Turtles in Florida

[Freyja]

How common are turtles/tortoises in Florida?

My son absoloutly loves turtles and would love to see some out in the wild during our holiday. How likely is he to be able to do that?

 

[Virgo10]

Are you just going to Disney? I'm not sure if I've ever seen one in the wild there. However I've seen many in the lakes of my town. Here's a couple.

Tortoises live in Florida but I've yet to see one. Of course I've never seen a live armadillo despite my numerous WDW trips and living here for 2+ years.

 

[Freyja]

Oh, they´re so cute. Maybe we´ll get lucky.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Spend a half day at Gatorland, they have quite a few of these on display. It's only 15 minutes from WDW and well worth the $20 it costs to get into the park. They are all over Disney, but hard to find. Usually, and unfortunatly, you only see them trying to cross the road to get to a source of water.

 

[SamRoc]

We see them in our neighborhood in Emerald Island Kissimmee. I had to actually rescue one as it was stuck in a drain in the side of the road. My ds and I moved it off the road and placed it right near the same area where there is a field and water. Didnt want to move it too far as there might be eggs or little ones. But we wanted to get it off the street. I couldnt believe how huge it was!

 

[Tiziminchac]

We have lots of turtles here in Florida. I think three or four species of sea turtles that nest here. But those are hard to see obviously. I've lived here my whole life and never seen one. And we have lots of land and freshwater turtles. Gopher turtles are our biggest land tortoises and your best bet. But they are protected so don't molest them.

Realistically, I don't know what your chances of seeing a turtle in the wild are. If your looking closely you will see lots of turtles in our rivers, lakes and canals. They like to sun themselves and it's normal to see a whole group of them on the same log doing just that.

I wish your son luck and I wish I could help more. But I'm no expert. Check out this site, it has a lot of info about Florida turtles and such.

http://www.empireoftheturtle.com/floridaTurtle.htm

 

[Freyja]

Thanks everyone. We´ve been to Gatorland, but might do it again
We´ll definately keep our eyes open around all lakes. We´re hoping to stay in a lakeview villa. Maybe we will see some there?

 

[lowie]

in my backyard lake they swim around and only stick they're heads above water. it almost looks like a snake head sticking out.
although i don't see many outside of the water there are plenty around.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

They are all over the lakes in WDW as well.

Epcot has a bunch in the FW water areas.

 

[Luv'sTink]

I saw a bunch of them in the canals by Kennedy Space Center.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

I've seen them in the lakes at Disney, too. If you're going looking for them, I'd also recommend Gatorland.

 

[Talking Hands]

Had several in my backyard but they seem to moved on. Florida Box Turtles. My girls loved to watch them.

 

[Feralpeg]

I see them in my neighborhood all the time. I watch for them because they do get hit by cars on occasion.

Awhile back, I was on WDW property, not far from POFQ. There was an Orange County Sheriff's car parked on the side of the road with it's lights going. As I drove closer, I saw the officer standing in front of his car. He was preventing this huge turtle from walking into the path of traffic. The turtle was the biggest I've seen. It's shell was probably a couple of feet in diameter. I have no idea what it weighed, but I doubt I could have lifted it. By the time my light changed, a WDW truck had pulled up and a couple of guys were getting out. I'm sure they were going to relocate the turtle.

Kudos to the sheriff!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

We saw several turtles in the water around WDW's Caribbean Beach Resort.

 

[Mickey527]

There are little areas of water around WDW right near the roads. I can't call them lakes because they are small. But they have cement drains in some areas. I always see turtles resting in the sun on these during the summer. These are big turtles, they seem to be about 8-12 inches at least because they can be seen from in the car. I don't know if I would stop and go near them though, I have also seen alligators in these same waters.
Last year we were enjoying our day at OKW in the quiet pool near building 55. A small turtle like the kind they sell in the stores strolled from the grass onto the cement. My step-grandson of course wanted to take it home but I didn't think it would enjoy the plane ride.
You can also buy those turtles along 538. I always see trucks alongside the road selling turtles. You can also buy watermelons and orchids, etc... I am sometimes surprised at what people sell along side the road. Peggie

 

[chyam]

I have seen them in the river that runs through Port Orleans in both the Riverside location and POFQ. Some you have to be careful of because they bite, I tried to move one out of the road where I work and the security guard came out and told me that he could take my finger off But then got a shovel and moved it out of the road. There are lots of turtles in FL you just have to be looking for them.

 

[Steffi]

We see turtles around here pretty much wherever there are small bodies of water. And there is a giant tortoise that lives in my neighborhood and has for as long as anyone can remember.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Our last trip to WDW we stayed in the Beach Club Villas. Near the pool there was a bridge over some water. One day we spotted a large number of turtles there. You might want to check if you're actively looking.