About Eastern box turtles:
Why should we help box turtles?
Eastern box turtles are considered "vulnerable" by the IUCN due to decreasing population sizes across their range. Major threats include habitat loss from residential development, commercial development, and agriculture. Roads also pose a major threat to box turtles.
Diet
Box turtles enjoy:
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Mushrooms
Insects
Worms
Fruit
Vegetation
Thermoregulation
Eastern box turtles are reptiles.
They thermoregulate: use the environment to change their body temperature by basking or burying themselves.
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Lifespan
Eastern box turtles typically live 25-35 years.
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They have been known to live up to 100 years old!
Brumation
Brumation is similar to hibernation.
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Eastern box turtles bury themselves to stay warm during the cold winter months.
Habitat
Box turtles are terrestrial!
They often live in:​
Shrubby grasslands
Marshy meadows
Open woodlands
Forest edges
​Near bodies of water
Reproduction
Box turtles mate from spring to fall each year.
Females nest once a year, laying about 3-6 eggs in an open area. Eggs will hatch in the late summer, fall, or the following spring.
Box turtle closes its shell to escape a predator:
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Eastern box turtle native range
Source: SCPARC - https://scparc.org/turtles-of-south-carolina/eastern-box-turtle/