Have you seen any box turtles lately? I’ve noticed them trying to cross the highway in several places as I’ve traveled around Arkansas recently. (I always stop to help them safely across.) And two old box turtles we regularly see on our three-acre property in Alexander made appearances as well.
I always enjoy seeing these gentle reptiles. They relish the fat worms and tomato pieces I give them, and every few weeks one will show up for a fresh treat.
Types of box turtles
Did you know Arkansas is home to not one but two species of box turtles?
The more common species, the three-toed box turtle, usually has three toes (occasionally four) on each hind foot. The young start out with brightly colored shells during their first few years, but the upper and lower shells usually change to a drab olive-tan color on adults. One might see three-toeds in any of our 75 counties from early April to late October when they are active.
Ornate box turtles, as their name suggests, have rich decorative colors and patterns, with bright yellow lines radiating across the dark upper and lower shells of both young and old specimens. Four toes usually are present on each hind foot.
Ornates are less common, with a smaller range. They prefer prairie and grassland habitat, little of which is left in our state. Most records of their presence have come from a few northwestern and central counties.
Now that you’ve had that introduction to the two species, here are some more interesting facts about box turtles you may not have heard.
Shell shock
Box turtles are so named because each adult has a crosswise belly-hinge allowing it to shut its shell tight like a box after pulling in its head and legs. In this manner, all the soft body parts of the slow-moving turtles are protected by a layer of hard shell.
The turtles’ shells do their jobs remarkably well. These reptiles often survive being hit by cars, mowed by bush hogs, trampled by cattle and crushed by farm implements. If you study them long enough, someday you’ll probably find one with a deformed shell that has healed after serving its protective purpose.
Living to a ripe old age
Those protective shells help box turtles live long lives. Herpetologists have learned that three-toeds often survive 60 to 70 years, and there are a few records of centenarians. That makes them among the longest-lived wild animals in Arkansas. Ornate box turtles regularly reach 30 to 40 years of age.
Home sweet home
Each turtle may live its entire long life on a tract of land no more than a few acres in size. That’s why you should release three-toed box turtles kept as pets back where you found them. They have excellent homing instincts and will try to return to the territory they are familiar with.
When I was a naturalist at Village Creek State Park near Wynne, I helped the assistant superintendent mark the three-toed box turtles we found with a special engraving tool. We recorded the unique numbers inscribed on each turtle, where the animal was found, its size and sex, and where it was released. Park guests recaptured several of those turtles after 10 years or more. One roamed around the park for more than 30 years. We caught it within 100 yards of its original release site!
Male or female?
Want to know if the box turtle you have is a mama turtle or daddy turtle? A look at the eyes should tell you. In both species, males usually have colorful red eyes, and the eyes of females are a duller brown or yellowish-brown.
Turtle dogs
Researchers studying box turtles often have a hard time finding substantial numbers of these secretive, well-camouflaged creatures. That didn’t stop Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz in their efforts to study three-toed box turtles in the Show-Me State. These Missouri Department of Conservation naturalists captured more than 3,000 box turtles using Labrador retrievers trained especially for that purpose. With the dogs’ help, they learned a great deal about the habitat use, home range and population characteristics of turtles inhabiting their land near Jefferson City from 1965 to 1983. Much of the information presented here is from their studies.
I am sorry that I did not conduct a similar turtle study in my boyhood. My mongrel dog Wolf discovered countless box turtles he brought into our yard and placed at my feet. I never could teach him to fetch the newspaper, but his interest in box turtles was endless. Who knew his talent for finding and catching turtles might actually be useful?
