Eastern Box turtle

Notice the eyes. If they are red, it's a male, if brown a female. She may look a bit upset but if she were, I think she would have withdrawn into her shell. Box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) can shut themselves completely into their shells. In the spring or fall of the year, they are usually out walking around looking for food as this one was. If it is hot you can find them under logs and leaves and if it is really hot, they will seek out a shallow mud puddle. In winter they hibernate in two foot tunnels in the ground that they dig. They like open woodlands and pastures by streams; this one was not far from the little creek that runs from the upper savanna to the lower prairie. Box turtles can live 100 years and I hope she can live that long at Habitat Home.