The three-toed box turtle is a terrestrial turtle commonly found in the south-central United States. It is the smallest kind of box turtle, its shell reaching about 5 inches in length. The top part of its shell (the carapace) is a solid olive green, light brown, or drab yellow, unlike other box turtles which usually have striking patterns. The underside of its shell (the plastron) is typically brownish-yellow. Occasionally males have spots of red, orange, or yellow on their head and neck.
Box turtles get their name because their plastron has a hinge that clamps shut, completely shielding their forelimbs and face. The “three-toed” box turtle has three toes on its hind feet – though it actually shares this trait with the Florida box turtle, while the other box turtles have four toes. Confusingly enough, some individuals have four toes, but these are likely the result of three-toed box turtles breeding with other kinds of box turtles.
The three-toed box turtle is a subspecies of the common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) – the other subspecies being the eastern box turtle, the Gulf Coast box turtle, and the Florida box turtle. Although each of these subspecies live in different areas, have different colorations, and have their own names, scientists consider them to be part of the same species because they can produce fertile offspring with one another. When individuals belonging to different subspecies breed with each other, the offspring (called an intergrade) may have a mixture of features from each parent’s subspecies.
Three-toed box turtles are diurnal, and they typically prefer shady and humid environments such as forests and marshes. They are even found in cities and suburbs where pockets of nature exist. They like to live near shallow water where they can drink, soak, cool themselves, and hunt for insects. To escape heat and drought, box turtles sometimes take shelter under forest debris or bury themselves in mud and enter a dormant state called aestivation for short periods.
Each box turtle has a “home territory,” estimated to be between 1 and 10 acres, which usually overlaps with the territory of other individuals. They have an extremely strong homing instinct, typically living their whole life within their home territory. If they are removed from their territory, they will instinctively try to return home.
Three-toed box turtles are omnivores, eating worms, slugs, snails, and insects, as well as fruits, seeds, and mushrooms. Adults are rarely eaten by predators due to their hard shell that they can clamp shut, but eggs and young turtles commonly fall prey to raccoons, skunks, coyotes, foxes, rodents, snakes, and birds.
Most male box turtles have red eyes and tend to be more colorful, while females generally have greenish or brown eyes and are often less colorful.
During winter, box turtles take shelter by hiding under debris or by digging underground, entering a dormant state called brumation to escape the winter cold. After emerging in the spring, they breed through mid-summer.
Upon finding a suitable nesting site, females excavate dirt with their back legs to form an egg chamber where they lay a clutch of 3 to 5 eggs. Females may have multiple clutches per year, typically returning to the same egg site for the rest of their life. The eggs incubate for about 3 months before hatching.
Box turtles that manage to survive to adulthood usually live 25-40 years. Some individuals are estimated to be more than 100 years old.
Although box turtles are common throughout much of their range, their populations have been declining for at least 50 years. Pollution is a likely culprit, as well as habitat loss and habitat fragmentation from humans developing land for roads, cities, and agriculture.
Because box turtles are cute, charming, docile, and quiet, they are popular as pets. However, many owners are unaware that box turtles have complex care requirements and can live for decades, so pet turtles are often unhappy and neglected. Wild-caught turtles are especially unhappy in their new, often cramped enclosures.
Some owners release their pet turtle once they get tired of taking care of it. However, captive-bred turtles are likely to die after being released because they are not used to surviving on their own. Releasing pet turtles also risks spreading disease or parasites to local animal populations.
Capturing turtles negatively impacts turtle populations because box turtles need a high population density in order for individuals to encounter each other and breed. As a result, removing several turtles from an area can cause the whole population to crash.
One reason box turtles are especially vulnerable to population decline is because they have a low replacement rate. Females start laying eggs when they’re around 10 years old, clutch sizes are small, and mortality rates are high for young turtles.
In response to the long decline in box turtle populations, many states have passed laws prohibiting the collection of wild box turtles. However, these laws are difficult to enforce.
Unfortunately, the box turtle’s shell was not designed to defend against cars, and their instinct to stop and close up in response to predators makes them vulnerable to being hit by vehicles.
Sometimes kind-hearted people will relocate a turtle they encounter crossing the road, thinking they are doing the turtle a favor. However, because of their strong homing instinct, if a turtle is moved outside its territory, it may spend the rest of its life trying to get home. Relocated turtles have very high mortality rates – because the stress of being in unfamiliar territory can cause them to stop eating, they often cross roads trying to get home, and they do not know where to find food, water, and shelter in an unfamiliar environment.
If you encounter a box turtle crossing the road, you can help it by moving it in the direction it was already going (if you can do so safely). If the turtle is injured, you can put it in a cardboard box and take it to an animal rehabilitation center, which will often take the turtle at no cost to you.
