How Many Types Of Box Turtles Are There?

Yucatan Box Turtle

There are seven species of box turtles and several sub-species. Let’s take a look at each of these little guys, and find out what makes them so interesting and unique in the turtle world.

Boxing Clever – Unique Turtles With Amazing Capabilities

Box turtles are very special creatures. They have the unique ability when under attack or scared, to hinge up their shell into a tightly sealed box. That means they are totally protected from predators, who, they hope, will give up and leave them alone. (Most turtles and tortoises protect themselves by folding up their legs to cover the openings in their shell.) Box turtles can be found in North America and Central America and in Asia. In this article, we are going to look at the ones that live in North and Central America.

The Turtles That Don’t Really Like To Swim All that Much

Unlike most turtles, box turtles are not great lovers of the water. There is just one, the Coahuilan, which spends a great deal of time in the water. Box turtles are more like tortoises in this respect, and they also have the high domed shell that is a characteristic of the tortoise family. These small turtles generally have attractively patterned shells, and some are popular as pets. They are cute, attractive, and are interesting animals to study.

Is There A Box Turtle Hideaway Near You?

Box turtles are very widely spread across North and Central America. In the United States, you can find them as for north as Maine, as far south as Florida, as far West as Wyoming, and all the way across to the east coast. South of the border, box turtles are found in Mexico, mainly in the north and east of the country. So it’s very likely that you could find box turtles in the wild. Now, that doesn’t mean that you can go and pick one up and take it home – just about all box turtles have protected status.

Box Turtle

The Common Box Turtle – Familiar, Yet Under Threat

The common box turtle, Terrapene carolina, is widespread throughout Mexico and the eastern United States, yet it is considered to be vulnerable. The reason for this is loss of habitat, being captured from the wild for the pet trade, and sadly, being killed on the highways. The fires and floods that we are seeing all too frequently are also contributing to a decline in numbers of the common box turtle.

The upper shell of the box turtle is called the carapace. It’s high and domed, brown in color with pretty spots, lines, and splotches. The plastron, or lower shell, is the one that has that great ability to hinge up, creating a protective box that gives this turtle its common name. In the north of its home range, turtles hibernate over winter. Across the whole of its range, female turtles lay their eggs during the summer. The effects of climate change on these seasonal behaviors have yet to be completely understood.

The common box turtle doesn’t mind too much what it eats. Plants, bugs, small animals – just about everything is yummy for a box turtle. It’s also not too fussy about where it lives; in scrubland, near ponds, in marshes, even on roadsides. It likes to be near water, but it doesn’t actually live in the water.

Florida Box

The Florida Box Turtle With Its Tropical Good Looks

The Florida box turtle, Terrapene carolina bauri, is found, as you might expect, in Florida, and also in southeast Georgia. It has even made its way out onto the Florida Keys. It’s the southernmost box turtle located in the US. Although it enjoys spending time in a watery environment, it doesn’t usually venture into the water where it can actually swim. It’s more of a paddler around the edges and likes to live where there is plenty of sheltering undergrowth.

The Florida box turtle is very easy to recognize as it has very attractive bright yellow stripes on its high domed shell. The lower shell can range in color from very bright yellow to dense black. Florida box turtles have sharp claws and a beak that allows them to catch and eat bugs. It also likes to eat fungi, vegetables, and fruits. Growing to around 7″ long, the males tend to be a little bigger than the females.

Eastern Box Turtle

The Eastern Box Turtle – A Handsome Guy With Amazing Longevity

The Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina Carolina, is notable for its lovely coloration of orange and yellow. One of the most common turtles in the wild, its range stretches all over the Eastern United States, but it can be found further west as the result of pet turtles having been released, or escaped, into the wild. These turtles eat just about anything, although when they are younger they tend to like more in the way of meaty treats – other small reptiles, bugs, and even small animals. They live in a wide variety of locations, woodland, fields, meadows, light scrub, and of course, near ponds.

They don’t like the weather too hot, and so it is likely that they will be affected by climate change. During the heat of the day, they hide out in damp and shady places, although if the weather is mild they can be found sunbathing. There has been a decline in the eastern box turtle population, and its status is now considered to be “vulnerable”. It appears on the IUCN list of threatened species. These attractive animals reach maturity at around 20 years old and can live to be 100 years old.

Gulf Coast Box Turtle

The Gulf Coast Box Turtle – Loves To Hang Out In Swamps

The Gulf Coast box turtle, Terrapene carolina major, loves to be around water. It makes its homes in the swamps and estuaries of Louisianna, Florida, and right along the Gulf of Mexico. You can tell it from its cousins by its generally darker coloring. Brown and black, with just a bit of yellow, is the common look for the gulf Coast box turtle. It grows up to around 8″ in length and feeds on small reptiles, bugs, and aquatic life, as well as vegetables. As it shares a range with some of the other box turtles, well, cousins do meet and mingle. So you can find cross-bred turtles, although it probably takes an expert to spot one.

Three-Toed Box Turtle

The Three-Toed Box Turtle – “Don’t Watch Me While I’m Eating!”

The three-toed box turtle, Terrapene triunguis, is the official reptile of the State of Missouri and can be found throughout the south-central part of the United States. It gets its name from the three toes that can be found on its back feet – but confusingly, some three-toed turtles have four toes. It’s likely that these are turtles that have interbred with other subspecies of box turtles that enter into their range.

