis melons. Use panty hose to support each melon and tie it off to the fence.

[Pat]

I don't know the species. It's about the same size as a small cantalope.

[Dominic-Luc Webb]

Sheesh! Given that this beast is eating cantelopes, I would guess you will need some kind of extra heavy duty panty hose of a type I have never encountered. Maybe the women in here (perhaps from a nunnery) have some more specific recommendations (e.g., brand, manufacturer, construction material, etc)? Should it be fiberglass, carbon fiber, steel mesh or what?

Dominic

[DrLith]

Most likely a box turtle of some sort, which are the most common land turtles in the U.S. (Note--these are actually turtles and not tortoises, though they are land-dwelling.) Eastern box turtles have a dome-shaped black and yellow/orange shell and prefer woodland environments. Western box turtles are somewhat similar looking but a bit smaller, and prefer grasslands environments.

have a hinged shell that allows them to close it up completely if they're threatened.

We have a pet box turtle that is inordinately fond of melons. The good news is that they're also quite fond of slugs! As others have noted, they can't really climb and are not all that persistant for the most part.

[Pat]

"DrLith" wrote

> They have a hinged shell that allows them to close it up completely if

Yes, this turtle can close itself up in the shell completely.

[Nicole H]

> They have a hinged shell that allows them to close it up completely if

[Nicole H]

[Nicole H]

[Steve]

No, we had a painted turtle in our yard a few weeks ago. (we live on the waterfront) She most certainly had claws and not flippers. I know turtles that live in the ocean have flippers. Off hand, I don't remember seeing any fresh water turtles with flippers.

Steve