I’m going to start this new category of blog posts, with the title, What?! I Had No Idea! As anyone who has been around the block a few times can tell you, life is a journey full of learning. It never ends. And though I have some negative things to say about the internet and this era of social media, I can also name many positive and good things right beside those, including information available to us about anything that makes us curious. These days everyone can be an amateur Naturalist, or a Birder, or a Herpetologist. The sky really is the limit.
Most people can likely recognize a box turtle, with its characteristic tight shell that hinges closed like a box (Hence the name!) But, did you know baby box turtles, for about 4-5 years do not have this hinge, and so are vulnerable to predators, not able to close their shell tightly like adult box turtles. During this time in their life they spend much of their time hidden in the leaf litter or under dense vegetation.
Also interesting, and a fact that made me say, “What! I had no idea!” is that female box turtles who successfully mate, can retain sperm to fertilize eggs for up to 4 years! This means that if all the males in a territory go missing, or if the female can’t find a male to mate with, she can still produce eggs and thus, future generations of turtles.
Box turtles have a small home range, usually living within 250 yards of where they were born.
And lastly, box turtles don’t even reach sexual maturity until 10-20 years old.
So when someone finds a box turtle and decides to keep it as a pet, thus taking it out of the wild population, it can negatively impact the turtles in that range.
Please leave turtles and other animals outside, in the wild, to live freely, and please help me spread the word. One reason these turtles are diminishing besides habitat loss is from the illegal pet trade. Keep turtles and other animals in the wild!