This turtle grows up to around 7″ long, and the dome on its shell is set a little bit further back than in other species. The three-toed turtle eats a wide range of food, from earthworms, crickets, and slugs to fruit, to eggs, and to mushrooms. It’s notable that three-toed box turtles really don’t like to be watched when they are eating – so if you have one as a pet, give them their privacy.

Three-toed box turtles are sensitive to humidity and migrate during the year to achieve the conditions that they like best. If it’s too dry, they will dig themselves a damp burrow under leaves and debris.

Although they are by no means as pretty as some of the other box turtles, having a rather plain brown carapace, they make popular pets for experienced turtle keepers. We warned though; they are not easy to care for and you should be sure that you are up to the job before taking one of these creatures into your home.

Coahuilan Box Turtle

The Coahuilan Box Turtle – The Water Baby Of The Box Turtle Family

The Coahuilan box turtle, Terrapene Coahuila, is different from all the rest of the box turtles. It loves to spend its time in the water, and will only spend about 10% of its time on dry land.It has a very small range of about three hundred square miles, in Coahuilan, Mexico. Its need for specialized conditions seems to be the reason that number of this turtle has dwindled in recent years, and it is now considered to be endangered.

This turtle is another example of a rather plain-looking box turtle, with dark, almost black skin, and a shell that can be covered in algae as a result of the time it spends in the water. The Coahuilan box turtle eats what comes along, and will eat fish, reptiles, plants, dragonfly larvae, crayfish, and mushrooms.

Mexican Box Turtle

The Mexican Box Turtle – Attractive And Enigmatic

The Mexican box turtle, Terrapene mexicana is a very handsome looking turtle, with blue and red markings on the front legs, and growing to around 8″ long. They are known to live to 100 years old or more. It can be found in marshy, swampy, areas of eastern Mexico, enjoying very humid conditions, and feeding mainly on the insects that abound in these locations. These animals have not been widely studied, and are not usually available to be kept as pets. There is a lot more to discover about these attractive turtles.

Spotted Box Turtle

The Spotted Box Turtle – It Doesn’t Always Have Spots

The spotted box turtle, Terrapene nelsoni, has a spotted shell – but not always. A small turtle, growing up to 6″, the females usually have yellow spots on their carapace, but the males, confusingly, often don’t. Males are also distinguished from females because they have larger heads, larger scales on their legs, and large red eyes.

There are thought to be two subspecies, the Northern spotted box turtle, Terrapene nelsoni klauberi, and the Southern spotted box turtle, Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni. It isn’t certain that there are in fact two subspecies, and more studies need to be undertaken to find out if this is the case.

The spotted box turtle has a relatively small range in Mexico, mostly in the northwest. Not much is known about this rare turtle. They are thought to be active mainly in the monsoon season when they breed, and for the rest of the year they virtually hibernate, or at least, stay very inactive. Their diet is thought to be similar to that of other box turtles, but, this animal requires more study, so no one really knows.

Western Box Turtle

The Western Box Turtle – From The Mississippi River To the Rocky Mountains

The Western box turtle, Terrapene ornata, and its subspecies, the ornate box turtle, Terrapene ornate, and the desert box turtle, Terrapene ornata luteola can be found right across the United States. It can also be found in the northern part of Mexico.

Western box turtles grow to about 4 ½” in length, and 14 ounces in weight. They are not as long-lived as some of the turtle family, living to about 30 years old. In the wild, they like to live in burrows, generally about a foot deep, but at times they can burrow down as much as six feet, depending on the weather conditions. This ability to vary the depth at which they live enables them to keep at the humidity and temperature that they like.

Like most box turtles, they are not wedded to the idea of being constantly in the water. It seems that they have evolved to enjoy a mostly land-based life. They eat almost anything, the younger turtles enjoy more protein than do the older ones. They will eat dandelion flowers, mulberries, fish, earthworms, slugs, and insects, and they particularly like prickly pear. Their shells can be very beautiful with yellow concentric circles against a black or dark brown background. Females may have more yellow coloring than males.

Yucatan Box Turtle

Last But Not Least, The Yucatan Box Turtle

The Yucatán box turtle, Terrapene yucatana, is found, as you might expect, in Yucatan, southern Mexico. Growing up to around 6″ in length, this is another long-lived turtle that can make it to 100 years old or more. They have been known to live over 130 years in captivity. It can be identified by the number of toes on each foot – four. The carapace has attractive star-shaped patterns, and the head is light-colored. In males, markings around the eyes make them look almost as if they are wearing eye shadow. (They aren’t.)

Mainly land dwellers, they do hibernate if temperatures drop down low enough, although this isn’t a common occurrence in Yucatan. Like most box turtles, they are not fussy about their diet and will eat insects, vegetable matter, and even carrion if it comes along. this turtle is difficult to find in the wild, and is definitely under threat due to loss of habitat.

Do Box Turtles Make Good Pets?

Box turtles can make good pets, but please make sure that you are buying from a reputable source. Turtles that are sold should be bred especially for the pet trade – not taken from the wild. Some of the box turtles really shouldn’t be kept as pets by beginners, and they all need the correct environment, space to live, temperature, and humidity. They are never going to relate to you the way a dog or even a cat or a guinea pig will, but they are interesting and enjoyable, especially if you manage to breed them.

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