![]() ![]() Cars and trucks are among the top threats to turtles. To access all these resources in one season, many turtles cross roads. ![]() Move among marshes, shrub swamps and other wetland types throughout the summer. For example, Blanding's Turtles typically : Most turtles need many types of habitats to fulfill all their survival needs. Losing any adult turtles, particularly adult females, can very quickly result in the local extinction of a population. For this reason, turtles must live for many years and reproduce many times to replace themselves and their populations. Survival is critical for the adult turtles that are fortunate enough to have surmounted the many obstacles of their youth. However, because turtle eggs and juvenile turtles have so many predators and other survival difficulties, only a small percentage of turtles even reach adulthood. ![]() Photo by Mike Jones, MassWildlifeĪdult turtles live a long time! Some, like this box turtle, can live longer than 100 years. Geography: Throughout MA, except Cape Cod and the IslandsĮastern Box Turtle. Geography: Throughout MA, except northwest corner Status: MA Endangered Federally Threatened Status: MA Endangered, Federally Endangered Northern Red-bellied Cooter ( Pseudemys rubriventris) Northern Diamond-backed Terrapin ( Malaclemys terrapin) Habitat: Shallow marshes, shrub-swamps, vernal pools Because of its popularity as a pet, this turtle can be found far outside its natural geographic range.Blanding's Turtle ( Emydoidea blandingii).Box turtles can safely eat poisonous mushrooms, making their own flesh poisonous if consumed by predators.The temperature of a turtle’s nest determines the sex of hatchlings females usually develop at temperatures above 82 degrees Fahrenheit, while males develop between 72 degrees and 81 degrees.Eastern box turtles usually live 40 years, but can live over 100 years. Turtles will hibernate in depressions, filled with leaf litter or woody debris. Females lay one or more clutches of 4 to 5 eggs each over late spring and summer.Īfter 70 to 80 days, eggs hatch, and hatchlings may spend winter in the nest or they may emerge and find another place to hibernate with adults. ![]() Females dig a nest in loamy or sandy soil to lay their eggs, then cover them with soil and leaf litter. Mating occurs between late spring and early fall. Raccoons, chipmunks, skunks, coyotes, foxes, snakes and owls prey on young box turtles or box turtle eggs. Predatorsīecause of their ability to retreat into their shell, adult box turtles have few predators. Adults are also known to feed on carrion (flesh of dead animals), fish, amphibians and eggs. As adults, they eat mainly plant material, such as seeds, fruits, roots, fungi and grasses. Juvenile eastern box turtles feed mostly on animal material, such as slugs, worms, insects and larvae. Males have red eyes, while females have yellow-brown eyes. Eastern box turtles have hooked upper jaws, and their toes are only slightly webbed. The turtle has dark, scaly skin with yellow markings. Its hinged lower shell, or plastron, allows the turtle to hide its entire body, completely protected by the shell. The carapace is brown with patterns of orange and yellow markings. Its tall upper shell, or carapace, is said to resemble a box. The eastern box turtle is a small reptile, reaching only about six inches in length and weighing less than one pound. ![]()
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