Box turtle

Box turtles are found in the eastern United States, ranging from southern Maine to Florida along the East Coast, and west to Michigan, Illinois, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Box turtles inhabit open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows. They are often found near streams and ponds. The box turtle is an omnivore Their sharp eyes and keen sense of smell help them in finding food such as snails, insects, berries, fungi, slugs, worms, roots, flowers, fish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, birds, and eggs indiscriminately. When frightened, box turtles retract their head, tail, and limbs into their shell and clamp it shut. They wait in this position until the perceived threat is thought to be gone. While juveniles have several predators, very few species can prey effectively on adults due to this defense technique. Box turtle mating can occur from the spring through the fall. Females may remain fertile for four years after mating. Three to 8 oval, soft shelled eggs are laid in the ground in June. They hatch in 75 to 90 days. Females usually make their nest on stormy evenings. Climate change may be a significant threat to Eastern and Three-toed Box Turtles. Recent findings suggest that precipitation and temperature regimes are closely linked to the growth and reproduction in box turtles. Some interesting facts about the box turtle are, The age of a box turtle can be approximated by counting the rings on the plates on the top of the turtle's shell, Although touching a box turtle's head is not recommended, they are generally quite docile and almost never bite, Box turtles commonly live to be 30 years old and can probably live much longer than that, Box turtles have a homing instinct that causes them to return to their place of birth, even if they have been moved