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  3. Eastern Box Turtle

One of the 41 turtles and tortoises on WAnimals

Reptiles · Testudines · Emydidae

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term.

Spotted something wrong?

The eastern box turtle can close up completely: its plastron has a hinge that lets it fold the two halves against the carapace and shut itself in airtight. It is extraordinarily long-lived, with documented individuals more than a century old, and shows such strict fidelity to its home range that a displaced animal will try to return for years.

Weight

300 g – 900 g

Size

11 cm – 20 cm

Life expectancy

100 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

Temperate forestFreshwaterGrassland
2countries12parks6same family

Fun facts

  • anatomíaIt can shut its shell completely on a hinge in the plastron, sealing itself inside like a box.
  • It closes like a box: a hinge in the plastron lets it fold the two halves against the carapace and shut itself in airtight, with no opening through which a predator can reach it.
  • It lives its whole life within a few hectares and its fidelity to that ground is absolute: a turtle moved a few kilometres away may spend years trying to get back, crossing roads on the way, and that is why they should never be relocated.
  • It can live for more than a century: there are individuals marked with dates carved into the shell in the nineteenth century that were recovered alive decades later.

Life cycle and biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton with a shell (reptile)
Habitat and environment
Damp deciduous woodland, meadows and wetland margins of the eastern United States
Sexual maturity
6 years
Gestation / incubation
80 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size
5 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/

Where to find it

Loading map…

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.

Where to see it

Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 10 of 12.

Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Eastern Box Turtle — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Same taxonomic family
Shares a park

How to help

The eastern box turtle is classified as vulnerable. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.

It's documented in 8 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.

Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about eastern box turtle.

Comments

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See full glossary
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See its range on the interactive map→
EvergladesUnited States
Great Smoky MountainsUnited States
AcadiaUnited States
Mammoth CaveUnited States
CongareeUnited States
ShenandoahUnited States
Cuyahoga ValleyUnited States
Indiana DunesUnited States
Assateague IslandUnited States
Cape CodUnited States
See all 12 parks
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Northern Map Turtle

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Chimney Swift

Chaetura pelagica

CountriesUnited States
ParksEvergladesUnited States
TagsOmnivore
Omnivore
Diurnal
Solitary
Vulnerable
Reptile
Temperate forest
Freshwater
Grassland
United States
Mexico