Donna Young's Blog: Eastern Box Turtle

Eastern Box Turtle

Donna Young @ 7 September 2008
Filed in Categories: Creatures Garden

http://donnayoung.org

This is an adult male eastern box turtle. They can live a long time in the wild, around 80 years. This one lives in my garden in the spearmint bed. It lived there last year too. He is very careful about not being spotted. I suspected that he was in my garden again this year because I saw evidence of what he eats (half-eaten tomatoes on the ground) but not until a couple of days ago did I see him. My husband saw him a few weeks ago as the turtle walked from the mint to the tomatoes.

In this picture he is standing inside a tomato cage next to a mushroom and he was probably about to eat it, but he made a noise and I saw him. He was not pleased that he was spotted and he left without eating.

Creatures, Garden

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seeker86 · Sep 7, 03:12 PM · #

He is so cool! We love turtles around here. That’s funny that he like your tomatoes. My tortosie eats everything I plant in his garden as soon as it sprouts. I have to plant it somewhere else and then transplant it so if I want it to mature.

I saw on Elaine’s blog that you play the violin. Do you ever jam with your hubby? You are definitely a woman of many talents.
Elaine · Sep 7, 09:53 PM · #

I hope that Heather is able to see this. Too bad she’s too tired to come for a visit to make him smile, grumpy turtles are just not a good thing.
Donna · Sep 8, 12:22 AM · #

Lisa, I used to play the violin but I haven’t picked up a violin in years. I didn’t have time for it anymore. I liked playing it, but I was not good.

=D

Last year I saw that the turtle could climb into a tomato plant as long as the vines provided for it. I saw the turtle (last year) sitting in one of my bush tomato plants about a foot above the ground. He didn’t look happy to be found then either.

LOL!!

I wonder if this is just a normal turtle face or if he was grumpy. Lisa, what kind of turtle do you have? =)
seeker86 · Sep 8, 01:02 AM · #

We have a Russian Tortoise. It looks like a normal face to me. Ours hisses when he is grumpy.
Melanie · Sep 11, 12:11 PM · #

ROTFL!!!

Nobody look at the turtle!
Melanie · Sep 11, 12:11 PM · #

ROTFL!!!

Nobody look directly at the turtle!
Melanie · Sep 11, 12:13 PM · #

Whoops! Got carried away there and tried to edit after I pressed submit. Sorry!
heathertopia · Sep 12, 12:43 AM · #

Awww...poor guy! He isn’t grumpy, he has allergies and his eye is all red from his allergies acting up and he is frustrated because his mushrooms are pithy from the pithing wabbits!LOL!

I would take him into my house, I would love him and take good care of him. I will name him Beauford Turtleswaddle <3
Applie · Sep 24, 04:28 PM · #

I like him. :)