The Blog of Woodland Box Turtles

 

A Male Woodland Box Turtle

The Woodland Box Turtle is found all over Virginia, they live in every county except one. Woodland Box Turtles are omnivores, which means they eat plants and animals.

They eat insects, snails, eggs, worms, mushrooms, crustaceans (things like: crabs, shrimp, barnacles, and lobster), carrion (the rotting body of a dead animal), fruit, flowers, vegetables, and other types of plants.

The easiest way to know if a Box Turtle is a male or female is to look at their eyes. Male Box Turtles have red-orange eyes, while females have dark red to brown eyes. The first picture is of a male Woodland Box Turtle, and the second picture is of a female.

A Female Woodland Box Turtle 

Fun Fact: 

My Dad and Uncle Dustin took this

 photo on the 7th tee box of Pleasant Valley

In the first picture, of the male Woodland Box Turtle, you can see that he buried himself in mud. Box Turtles bury themselves for many reasons, they bury themselves to: feel safe, because they're bored, to find food, or to prepare to lay eggs.

If you have seen a Box Turtle anywhere in the state of Virginia please click here to report your sighting (and yes, we reported these two sightings). It's very important to report your sighting, because the Box Turtle population is decreasing rapidly. The main reason they are dying is because of cars. They cross roads, or even highways, to breed.

So, if you see a turtle on the road, and you can stop safely, then please move it, but remember to move it the way (in the direction) it was going. If you take it back to the side of the road it came from, it will just try to cross the road again to get to where it was planning on going.

Please remember that all reptiles can carry salmonella. So, if you touched one with your hands, wash 'em real well before you touch your face or anything else.



Resources

I got all of my information from The Virginia Herpetological Society and the Wild Kratts (click here to watch it)

Two Fun Facts About Toads

✌FUN FACTS 

(not one... but 2)

The Biggest Toad I've Ever Seen  

1. Toads are poisonous.  They have two glands on their backs called parotoid glands which have poison in them.  If pushed, white sticky stuff will come out, so, if you're going out on a walk, near a swamp, with your dog, make sure it doesn't put a toad in its mouth because it will make your dog very sick, or possibly even kill it.   At the bottom of this page, is a video that shows someone pushing a cane toad's parotoid glands.  It's kind-of cool, so you can check it out if you like.

Toad on a Toadstool- ha ha ha 

2. Toads' pee is toxic.  If you pick up a toad, it will take a deep breath in... and use the restroom on your hand.  A toad does this to make you drop it.  This pee is not harmful at all unless ingested.    

Click here to see a video of someone pushing a cane toad's parotoid gland.

The Blog of American Bullfrogs

 

Male American Bullfrog

    The American Bullfrog is found through-out America.  According to the Virginia Herpetological Society, American Bullfrogs are native to central Florida, all the way up to southern Nova Scotia and west across the Great Plains,  possibly including Tamaulipas and northern Vera Cruz in northern Mexico.      

    They are tadpoles for three-four years (one year to grow back legs, two-three years to grow front legs, and about ten weeks to absorb its tail.)  After the female lays eggs, a male will guard the place, until they become tiny tadpoles.  American Bullfrogs have a clear sticky substance around their eggs, so predators can't eat them.  

American Bullfrogs will eat anything that they can fit in their mouth and that they can swallow.  So, yes, they eat other frogs and tadpoles.  

FUN FACT: The biggest frog in the world is the Goliath Bullfrog.  They live in western Africa.         

Male American Bullfrog

American Bullfrog Tadpoles

Male American Bullfrog

American Bullfrog (I can't tell the gender)

The Blog of Snakes and Turtles That Live in Virginia

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    There are many different kinds of reptiles that live in Virginia.  Some of them you may hate, or are scared of, (snakes, possibly crocodiles), but there's no reason to be. 

Whoa, don't be frightened.  It's just an Eastern Ratsnake.

    First, and foremost, crocodiles only live in Florida, just like alligators.  Then there are snakes, why are you scared or unsettled by snakes?  Is it the way they move?  Is it the way they stick their forked tongue in and out of their mouth?  Do you think they'll bite you, and you will die?  The last fear is extremely unlikely.  There are only three venomous snakes in Virginia, the Eastern Copperhead, the Northern Cottonmouth, and the Timber Rattlesnake.

