Eastern box turtle full#

Development is not a friend to box turtles. The number one cause of death for this reptile is collision with a car. This does not mean that life is always safe for box turtles, though. By contrast, adult box turtles sealed inside their shells are safe from almost any predator except Man. “What eats me”īox turtle eggs and soft-shelled hatchlings are extremely vulnerable to predators of many types. If the incubation temperature is 82 degrees or above, the hatchlings will be female. If eggs are incubated in a temperature range of 72-81 degrees Fahrenheit, the hatchlings will be male. Incubation lasts about three months, and temperature determines the sex of the young. Interestingly, females can lay fertile eggs up to four years (!!!) after a successful mating.įemales make their nests in the leaf litter and lay 3 to 8 eggs per clutch. A male may mate with the same female several years in a row, or with several females, depending on availability. Given the odds against reproductive success for box turtles, this is why it is so important to the long-term viability of any local population to leave it intact and not remove any adults.īox turtle mating season begins in the spring and continues through the summer. If the eggs make it to hatching, the hatchlings will be extremely vulnerable to predation and few if any will make it to adulthood. She may then lay eggs, but they will be few in number and may include some infertile ones. When she is ready to breed, she must first encounter a mate, which may or may not happen depending on whether her home territory (which she won’t leave) happens to overlap with a mate’s home territory (which he won’t leave).

Eastern box turtle full#

It can take a female box turtle at least five years, and possibly a full decade, to reach sexual maturity. Reproduction does not come readily or easily to Eastern box turtles. Males have short, thick, curved rear claws while females have longer, straighter, and more slender rear claws. Males have bright red eyes females have yellowish-brown eyes. Males are slightly larger than females and have thicker, longer tails. Males and females can be told apart by differences in size and some traits. The Eastern box turtle has a brownish-black shell that is spotted or streaked with yellow or orange. One or more box turtles may share the same hibernacula. A winter brumation burrow is called a hibernacula. They take shelter by burrowing up to two feet deep in dirt, mud, stream bottoms, stump holes, or mammal burrows. They may stay hidden during the hottest part of the day but are still active during daylight hours.

They are often found in groups and tolerate others in their territory without displaying aggression.īox turtles are active during the warmer months. Home ranges often overlap and box turtles are not aggressively territorial.

It probably will succeed if moved less than a mile or two away, but probably will not if moved further, although it may try for years. If removed from its home territory, it will make every effort to return. A box turtle makes a mental map of its home territory and knows exactly where to find food throughout the year. Most box turtles spend their entire lives – which can exceed 100 years! – within 250 yards of the nests where they were born. They can also be seen in the Meadow in the Maryland Wilderness at the Maryland Zoo.

People may see box turtles in their backyards. Box turtles prefer habitat from open fields to wooded or marshy areas, preferably with a lot of leaf cover. carolina carolina, inhabits the eastern and central United States from southern Maine to Florida and west into Michigan, Illinois, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. There are 6 subspecies of box turtle, four native to the United States and two native to Mexico.

Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion.