Murtle was acquired .  Murtle was captured from the wild and kept as a pet for several years, because of her past she can no longer be releasd into the wild. Her previous owner thought she would have a more fulfilling life living here with other turtles.

Box Turtle (Tortue boite)

Dining and Dwelling

The eastern box turtle diet consists of snails, insects, worms, crayfish, fish, frogs and carrion, but will also eat roots, stems, fruits, berries and seeds. In short, they are generalist predators which will eat just about anything they find!

The Box turtle is essentially a land turtle found in open woodlands, grasslands or marsh meadows. On hot or dry days they will  try to keep cool by burrowing underneith logs and rotting vegetation, although the box turtle is primarily terrestrial, they will occasionally soak in the mud or water to keep cool too.

Life and Death

Mating occurs in May. After one successful copulation, (mating period) the female can lay fertilized eggs for up to 4 years. Nests are built in the woods or on open, elevated patches of rich soil from May to July, where an average of 4 to 5 eggs are placed in the nest. The entire nesting process may take up to 5 hours! Females commonly lay two clutches of eggs in a season. The eggs hatch in September to October with the hatchlings overwintering in the nest.

While the eastern box turtle enjoys a diet of invertebrates, their nests are food sources for vertebrates such as badgers, foxes, raccoons and birds of prey. Although their eggs and juveniles are easily killed, the adults are well protected by their hinged shell. The leading cause of declining populations of the eastern box turtle is through highway kills and the removal of adults from the wild populations for the 'keep sake' of a pet.

That's Amazing

-Laboratory studies have shown that box turtles can withstand temperatures as low as -3.6^OC, for up to 73 hours. Even though 58% of their total body water is frozen they can still recover without harm.

-The box turtle is well adapted for a terrestrial life, having a hinged shell that can be closed so tightly, at both the front and back, that even a knife can not penetrate.