Animal Summary

The zoo's two box turtles like to bury themselves in the dirt of their exhibit and hide for most of the day. They come out to bathe in their water dish and eat their diet of vegetables and fruit.

Facts

• When danger threatens the turtle quickly pulls its head, neck, and feet inside its shell. The plastron has a movable hinge, which enables it to close tightly against the carapace to hide the head and limbs.
• A box turtles shell can regenerate and reform after damage or injury.
• Box turtles all seem to look the same but you can tell the difference between the males and females if you look close. The males also have orange or red eyes while the females eyes are brown or light orange.

Conservation

Box turtles are fairly common but their future is uncertain.

Threats

Threats to the box turtle population are habitat destruction, collection for the pet trade and death by human activity such as: being hit by cars, lawnmowers, tractors, and farm equipment.