When you think of a turtle you may just be thinking of the Eastern Box Turtle, known for it's distinctive colourful appearance and it's unique ability to fold itself up into a 'box' when it feels threatened.

These turtles are among the most intelligent of turtles species and make for an interesting study for any buddying herpetologist.

Like many other turtles, Eastern Box Turtles are soft-bodied reptiles with hard, protective outer shells.

These shells are made of two parts: the carapaces and the plastrons. The carapaces are the parts of the shells covering the turtles' back, and the plastrons are the parts of the shells covering the turtles' bellies.

Anatomically speaking, the carapaces and plastrons are bridged by a webwork of tiny bones which fan upward from the plastron. Eastern box turtles have brownish carapaces with yellow and orange markings on each of their joined scales. Their plastrons are tan to brown and may have some darker blotches.

Eastern box turtles grow to be between four and eight inches  long. The main difference in appearance between the males and females is their eye color. Males have red eyes, while females have brown eyes.

Eastern boxes are often found in woodlands, pastures, as well as moist,marshy meadows. They can be found in the eastern United States from southern Maine south to Georgia and west to Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee. In the northern parts of their range, eastern box turtles hibernate, or rest, from October through April.

This turtle likes to dig burrows in the soft soil and sleep through the winter.

The Eastern box is omnivorous, both meat- and plant- eating and use an interesting method to catch their food.

They gape open their mouths and expand their throats. This causes a rush of water and food to be sucked into their mouths. Young eastern box turtles are more carnivorous, or meat-eating, but as they get older they develop more herbivorous, or plant-eating habits.

At any time in their life eastern box turtles may be seen eating both meat and plant matter.

In the wild they may feed on snails, crayfish, insects, fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, lizards, various snakes, and carrion, or dead animal flesh.

Adult eastern box turtles are also likely to eat a variety of plant matter including roots, mushroom stems, leaves, various fruits and berries, and even mosses.

Mating season for eastern box turtles takes place in the spring.

Female eastern box turtles are able to lay fertile eggs several years after mating because they can store sperm and delay fertilization. When the females are ready to lay their eggs they dig holes in the soft soil and lay clutches, or batches, of three to eight eggs in them. Females may lay more than one clutch in a given season.

After the females have laid their eggs, they have no further relationship with their young. After a three-month incubation period, or growth period, the young turtles, called hatchlings, break out of their shells and learn to survive on their own.

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Eastern boxturtle nests are often destroyed by skunks, foxes, raccoons, and crows.

Hatchlings are threatened by crows, copperhead snakes, and cottonmouth snakes. Adult eastern box turtles are sometimes attacked by raccoons, skunks, coyotes, dogs, and foxes, but are rarely killed by these mammals, however Humans are the biggest threat to adult eastern box turtles.

Eastern box turtles try to protect themselves by pulling their limbs inside their hard, outer shells, thus forming a 'box'.

It is unfortunate indeed that thousands of these fascinating and peaceful little creatures die every year on our highways.

If you wish to get involved in a program to aid the Eastern Box as well as other turtles, you can check out:

Number One is to observe your turtle daily.

Regularly examine its shell and visible skin for abnormalities, such as cuts and lumps. Watch your turtle when it eats, and also when it is in the water as well as when he is walking around his setup. In this way you will begin to know your turtle and what is 'normal' for him/her. That way, when it does get sick, you will be an expert and will notice the changes (if any).

Also you should weigh your turtle, and do it frequently enough so you can see if there are any changes in weight.

Another tip: look at the turtle feces.Are they well-formed and is the food successfully digested?

Should your box turtle contact a respiratory infection, it

• may noticeably start to gasp or breathe with its mouth open.
  
• Or it may extrude bubbles from its nose or
• it may have diarrhea. If your box turtle has worms, it will begin to lose weight or you just could see white worms in the feces.
  

Remember the main point: Observe! Become a box turtle expert by knowing your little friend inside out and you will have a heads up if anything varies from the normal. Prevention is the best cure for your box.