The Eastern Box Turtle
The Eastern Box Turtle population has dropped considerably over the past few decades. Research has found that box turtles may not have the ability to attract a mate through lures such as vocalizations, scents or behavior but breeding is preceded by turtles in the same area seeing each other. Since mating is characterized by one turtle accidentally bumping into another, population density is very important. The sparser the population, the less chance there is for an accidental meeting and the less chance of a successful breeding. The situation spirals downward from there.
Wildlife rehabilitators have made great progress in saving injured and sick box turtles. New methods of shell repair have been very successful and the turtles respond well to antibiotic therapy and treatment for parasites.
Healthy animals that are in a dangerous area such as on a highway can be moved short walking distances for their safety. Make sure to relocate the turtle in the direction it was headed, or it may retrace its steps back to where you picked it up.
Examine turtles for bleeding, cracked shells, maggots and parasites. Also examine its eyes and nostrils for any discharge or swelling. Any of these signs are life threatening for the turtle.
When rescuing a Box Turtle for rehabilitation, it is extremely important that you document exactly where it came from so it can be returned to the exact area where it was found.
To prevent cross contamination between turtles, use a cardboard box that can be disposed of easily for transporting turtles. If a plastic pet carrier is used, disinfect with a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part bleach and rinse thoroughly. Use rubber gloves for your own safety and wash your hands with an anti-bacterial soap before eating, drinking or smoking.
May 30th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
My daughter found an Eastern Box Turtle this past weekend by our cottage in Saugatuck, MI. The turtle was beautiful, with bright yellow markings. It looked middle aged (about 7″ long) and healthy, except that one of its eyes was swollen and there was a film of white across the eye. There was also a tiny bit of blood coming from that swollen eye. I told my daughter that she needed to put it back exactly where she found it and she did. But now I’m wondering if we should have taken it to a vet to treat the eye before returning it to the wild. What would have been best for the turtle? Just in case I run into him or another injured box turtle out there again, I want to know what to do. I know these turtles are a threatened species. Also, since my daughter is still crying because we had to set him free, where might we go to buy or rescue a domesticated box turtle? Kind regards, Amy Warlick
May 31st, 2007 at 1:54 pm
HI Amy,
Your advise was good in that the turtle must live where you found it. However, it does sound like it could have used some help. Eye infections usually need to be treated with injectable antibiotics.
Go to http://wildliferehabber.com/modules/xoopsmembers/ and search for a wildlife rehabilitator near you. Make some calls and find out who works with turtles in your area. If you find the turtle (or another in the future) in need of assistance, you then have contact numbers ready.
Peggy
August 10th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I have recently treated a female eastern box turtle for an eye infection, by soaking her for an hour each day in a bucket of lukewarm water mixed with a broad-spectrum antibiotic powder (supplied by a local livestock feed store, for use in baby chicks). Make sure the level of the water is low enough for the turtle to easily lift its head out for air. (It should only cover to the leg openings, leaving the mound of the carapace sticking out.) I learned of this techniqe from a lab technician who works at a nearby college and cares for the tank turtles there. The turtle I treated also had a middle ear infection, but luckily she scratched at it and effectively lanced it herself before I got a chance to do it for her, and that caused it to clear up on its own. Bacterial infections can also be indicative of a vitamin A deficiency, so you should add reptile vitamins, or better yet, cod liver oil to the diet of affected turtles. If nothing else, it should help speed recovery time.
October 11th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Hi, I just picked up a 3-legged box turtle in a liquor store parking lot. The missing limb seems to be a birth defect, there is a small wound near the tail that is causing some swelling (put bactrim on it) There were curbs everywhere, as well as a 4 lane highway intersecting with another 4 lane one block down…I know the area well and it is fully developed, with commercial businesses making up the majority. This is not my first turtle here in Ga…have picked up plenty in the roadways. And I know it’s best to return them to the location where found – HOWEVER, what on earth do you do when that is just not possible? Is there a way to turn off the homing instinct in these animals? I have been taking them to a Nature Rehab in the country and now I’m worried not only about this one but the dozens before him….(I havent taken this one in yet, waiting to hear from you!) HELP
October 11th, 2007 at 9:54 am
My question to you is: do box turtle hibernate in GA? Does it get cold enough that they need to hibernate for the winter?
The problem most box turtles have with moving them is they may not hibernate outside their own territory. If this is not an issue, I believe that relocation may be a possible solution for you.
Next week I am teaching a class in New York and will get to spend some time with a good friend of mine, Harriet Forrester, a turtle expert. I will pose this problem to her and let you know what she feels.
October 20th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
About 4 months ago I picked up a box turtle in the middle of the road and put it in our backyard. It has it’s freedom there with lots of snuggs, earthworms, bugs to live on, and schrubs to hide under. Now and then I will feed it some lettuce and apples but it’s doing a pretty good jobs on it’s own. Some days it will come out of it’s hiding places and then it will disappear again for days. However winter is here and it’s getting pretty cold. I know turtles is hibernating in the winter but I’ve also read that it may not survive the winter. Any advise to let our turtle survive this winter – should we intervine and give it a warmer place (like those glass boxes at Petco and put it inside)or let nature be ???
October 21st, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Michele,
If at all possible, return the turtle to close to its original area (within a half mile or so) so it can return to its normal hibernation area. Relocating turtles is a common cause of death.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
As previously stated, I know it is best to return to original area. We live in N Georgia and approx. 8 months ago I also came across an Eastern Box turtle after a big rain. I moved the turtle out of the road to a field in the direction he was going. He had some characteristic markings that was noted, bright neck markings & chip to shell. Several days later on the same road, after another rain, the car in front of me slowed down, almost to a stop, looking. As I approached, a turtle was observed in the middle of the left lane, on its back. I got out turned over the turtle, only to find it was the same turtle I had moved about 500 ft (the furtherest point of wooded, field area, all other areas are roads or developed) out of the road 3 days before. At that that I felt he was in grave danger of being ran over or at the least hit by a car, so we took him in. We love him very much & try to care for him throughout the year by providing different enviroinments for him to flurish. He interacts with my children & myself. He did hibernate this Winter, from around late Dec. until this past week, end of March. Since last week, he has been eating & exploring our home as he did prior to hibernating. He seems well adjusted & although wild is the “best”, I would say we are the “next best” thing for him, as I feel he would have surely died!!!!
August 19th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
We thought our Redbone Coonhound mix spent the afternoon chewing on a rawhide bone. However, when she started barking at it, I went to investigate and her chewy was actually a box turtle. There was some blood on the edges of its shell, and the “hinge” at which its bottom shell pivots also has blood along it. I placed it outside the fence where it apparently came in, but in a few minutes it was covered by tiny ants. I brought it inside and placed it in our utility sink with about a half inch of water. It finally stuck its head out and appears to still have all its limbs and its tail. Is there anything else I can do for it? At what point can I try to turn it lose again? Its outer shell seems to have lost some plates or scales–and the edges are erose rather than smooth. Amazing that as hard as Peaches was going to town on this poor thing that she was unable to get the critter out of its shell. Any suggestions??
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