Box Turtle

Quick Take

• Box turtles can live a century, but something humans built is quietly cutting their lives short in a way most people never consider. See road mortality details →
• The turtle's iconic shell didn't evolve for protection, and its original purpose was something far more unexpected. Explore shell origins →
• A female box turtle can lay eggs years after mating, and the biological reason why is stranger than it sounds. Discover the breeding biology →
• Raccoons, dogs, and snakes all threaten box turtles differently, and one predator exploits an unexpected weakness in the shell. Meet the predators →

The most notable feature of a common box turtle is its dark brown or black shell featuring a bright yellow pattern. These turtles belong to the American pond turtle family. They live in forests and fields, eating insects, fruit, roots, and small amphibians. Like many other types of turtles, these turtles can live a very long time. Though they can have a lifespan of up to 100 years or more in the wild, they typically live to be 50 to 80 years old, with captive-bred turtles often living 30 to 40 years.

Incredible Box Turtle Facts

• A turtle’s shell is attached to its body, specifically by its rib cage.
• These creatures stay under bushes and trees to keep cool on a hot day.
• Many of these turtles die when they try to cross a road and are run over by passing traffic.
• Box turtles have a range of territory equal to a football field.

Evolution

The earliest known ancestor of modern turtles was Eunotosaurus, a reptile that existed during the Permian epoch, around 260 million years ago. Eunotosaurus didn’t have a shell but did have the framing for one, with wide ribs that formed a stable base across the animal’s back. Recent studies reveal that those wide ribs aided the animal in digging and burrowing by anchoring it to the ground. Eunotosaurus had evolved to be an efficient excavator. The animal was once thought to be a swimmer, but the big claws and thick bones would have helped it to withstand compressive forces while burrowing. The powerful, back-facing front limbs and weaker back limbs indicated a master burrower.

Eunotosaurus fossils have been found in what is now South Africa, and this turtle relative lived during a period when the land was dry and arid. The animal may have evolved its burrowing ability to escape droughts. Bony rings around Eunotosaurus’s eyes indicate that it may have spent a lot of time underground.

Pappochelys and Odontochelys also seemed to be equipped with digging abilities. It is believed that after the digging adaptations were made, many turtles became aquatic. Over time, complete shells formed from the wide ribcage, perhaps to protect the slow-moving turtles hampered by broad ribs from predators. Digging platforms evolved into suits of armor.

Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of a common box turtle is Terrapene carolina carolina. This species includes several subspecies, including the Eastern, Florida, Gulf Coast, and three-toed box turtle. These turtles belong to the Emydidae family. Members of this family are sometimes called pond turtles or terrapins. They belong to the class Reptilia.

Species

There are approximately 14 subspecies of box turtles with various types within each species. They include:

• Common, or Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina): This subspecies gets its common name from being located in the eastern United States. It is one of the most well-known, and its status is vulnerable.
• Mexican box turtle (Terrapene carolina mexicana): This subspecies is native to Mexico and, because of exportation laws, is seldom seen in the pet trade.
• Coahuilan box turtle (Terrapene coahuila): The only known aquatic box turtle in North America is an endangered species endemic to Coahuila, Mexico.
• Spotted box turtle (Terrapene nelsoni): This species gets its name from the tiny spots all over its shell and has not been studied enough to know much more.
• Three-toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis): More adaptable to new environments than most box turtles, the three-toed turtle is considered a good pet.
• Yucatan box turtle (Terrapene carolina yucatana): Found only in the Mexican state of Yucatan.
• Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri): This subspecies can be found almost exclusively in the state of Florida with occasional sightings in south Georgia.
• Gulf Coast box turtle (Terrapene carolina major): This turtle can be found along the Gulf of Mexico between the states of Louisiana and Florida.
• Ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata): Native to the Great Plains of the United States, this small turtle has yellow lines from the center of the shell to the edges.

Appearance & Behavior

An Eastern box turtle has a dark brown or black shell, or carapace, with yellow spots on its upper surface. A Florida box turtle’s shell is similar in appearance. Alternatively, an ornate box turtle has a brown shell with slashes of yellow across its upper surface. A turtle’s shell is made up of strong plates called scutes. These reptiles have four legs with five clawed toes on each front leg and four clawed toes on each of their back feet. They have an S-shaped neck, making it easy to pull their head into their shell. A male common box turtle’s eyes are usually red, while a female’s eyes are brown.

