JP's Turtle Page

Portraits

Adult male turtles can generally be identified by their more colorful heads and forelimbs, a slight depression in the plastron and bright red eyes.

The patterns of color on the head and neck of box turtles vary with age and from turtle to turtle. While the head color ranges from yellowish-brown to blackish-brown, it may be patterned with black, white, yellow or orange.

In general, males have irises of some shade or red, with mottling of yellow, white, purple or purple-own. Females generally have brown irises, which may be solid, or splotched or ringed with yellow, gold, orange, blue, pale red or purple. The combination of eye color and facial mottling is so variable, it may be distinctive to each turtle.

How old is it?

A close examination of each individual plate (or scute) of a box turtle's shell can reveal the turtle's age. Box turtles exhibit growth rings on each scute similar to the annual rings of trees; one ring equals one year's growth. On young turtles up to 10 years old, the rings are conspicuous and easily counted.

However, older turtles gradually wear these rings smooth. A turtle with a completely smooth lower shell with no visible growth rings can be estimated to be at least 30 years old.

Just how long box turtles live is uncertain. Estimates range from 32 to more than 80 years. Three-toed box turtles of over 50 years have been documented with certainty a number of times Estimates of box turtles living more than 100 years are probably not accurate.

The life of a box turtle

Most box turtle mating takes place in the spring. Two to eight white eggs are laid in the spring or summer. Young turtles hatch in two to three months; however, some clutches laid in summer may not hatch until the following spring.

Hatchling box turtles, slightly more than one inch long, are vulnerable. They are secretive and seldom encountered.

Good box turtle habitat may have surprisingly high population densities of up to 10 or more turtles per acre. Box turtles are usually homebodies with small home ranges of about two to five acres. However, some turtles do travel. These are the turtles that drivers encounter crossing roads in the spring.

Research has shown that road-crossing box turtles are typically young (not yet sexually mature) turtles or young adult male turtles. Adult females and older males make up but a small percentage of these wanderers.

So the question, "Why does the box turtle cross the road?" can be answered two ways. Immature turtles are establishing their own home ranges--wanderlust, in other words. Young adult male turtles are out looking for mates--just plain lust, you might say. Unfortunately, many thousands of these wanderers are killed by vehicles.