Ozark Critters - Three-Toed Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina triunguis - Female

The three-toed box turtle is the most common turtle in Ozark forests. The easiest way to identify the sex of these turtles is females have yellow-brown eyes and males have orange eyes. They can live 50 to 80 years!

Male

Three-toed box turtles come out of their winter hibernation around April. In late April to July or later, they spend their time courting and mating. Clutches are laid from May to July and are usually from 3 to 8 eggs. The eggs take 3 months to hatch. Each female lays 1 to 2 clutches each summer.

Making some late baby turtles

The young mostly survive on earthworms and insects. Adults are mostly vegetarian, eating different plants, mushrooms and berries. A favorite of turtles around my homestead is strawberries!

Many, many box turtles die each year while crossing roads in search of food and mates. Please be careful, especially on dirt roads through forests. It is recommended in our area that if you see a turtle crossing a road and it is safe to pull over, move the turtle out of the road in the direction it was originally headed.

Many turtles simply do not make it through their hibernation period when their burrows are not adequate.

Box turtles are very interesting to watch, but please leave them be. They do not make good pets, as many die of dehydration and starvation at the hands of unwitting humans.

Thanks for checking out this post. I hope you learned something about the three-toed box turtle!

Stay tuned!