Box turtles (Terrapene)

Turtles have lived on earth, in one form or another, for 230 million years. Box turtles have been documented to live over 100 years. The turtle is about two inches long (note the nail head at the bottom right), so she is very young, perhaps less than a year.

In North America we often call them box turtles, but Terrapene is a better name since “box turtle” also refers to two types of Asian turtles (Cuora and Pyxidea). You can usually tell males from females by the eye color – males have red eyes, females yellowish-brown eyes.

Box Turtles are omnivorous, eating everything from slugs, earthworms and insects to blackberries and mushroom to carrion.

A turtle's shell is made keratin (like your fingernails) but beneath the bony plates you’ll find the ribs and vertebrae (backbones). You can see the backbone in this shell which is about five inches long.

In cold climates many turtles “hibernate” during winter – that’s really not the right word, mammals hibernate, reptiles “brumate.” This process is very interesting with water turtles, which snuggle down into mud and leaves at the bottom of ponds. As their bodies cool, their hearts slow down and they stop normal breathing – they absorb the oxygen they need from the water through the skin of their tails.