About Eastern Box Turtles
This page is meant to give a brief overview of the turtle's natural history. Much more information on box turtles can be found by checking out the links page.
This page is meant to give a brief overview of the turtle's natural history. Much more information on box turtles can be found by checking out the links page.
Range
As their name implies, eastern box turtles are found over much of the eastern United States, from the Northeast to the Midwest, and far into the Southeast. A range map can be seen here. Diet
Box turtles have a diverse omnivorous diet. Wild raspberries, strawberries, and mushrooms are frequently eaten. They certainly won't turn down a protein packed meal either; invertebrates such as earthworms, slugs, beetles, etc., are favorite foods. We even found a post-partum female box turtle at Fort Custer scavenging a female Eastern Hog-nosed Snake full of eggs! |
Conservation status
Box turtle species in general are declining largely due to habitat loss, road mortality, predation, as well as collection for the pet trade. Emerging diseases such as Ranavirus cause morbidity and mortality as well. Eastern box turtles are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and listed on CITES Appendix II. They are currently listed as a Species of Special Concern in Michigan, which is where the turtles for the Project came from . |
Lifespan
Box turtles can live for a very long time--50 years or more! We do not advise getting a box turtle as a pet since many will outlive their owners and they are not as easy to care for as one might think. Furthermore, it is illegal to own box turtles in certain areas, and illegal collection for the pet trade has contributed to population declines. |
Behavior
They aren't named box turtles for nothing! Having a hinged plastron (lower shell) enables them to completely enclose themselves in their shells. Since eastern box turtles mostly inhabit temperate regions (though some can be found in sub-tropical regions of Florida), they can spend half of their life or more underground during cold months in northern latitudes or be more active throughout the year in southern climates. They are largely land-dwelling, though they can be surprisingly semi-aquatic at times and actually belong to the pond turtle family (see image to left). During peak activity times, they spend a lot of time basking, foraging, or hiding. They use habitats as dense as hardwood forests to open fields and meadows, depending on their resource needs. Females need dry, elevated areas to nest, where they'll lay anywhere from as few as one to upwards of ten eggs, though the average is about five. |