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pictures of Harry... Eastern Box Turtle

theyellowdart

sea bear returns!
Yesterday my Mom sent me these pictures of a turtle she found next to my house.

I'm spending the summer in Tennessee with my Dad, so unfortunately, I couldn't see or photograph him for myself.

Harrytheturtle6-10-08.jpg


Harry36-10-08.jpg


Harry26-10-08.jpg


My Mom decided to name him Harry. I think it suits him well.

I did a little research and I'm almost positive he's an Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina. Can anyone confirm this?

We have a small brook/stream behind our house that dries up when it doesn't rain for awhile, so we think he came up to our house from around there. My Mom placed him behind our fence in hopes that he would crawl back down to the water or wherever he came from. She said she hasn't seen him since.
I hope he made it back alright...

Edit: Here's a cool page on them: http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/midorcas/research/Contribute/box turtle/boxinfo.htm They are the state reptile of NC!
 
Looks like a box turtle to me.

Did you know that the eastern box turtle has killed more people in the southeast US than any other reptile?
 
Did you know that the eastern box turtle has killed more people in the southeast US than any other reptile?
I'm assuming someway indirectly, like making people swerve off the road?
 
No unfortunately a lot of people aim for turtles on the road.
Box turtles eat poisonous mushrooms which in turn caused them to be poisonous.
Back when the settlers came to the area they ate a lot of turtles. This turtle killed more settlers in NC than any other animal.
 
Wow, thats pretty interesting, and too bad.
Do you know if this is a protected species in NC?
 
Yes they are protected through out it's range. They can not be taken from the wild.
 
Neat, but that's amazing how they're lethal.
 
Thanks. It is pretty amazing.
 
Hehehe, look at his nose :p Neat!
 
  • #10
I came across this thread late. Eastern Boxies are awesome! The can live for decades and they will stay in a small home range, so hopefully you will se "Harry" (who is a female) for many years to come. Their slow maturity and low reproductive rate, combined with people removing them from the wild, dogs, and worst CARS mean their populations are in decline in most areas.
 
  • #11
Awww Harry is really a Harriette :-D How can you tell Woodnative?
 
  • #12
LOL! I just have a fondness for EBTs. The surest way is to look at the tale, which is longer and thicker in a male. Males usually have an indent on the plastron (bottom shell) whereas the female's plastron is flat. Males USUALLY have deep red eyes, whereas the eyes of females are usually brown/yellow (although variable). You can see the eyes of the turtle in the photo are not red. One other characteristic that is only obvious after looking at many boxies.....the shells on females are more dome-shaped, the males slightly less so and more flared. This is true of the turtle in the photo also. Hopefully she will be producing babies in that area for many many years!
 
  • #13
  • #14
So the turtle posted by bluebird is a male right? It has red eyes :)
 
  • #15
thats a box turtle? oh my god lol i found one last summer on the road( luck he still alive not squiched by car or anything) just a block from my house, i pick it up and take it home, give him water. i try to keep it in my back yard but somehow this little guys escaped lol this turtle can kill peopleeee !?!!??!?! ....
 
  • #16
They can kill people only if you eat them........they sometimes eat poisonous mushrooms and the toxins stay in their body. Good you got him off the road, but better just to move him to the side of the road in the direction he was heading. These guys have a strong sense of home and don't relocate to new areas well (usually). Awesome turtles but their numbers are declining. They grow very slowly and have a slow reproduction rate......cars, lawnmowers, dogs, and people kill too many of the adults...abnormally high numbers of coons, skunks etc. dig up most of the nests.
 
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