box turtle id

[socalturtle]

This little guy was found walking down the road in Southern California. Any expert able to id her subspecies?

 

[Yvonne G]

It could be a young eastern. They sometimes don't develop their carapace pattern until they get more mature. How many toes does he have on his back feet? Also, his beak is overgrown. Box turtles are not native to California, so don't release him.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

He looks like an Eastern box turtle to me...and because his beak is over-grown I'd say he's an escaped family pet. No box turtle is native to the West Coast please don't release him, if you don't want him turn him over to a turtle rescue. If you don't know of one let us know and we will connect you with one...

 

[socalturtle]

Her beak was very overgrown when she was given to me. Had her about 2 years now. I've been giving her some harder foods that seem to be helping her wear the beak down a bit, it was worse. She hasn't grown any in 2 years, very healthy eater. She also has extremely long legs, can't completely withdraw into her shell, which I haven't seen in a box turtle. Don't worry, won't release her, after a couple of years of being curious just what exactly she is I figured I'd give people here a crack at it. 4 toes on rear feet. Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

ok...4 toes means an eastern box turtle...Terrapene carolina carolina. The over grown beak and the too-long legs show me that she was previously kept in the house, not fed the correct diet and not had the correct habitat conditions. Not talking about the care YOU have given her...but the care she had before you got her, the care she got when she was a baby. Her body has grown too large for her shell. I have one of those too. They are very endearing, but will never be normal-looking. They usually also grow long curly toenails. Its a MBD thing. So be sure she is getting lots of calcium and Vit d. Its dark here now, but tomorrow I'll take a picture of my little MBD eastern box turtle...one of my favorites!

Yvonne

 

[socalturtle]

Thanks for the info, that was what I had suspected.

 

[Millerlite]

Where do you live? it looks eastern, but very possible to be a hybrid. But def. has eastern in it. As far as toe count, i had a few 3 toeds with 4 toes. Just depends. The colors on it are eastern though.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's my little rescued eastern. I'm leaning towards female, however the tail is deformed, with the tip pointing up towards the ceiling. Note her long and curly toenails. She came to me with a broken back leg. It was swollen twice the normal size and wouldn't bend. It took two years to heal. She doesn't really walk, she "scrabbles." But she does get around very well. I call her Spyder, because she looks like a spider to me. She eats well and is heavy for her size. Since I've had her, she hasn't grown at all.

Yvonne

 

[egyptiandan]

It looks like an Eastern box turtle to me too

Danny

 

[Crazy1]

Socal, your boxie is a cutie what is it's name?
Yvonne I just love Spyder. She looks as if she is scrambling up the wall in the last pic. That ones a surviver and what a sweetie.

 

[socalturtle]

She does have the long legs, long nails, and a lot of other similarities to spyder. A friend found her in the LA area but didn't want to keep her so that is how I ended up with her. She has a lot of personality, but no name yet, still looking for something that fits her.