Box Turtle

Genus Terrapene

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing box turtles. Specifically, we'll be focusing on the North American species. There are also Asian box turtles, and though they look similar to the box turtles we're discussing today, they aren't closely related! Depending on the source, there are somewhere between four to seven box turtle species. They range east of the Rocky Mountains from southern parts of Canada down into Mexico. They look like tortoises, but they're more closely related to animals commonly known as turtles like mud turtles as well as diamondback terrapins. Box turtles are terrestrial living in open wood forests, marshes, grasslands, and along stream edges. On hot days, they wallow in stream beds or mud pits to cool off and during the winter they burrow underground and enter a state of low activity until the temperature rises the following spring.

Box turtles get their common name because they can close themselves inside their shells. Contrary to popular belief, most turtles can not do this. Most turtles, especially sideneck turtles, are still exposed when they withdraw into their shells, but box turtles can fully enclose themselves when faced with danger. For this reason, adult box turtles have few predators. Older adults are often seen with scars evidencing attacks from animals like skunks, coyotes, raccoons, foxes, minks, ravens, crows, snakes, and more. Juveniles all face these threats and are more likely to fall prey the smaller they are. As they get older, and bigger, they're more protected.

In size, box turtles range from four to eight inches (10-20cm) in shell length as adults. They have domed shells. Males and females can be told apart by their lower shell. In males, this is concave to help facilitate mating. In some species, males may also sport bright red eyes compared to the female's brown or yellow eyes.

Box turtles are promiscuous. They have multiple partners throughout the breeding season. Depending on where they live, the breeding season may last from spring to fall with some species focused more towards summer months. Males seek out females and females are able to store sperm from multiple different partners over the course of many years. In this way, if she doesn't find a mate each year, she still has the opportunity to lay fertilized eggs. Box turtle nests are dug by the female in the ground and, like pond turtles, the temperature determines the sex of the eggs. She'll lay anywhere from two to eight eggs which incubate for two to three months depending on temperature and species. The babies are on their own from birth and take five years to reach reproductive maturity, though they keep growing for more than a decade after this. If they can survive their adolescence, box turtles may live to be twenty to more than fifty years old.

These reptiles are omnivores. Especially when young, box turtles eat animal matter like slugs, snails, and insects. As they get older, they eat more plant material like berries and other fruits, flowers and roots. They also eat mushrooms. Supposedly, this last dietary item could be the reason why box turtles are actually poisonous for humans to eat!

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