Eastern box turtle

A box turtle spends its life in a home range of only a few hectares, and knows it well. It is most active in the morning and after rain, and soaks in puddles in dry weather. When threatened it pulls in its head and legs and closes the hinged underside like a box. In winter it burrows into soft soil and leaf litter.

Box turtles eat mushrooms and fruit and spread the seeds and spores, and they eat slugs and snails in gardens. Because they breed slowly and live long, losing even a few adults each year makes a population decline, which is why road deaths and collecting have made them scarcer across the East.

Nest — Dug by the female in open soil
Eggs — Usually 3 to 6
Incubation — About 70 to 90 days
Hatchlings — About 3 cm long, secretive and rarely seen
Maturity — At 7 to 10 years
Lifespan — Often over 50 years; some pass 100

• A box turtle crossing a road can be carried across in the direction it was heading. Never move one to a new area: turtles taken from their home range wander until they die.
• Never put a box turtle in a pond. It is a land turtle and can drown in deep water.
• Mowing high and checking long grass first saves many box turtles in summer.

• A box turtle in the garden is lost. It is almost certainly inside its home range and knows its way.
• Turtles can leave their shells. The shell is part of the skeleton, joined to the spine and ribs.

• Three-toed box turtle
• Gopher tortoise
• Spotted turtle