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)
