Kids Page - Beachview Cottages on Sanibel Island, Florida

HEY KIDS! My name is Shel the Sea Turtle and I'm here to help you learn all about sea turtles before your trip to Beachview Cottages on Sanibel Island, Florida. I bet you didn't know that endangered sea turtles have been nesting on the beach in front of Beachview Cottages for hundreds of years! Want to learn more? Just scroll down on this webpage for tons of turtle facts. We've even got some puzzles and a scavenger hunt you can download and bring with you on your vacation to Sanibel Island!

* Most common sea turtles in
Florida.
* They eat mollusks and crabs.
* Adults are 200 to 350 pounds
and 3 feet in length .
* An estimated 14,000 females
nest in the Southeastern U.S.
each year.
* They are named after their
large head,which can be 10
inches wide.

* One of the rarer sea turtles
to nest on Sanibel Island.
* The only sea turtle to eat
plants
* They weigh 250 to 450
pounds andare 3 to 4 feet
long.
* They are an endangered
species.
* Named after the color of their
fat, not for their shell color.

* Each female lays about 60
to 100 eggs in a nest.
* The eggs are about the
same size as ping pong
balls, but much softer.
* Eggs, nests and turtles are
protected by federal and
state laws.
* The female uses her
flippers to cover the eggs
with sand.

* The sex of the babies is
determined by the temperature
of the nest - a warmer nest
produces all boys, and a cooler
nest produces all girls.
* Hatchlings are only about 2
inches long.
* It takes hatchlings 2-3 days to
dig out of the nest.
* Hatchlings follow the brightest
light to the water.

If you stay with us from May 1 to Oct 31 it's turtle time! That means there can be no beachside lights at night to confuse hatchlings