Eastern box turtles inhabit a wide variety of habitats from dry grassy meadows to wooded swamps and are the most common terrestrial turtle in the eastern United States. ................... Although box turtles can live in a variety of different habitats, population studies indicate that the habitat they are most abundant and healthy in is young forested open areas with plenty of underbrush.............. It is in this underbrush that box turtles forage for food.............. They are omnivores in the broadest sense of the word and will eat almost anything including worms, slugs, fruts and carrion..................Capable of living to 100 years of age if not run down by a car, chewed up by lawn and farm equipment, extracted from natural habitats for the pet trade and taken by foxes, raccoons and coyotes,,,,,,,,,,,, this slow producing Turtle species inevitably ends up as a creature of special concern over large parts of it's eastern USA home

BOX TURTLES EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI

njudubon.com


Box turtles are the most common terrestrial turtle in the eastern United States. They're the only “land” turtle found in New Jersey, meaning they do not spend much of their time in water, like other turtle species.

The box turtle gets its name from its hinged lower shell (the plastron), which enables both front and rear portions of the shell to be pinched up tightly against the upper shell (carapace). So when frightened, box turtles will retract their head, tail, and legs into their shell and close the hinge on the lower shell to clamp it shut. By doing this, its extremities are "boxed in" for protection.

There are several sub-species of box turtle in North America; however, only the Eastern box turtle calls New Jersey is home. They are medium-sized turtles that are highly variable in shell pattern and coloration. But for the most part the upper shell is high-domed and rounded and brightly colored with yellow to orangey-red and black markings.

You can differentiate a male from a female box turtle by its eye color and its lower shell. Males have red eyes and the posterior end of their lower shell is concave. Females have yellowish-brown eyes and their lower shell is flat.

Eastern box turtles inhabit a wide variety of habitats from dry grassy meadows to wooded swamps. Although box turtles can live in a variety of different habitats, population studies indicate that the habitat they are most abundant and healthy in is young forested open areas with plenty of underbrush. It is in this underbrush that box turtles forage for food. 

They are omnivores in the broadest sense of the word and will eat almost anything — animal or plant — that they can fit in their mouth. Some of their favorite foods include almost any insect (although worms and slugs are high on the list), any fruit or berry, a variety of vegetable matter, carrion and even mushrooms. In fact, box turtles are even able to eat many mushrooms that are toxic to humans.

By far, habitat destruction and fragmentation is the number one problem in securing a healthy box turtle population. Deaths caused by vehicles (cars, trains, lawn mowers, farm equipment) is a close second to loss of habitat. Finally, capture from the wild for use in the pet trade has also taken a big toll on wild populations of box turtle.

Although box turtles are relatively common over much of their range and may live more than 100 years, they are very slow to mature, exhibit delayed sexual maturity and have very few young per year (both the eggs and offspring are very susceptible to predation). These characteristics make the box turtle a species particularly susceptible to human-induced activities, making their future uncertain.

Over the span of its lifetime, a female box turtle will lay hundreds of eggs; however, statistics show that only two to three of these offspring will survive to adulthood. If box turtles are taken from the wild to become pets, or are killed by human activities, they are removed from the overall wild breeding population, and subsequently the gene pool is diminished and the number of offspring drops, and ultimately the overall population declines.

It's because of these threats to the Eastern box turtle that it is listed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as a “State Species of Species Concern." If you find a box turtle in the wild, leave it be. Or if you see a box turtle crossing the road, safely move it off the road and across the road in the direction it was heading. You can also help scientists document their range and abundance in the state by submitting a rare species report form at nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/rprtform.htm.

This story is a weekly feature that runs with the cooperation of New Jersey Audubon. For more information about NJ Audubon or how to perform conservation efforts on your property, contact John Parke of NJ Audubon at john.parke@njaudubon.orgor visit njaudubon.org