A common box turtle grows to a length of four to six inches. Line up three golf tees end to end, and you have a line equal in length to a six-inch turtle. These turtles weigh from 0.8 to 2 pounds. If you had one and a half basketballs sitting on a table in front of you, they would be the same weight as a 2-pound box turtle. The largest species of these turtles is the Gulf Coast box turtle. It can sometimes reach a length of 8.5 inches.

The only protection box turtles have is their ability to retreat into their shell at the first sign of a threat. It can pull its head and legs completely into its shell. Predators have to work very hard to damage the tough exterior of the turtle’s shell in order to retrieve the turtle inside. Plus, the turtle’s shell can repair itself over time. Cracks and broken areas regrow. So, even if a turtle’s shell is attacked, it can recover if the damage is not severe.

Common box turtles are solitary animals. They are shy and will stay out of sight of humans and other animals if at all possible. If turtles live near one another, it is usually because of an abundant food source nearby. A group of turtles is called a bale. A bale may contain as few as three turtles or as many as 13.

Habitat

These turtles live in the central, eastern, and southern United States as well as in Mexico in moderate to warm climates. The turtles living in areas that get cold in the winter go into hibernation to stay warm. They seek shelter in hollow trees or burrow into the ground using their strong hind legs.

The habitat of Eastern box turtles includes forests, marshy areas, meadows, and fields. Normally, their range includes a water source such as a pond or stream. Alternatively, ornate box turtles live on prairies and in grassy areas.

These turtles avoid intense heat by foraging early in the morning on summer days. In the heat of the day, they hide beneath a bush or under a log to stay cool.

These turtles’ feet have webbing, allowing them to wade and find food in or near streams. Their excellent sense of smell helps them locate insects or vegetation to consume.

These turtles do not migrate, but they do move around within their territory, which is about the size of a football field.

Predators and Threats

These small reptiles are threatened by habitat loss and loss of their food source due to construction and land development. When roads are built in this animal’s territory, box turtles pay a high price, often being killed by cars or trucks traveling through.

What eats a box turtle?

Some of the predators of these turtles include dogs, skunks, raccoons, birds, and snakes. Some of these animals can probe inside a turtle’s shell to injure and kill it. For instance, raccoons can use their nimble claws to reach into a turtle’s shell. Dogs use their powerful jaws and teeth to crack or break a box turtle’s shell to access the inside. If a turtle is turned over on its back by a dog or other predator, it may die if it’s not able to turn itself back over after the predator leaves.

Diet

These turtles have a diet of insects, caterpillars, fruit, flowers, roots, and small amphibians.

Though Eastern box turtles are omnivores, they have different diets at different stages of life. Generally, a baby or young turtle eats insects and small amphibians. Older turtles tend to eat roots, fruit, and flowers.

Ornate box turtles eat flowers, roots, and insects as well. They also eat carrion.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

These turtles reach sexual maturity somewhere between 4 and 12 years of age, depending on the individual and environmental conditions. Their breeding season begins in the spring and extends through autumn. Males compete for mates by fighting one another. The strongest male gets to mate with the female. Males can mate with several females in one breeding season. The gestation period of an Eastern box turtle is 60 to 90 days.

An interesting thing to note is that a female Eastern box turtle can store sperm for up to 4 years. So, she could lay fertilized eggs three or four years after mating. The nesting period starts in May and continues into July. Females dig a burrow and lay a clutch of three to eight eggs, with four to five being most typical. Some turtles lay as many as 11 eggs. She leaves after burying the eggs beneath the soil or sand. Box turtle eggs incubate and hatch without any care from the parents. The eggs are around two centimeters long and weigh less than an ounce. While some turtle eggs are leathery to the touch, box turtle eggs have thin and somewhat flexible shells.

A baby box turtle is called a hatchling. The hatchlings crawl up out of their burrow and must survive on their own at that point. They begin to search for small worms, bugs, and plant life to eat. Baby turtles are vulnerable to predators because of their small size and their soft shells, which offer little to no protection. Not surprisingly, many hatchlings are eaten before they can grow a stronger shell to retreat into when a predator is near.

These turtles are prone to respiratory diseases and parasites. Though most of these turtles live to 30 or 40 years old, they have been known to live to 100 years old.

Population

The wild population of the Eastern box turtle is estimated at fewer than 10,000 individuals. Their overall numbers have declined due to habitat loss and land development. Many turtle deaths occur when they try to cross roads and are run over by passing vehicles.

The conservation status of Eastern box turtles is Vulnerable, with a decreasing population.