Eastern Copperhead

Eastern Gartersnake 

    According to the Wildlife Center of Virginia, 7,000-8,000 people in the U.S.A. get bitten by venomous snakes every year, and only around 5 people die.  Those people die because they have an allergic reaction to the bite or they had a weak heart.  These venomous snakes will not deliberately come and bite you.  Like sharks, they only bite in self defense, if you leave it alone, it will leave you alone.  I'm not saying that you should love snakes, like I do, and that your instinct is wrong, but snakes are living things and you should respect them.  Snakes help us too; farmers love snakes because they eat things, rats and mice, that eat their crops.

    I haven't seen any sea turtle yet, but they do live in Virginia.  Sea turtles are really struggling throughout the world, because of global warming.  You may think that's odd because turtles are reptiles, and reptiles are cold blooded, which means that they can't make their own body heat, so the warm temperature would make them more comfortable.  The reason why climate change is affecting sea turtles is that, just like crocodiles, the gender depends on the temperature of where the mother buried her eggs.  If the temperature is hot then when the egg hatches then it will be a girl, and vise-versa.  So, more girls are hatching than boys, so it's harder to reproduce.   

Eastern Painted Turtle

Northern Red-bellied Cooter

My information came from The Virginia Herpetological Society and The Wildlife Center of Virginia.

   

The Blog of Frogs and Toads That Live In Virginia

 

A Female Leopard Frog

    There are many kinds of amphibians, frogs, toads, and salamanders, that live in Virginia.  Some of them may be hard to tell apart, others may be very unique.  The frogs that live in Virginia are: Southern Cricket Frog, Eastern Cricket Frog, Grey Treefrog, Cope's Grey Treefrog, Barking Treefrog, Squirrel Treefrog, Green Treefrog, Pine Woods Treefrog, Mid-Atlantic Cost Leopard Frog, American Bullfrog, Green Frog, Wood Frog, Pickerel Frog, Mountain Chorus Frog, Coastal Plains Leopard Frog, Carpenter Frog, Spring Peeper, Brimley's Chorus Frog, Little Grass Frog, New Jersey Chorus Frog, and the Upland Chorus Frog.  Here are the toads that live in Virginia:  Eastern Spadefoot, Fowler's Toad (which looks very identical to Eastern American Toad.  See below on how to tell the difference*), Oak Toad, Eastern Narrow Mothed Toad, Southern Toad, and the Eastern American Toad.

*If you touch any of these toads, you will not get warts!

     Here is how you tell if what your looking at is a frog and a toad:  

1. You look at its' body if its' warty and its' skin looks rough then it's a toad 
2. If you think that it's kind-of warty but it's not at the same time then feel it.  If it's smooth then it's a frog. BUT FROGS AND TOADS DRINK THROUGH THEIR SKIN, SO MAKE SURE YOUR HANDS ARE VERY  CLEAN, OR WHERE DISPOSABLE GLOVES (I RECOMMEND GLOVES).
3. This is my opinion, but if it looks grumpy, then it is a toad (see below)

    

Male Eastern American Toad

Female Coastal Plains Leopard Frog

*This is how you tell the difference between a Fowler's toad and an American toad

1. The Eastern American Toad has dark spots on it's chest 
2. The Eastern American Toad has one or two big warts in each of it's biggest dorsal dark spots while the Fowler's Toad has three or more in it's biggest dorsal dark spots
3. On it's calf, the Eastern American Toad has big warts 
4. Fowler's Toads can be brown, gray, or olive
5. Eastern American Toads can be brown, gray, olive, or brick red 

A Rather Large Eastern American Toad

(Good Eatin')

                         

    

Below is how you tell if a frog is a male or female:

Frogs have a circular disc that covers their ears called tympanum.  On a female, the tympanum is the same size as their eye.  It is bigger on a male's.

Male American Bullfrog 

Here are the links of the places I got some information from: https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/frogsandtoads/frogs_and_toads_of_virginia.htm and https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/education/edu-graphics/toads/american_vs_fowler_toad.pdf,