Description
The diminutive ornate box turtle with its distinctive yellow
striations on each scute of its carapace and plastron is the smallest
(4-5 inches) member of the Terrapene genus. The carapace is domed with a
flattened top and lacks the central keel that is found in other
Terrapene members. The color of the carapace is usually dark brown or
black, with a narrow yellow stripe in place of the central ridge found
in other members of the Terrapene genus. The plastron also has a pattern
of radiating lines on each scute and lacks a bridge. As with other
members of the Terrapene group, the ornate box turtle has a singular
hinge on the plastron that enables it to completely close its head, tail
and limbs inside its shell. The front legs are heavily scaled with thick
fore claws present on both the male and female. There are usually four
toes on each hind foot. The skin is dark brown with yellow spots and
blotches. The fore limbs on the male ornate box turtle may have red
markings. The sides of the head and neck are marked with yellow spots
and the jaws are yellow, with the upper being hooked and without a
notch. The tongue may be pigmented purple or gray. T. ornata are usually
easily sexed. The male ornate box turtle’s first toe on its hind feet
turned inward and is enlarged. The adult male’s eyes are red, while that
of the female is yellow-brown. The tails of the male ornate box turtle
is longer and thicker than that of female and the male has a
yellow-green or blue-green head, while the female usually have a brown
head marked on top with yellow spots. The female is usually spotted with
yellow, while the male tends to have red spots.
Distribution
There are two subspecies of the ornate box turtle and
both are found in the United States. The ornate box turtle Terrapene
ornata ornata, is found in Indiana and eastern Wyoming south to
Louisiana and New Mexico. Reportedly and perhaps because of its large
range, Terrapene ornata ornata hybridizes with the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene
carolina carolina) in areas where ranges overlap The less commonly seen
desert ornate (Terrapene ornata luteola), occurs from southeastern
Arizona, New Mexico and the Trans-Pecos region of Texas south into
Sonora and Chihuahua Mexico. The desert ornate box turtle is larger than
the ornate box turtle and has more radiating lines on its carapace and
its skin. The carapace is a yellowish color. With older turtles the
markings tend to dull with age and many individuals become uniformly
yellow, tan, or straw in color.
Housing
Care
in captivity should mimic its natural habitat as much as possible.
Ideally they should be kept in large outdoor pens. The pen
should be located where it can receive some direct sunlight early in the
day and dappled light the rest of the day The substrate
should be leaf litter. In my pen, 1/3 is covered with at least 6" of
composted hay. This provides an abundance of grubs, worms, slugs,
millipedes and other food. The rest of the pen is covered with about an
inch of leaf litter. Outdoor pens can be planted with shade loving
plants such as ferns and Hostas. Also, they need a water source for
soaking and drinking. Mine spend a good portion of the day soaking. I use large glazed ceramic flower pot bottoms
partially sunk into the substrate. Indoor
pens also should be as large as space will allow. Adult box
turtles. For the most part aquariums are unsuitable. A minimum
sized pen can be made from a 50 gallon
Rubbermaid storage container.
Although very functional, a storage container isn't
very
attractive. With a little imagination (and some carpentry skills), very
attractive pens can be made. To the right is an excellent example by
Ellen Friedman.
When kept indoors, it is crucial that a UVB-emitting
reptile bulb be used. I prefer the
UVHeat type bulb. Ornate Box Turtles like to soak
often and should have an adequately large water dish that they can
easily get in and out of. When kept indoors I usually soak them once a
week in a large dishpan with a couple inches of lukewarm water. They
tend to defecate in the water dish so these need to be cleaned daily.
Humidity is a major issue. Most box turtles are kept far to dry. This
leads to eye problems which are often mistaken for eye infections and/or
respiratory infections. To keep the humidity high I use sphagnum
moss/Bed-a-Beast/sand mix. This is kept moist with daily misting They
should have hiding spots and an area for burrowing available. Ornates should
have a basking area that is maintained at 87-90°F., and a
cooler, shaded area.
Diet:
60% or more of the diet is composed of animal matter.
Some of the "animal" matter they eat in the wild includes: slugs,
snails, worms, grubs, caterpillars, beetles, pill bugs, sow bugs,
centipedes, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, flies, crawfish and
carrion. Essentially, if they can catch it, they will eat it.
The rest is plant matter. A large part of which is
fungi (mushrooms etc). Moss, berries and grass are also eaten.
More information can be found at
http://aboxturtle.com/diet.htm |
