Eastern box turtle

Eastern box turtles are sometimes found with dates from long ago carved into their shells. Scientists have discovered that these small turtles can live to be over 100 years old.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Chelonia

Family: Emydidae

Genus: Terrapene

Species: Carolina

Like other turtles, eastern box turtles are soft-bodied reptiles with hard, protective outer shells. These shells are made of two parts: the carapaces and the plastrons. The carapaces are the parts of the shells covering the turtles' back, and the plastrons are the parts of the shells covering the turtles' bellies. The carapaces and plastrons are connected by a bridge of tiny bones which extends upward from the plastron. Eastern box turtles have brownish carapaces with yellow and orange markings on each of their scutes, joined scales. Their plastrons are tan to brown and may have some darker blotches. Eastern box turtles grow to be between four and eight inches (10 and 20 centimeters) long. The main difference in appearance between the males and females is their eye color. Males have red eyes, while females have brown eyes.

Eastern box turtles live in open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows. They can be found in the eastern United States from southern Maine south to Georgia and west to Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee. In the northern parts of their range, eastern box turtles hibernate, or rest, from October through April. They dig burrows in the soft soil and sleep through the winter.

Eastern box turtles are omnivorous, both meat- and plant- eating. They use an interesting method to catch their food. They gape open their mouths and expand their throats. This causes a rush of water and food to be sucked into their mouths. Young eastern box turtles are more carnivorous, or meat-eating, but as they get older they develop more herbivorous, or plant-eating habits. At any time in their life eastern box turtles may be seen eating both meat and plant matter. They may feed on snails, crayfish, insects, fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, lizards, various snakes, and carrion, or dead animal flesh. Adult eastern box turtles are also likely to eat a variety of plant matter including roots, stems, leaves, fruits, seeds, berries, and mosses.

Mating season for eastern box turtles takes place in the spring. Female eastern box turtles are able to lay fertile eggs several years after mating because they can store sperm and delay fertilization. When the females are ready to lay their eggs they dig holes in the soft soil and lay clutches, or batches, of three to eight eggs in them. Females may lay more than one clutch in a given season. After the females have laid their eggs, they have no further relationship with their young. After a three-month incubation period, or growth period, the young turtles, called hatchlings, break out of their shells and learn to survive on their own.

Eastern box turtle nests are often destroyed by skunks, foxes, raccoons, and crows. Hatchlings are threatened by crows, copperhead snakes, and cottonmouth snakes. Adult eastern box turtles are sometimes attacked by raccoons, skunks, coyotes, dogs, and foxes, but are rarely killed by these mammals. Humans are the biggest threat to adult eastern box turtles. Thousands of these turtles die every year on American highways. Many are also used by Indian tribes for food, and medical, ceremonial, burial, and hunting purposes. Eastern box turtles sometimes try to protect themselves by pulling their limbs inside their hard, outer shells.