Older Box Turtles

Not long after discovering the baby box turtle, I found some more mature members of the species.  This turtle is about two-thirds of the typical adult size and is at the stage that I think of as a teenager, even though the actual age of the turtle is probably around four to six years. 

The shell pattern is developed enough to make an identification shot worthwhile.  If I photograph him in future years, I should be able to match him to this photo.

The shell of a young turtle hasn’t seen a lot of wear and shows the build up of many layers of scutes.  You can count the number of scutes as you would rings of a tree, but that’s not an accurate way of determining age.  Turtle growth is determined by food consumption and environment.  The more it eats, the faster it grows and the more scutes you will have.

The most common turtle find is an old adult.  Turtles spend their lives within a small territory.  The entire life of an Eastern Box Turtle could easily be lived in an area of less than an acre.  I find it comforting to think that those turtles living well within the borders of Blue Jay Barrens have little risk of being run over or getting carried off to be pets.

Some of the shell patterns can be quite intricate.  These markings remind me of prehistoric cave paintings. 

Older turtles have well worn shells.  The younger scutes have all worn off, leaving the shell with a smooth polished look.  I’m fortunate to have so many opportunities to visit with these interesting creatures.

Questions

As I walk around Blue Jay Barrens I usually find more questions than answers. This small turtle shell is a good example. It looks as though something burst out through the top. It does remind me of something I’ve seen before, but the incident I recall indicated an infestation of Alien monsters with acid for blood. I don’t think that was the case here.

Perhaps the build up of gasses resulting from decomposition caused the shell to explode. I’ve found a lot of turtle skeletons and none have ever looked like this. This was a young turtle with a shell length of less than two inches, so it wouldn’t have been nearly as strong as that of an adult turtle.

Maybe the integument shrank during drying and pulled the top of the shell apart. Drying leather can sometimes pull with great force. I’m sure it could have pulled this shell apart.

This may be a new species of turtle that actually sheds its shell as it grows. Probably not. As I recall, it’s only cartoon turtles that can survive leaving their shells.

Some type of predator could have crushed the shell from the sides. That could easily split the top of the shell.

The bottom of the shell shows breaks that could only have resulted from the application of some type of force. I’ll probably never know what actually happened to this turtle. That’s typical for most of what I find here. There are always multiple possibilities, some likely and some less likely, but I seldom have all the clues necessary to be certain. I’ll just have to keep recording my observations and be happy with the few solid facts that do come along.