Raccoons are their most dedicated enemy. But it still wouldn't mature sexually for 12 to 15 years, and females may not nest until age 16 to 20. So while the human population can double itself in about 30 years, Compton says, one study set the doubling time for a wood turtle population at 2,000 years. Hatchlings raised in captivity are aggressive and often kill or injure one another. Predators also would take a heavy toll on released hatchlings.
Most breeders simply rely on dog food or fish pellets.
Released turtles also are likely to muddy the gene pools of distinct populations, he says, and may spread disease among wild populations. The desert tortoise in California already is suffering from a respiratory disease believed to have been spread by pet tortoises released into the wild. The Pacific pond turtle, a close relative of the wood turtle, also is dying of a strange disease that may have been introduced by released pets. Wood turtles don't need people to stop fishing, canoeing or even logging in their habitat, he says. Every time a child takes home a pet wood turtle, every time one is hit by a car and especially when collectors clean out a stream, the population suffers a loss from which it may never recover.