Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had 2 ornate box turtles for about a year, a male and female, so I'm still new to raising them. This morning the female was in the water trying to push out what I first thought was poop... but she seemed rather frantic. Then I realized it was some part of her body and not waste, when I picked her up to figure out what it was it went back up into her body. As for a description... it was large and flat but I wasn't able to get a good look at it. Does anyone have a clue as to what I'm talking about? I've done lots of reading on box turtles and have never come across anything that would explain this. Any info would be helpful...

Turtle waste can come out in some pretty unique forms (colors, shapes). It could be nothing depending on what she's been eating, or it could be some form of parasitic worm. Can you give me some background on the turtles? Are they wild caught or captive bred? How long have you had them? Where did they come from? Also can you post pictures of what came out of her?
How has she been behaving and is she in fact eating well?

I can only assume they are captive bred I found both of them in my backyard. Although I found no neighbors that own box turtles... I certainly don't live in an area that could be considered their natural habitat. I've had both of them for a year. She is behaving normal and eating well. She tends to eat more worms than greens, fruits, and veggies but she has no loss of appetite. I just fed her a plate of collard greens, strawberrys and a few large meal worms, she ate it all. I don't have the ability to post pictures. Whatever came out of her definately wasn't waste, it was large, flat, grey, and anytime the male came near her she seemed to pull this whole thing back up into her, she did the same when I picked her up. This happened around 6 this morning and she hasn't done it since.

If you could post a picture of "her", it would help. It's possible that she may actually be a male. It is quite common for males to extend their genitalia while soaking in water. I believe someone has a link to pictures of this, as another poster asked a similar question a short time ago.

It's definately a female, a vet confirmed this shortly after I found her. If you look here http://www.gpnc.org/ornate.htm the shell looks like the bottom pic with her skin color the same as the shell, yellow and black. I'll try and post pics this weekend.

Unfortunatley what the vet says really does not mean much. Most vets although qualified to treat reptiles, do not know anywhere near what they need to know when it comes to turtles especially. It sounds like you have a male definitley. Males have BRIGHT red eyes and are much more colorful than females. The shell color means nothing. Males also tend to have a concave plastron and females are completely flat. Without pictures this is going to be hard to do. Where exactly are you located? They still may be wild turtles. Many species of turtles are known to travel great distances in search of food and/or mates or for new land if their original habitat has been destroyed.

Male turtles/tortoises are known for revealing their penis and then pulling it back in. This happens all the time especially in water and when being picked up. Also if the turtle is young, between 3 and 8 years old, it may not be showing the typical color characteristics of an adult male for a few more years still.

I had an egyptian tortoise show it's penis constantly for 2 years, but it did not look like a male until it was almost 5 years old.

If you do find a way to post pics of it I can tell you what it is RIGHT AWAY.

-Chris

there is such a thing as a red eyed female, and brown eyed male.
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here's a link to a web page with a photo of a male box turtle (looks like an ornate, too) fanning its penis. Tell us if this is what you observed...
You'll have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the photo: it's on the bottom right.
Link

Should have said half-way down on the right...sorry.

That is similar to what I observed. Though this turle's eyes are brown not red, also the plastron is completely flat not concave. If it is a male. Is it common for males to mount eachother? The one I was told was a male always mounts the "female". Also, I'm located in Pasadena, TX, about 12 Miles south of Houston. There are no bayous, lakes, or any drainage ditches near me. Which is why I figured these were probably captive turtles. I will post pics of both turtles tomorrow. Thanks for the help so far!

turtles mount eachother for different reasons, not always to reproduce, infact alot of the mounting in captivity isn't even for reproduction, males will mount other males over dominance, as will females, males will also mount females over dominance.
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While most species of box turtles are located near or around water, they are also very well known for being found far from it, sometimes many miles. You have wild turtles most likely, and you definitely sound like you have two males. Males will mount each other constantly displaying territorial and breeding behavior. Females may also do this but it is more common in tortoises rather than turtles. As for the brown eyes and flat plastron, it's probably a young male not showing his colors or shape yet. As you may already know, turtles are vey long lived creatures and for example most North American Wood Turtle females do not nest until they are atleast 20 years old or more. Your male may seem like he's old when he's really not.

Can't wait to see the pics.
-Chris

http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i215/MunkeyOne/
It's the top turtle I'm asking about.

The top turtle is A definite MALE ornate box turtle and the bottom is a FEMALE three toed box turtle.

The female seems to be the dominate one in the relationship, mounting the male constantly. Is it possible for those two species to breed? Though the male seems completely uninterested.

Thanks for all the help!!

cross breeding subspecies is highly frowned upon, all of the box turtle ssp. are slowly (but to fast for them to reproduce fast enough) being wiped out in the wild it's important to keep the lines pure.

lovely female 3-toe btw, the male doesn't look pure to me, if he were mine I'd remove him from the breeding project.
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I'm in no way trying to breed them. I was hoping they wouldn't be able to breed. I am going to seperate them though, just in case. Thanks for the relpy.