Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Box turtle is male. But his eyes seem to "change different
shades of red. Sometimes they looks almost like a female's light tan shade. He is in a outdoor encloser. He eats fruits and alot of proteins. I'm still working on the veggies issue. But supplement with vitamins. What could be causeing this phenomenon?!? Any help would be HUGE! Thanks!

I think the most likely cause is the direction (angle) and intensity of the sunlight. Sometimes what you are holding the turtle up against makes the eye color appear to change. This would be most likely if the color were an intermediate color between brown and red, or he has one color that is the back ground with the other color appearing as "flecks" of color on top.

You didn't say how old your turtle was. I wonder if he is approaching sexual maturity in which case his eye color could be changing from the normal light brown to reddish. There are all sorts of variations in the red eye color that most males have. Some are light red; others are vibrant, blood red. A few males keep the brown eye color. Also a few females have the red eye color. This is all normal.

I wouldn't worry either way as long as his eyes appear to be bright and clear, he is active, and eating normally.

Good points, Steffke.

I have noticed that my males' eyes change color also. There seems to be no real pattern to the changes. Their overall coloration deepens at about this time of year, but eye color seems to drift randomly. My eyes darken when I'm angry...I think it has to do with blood flow, but who knows?

As long as they don't wash out permenantly, I wouldn't worry about it. Even if they do wash out, I'd just add some highly pigmented items to their diet, make sure they're getting enough "natural" light, and monitor their overall health...it sounds like you're doing these things anyway.

Some males have almost white eyes...especially old guys.

One tip on the veggie front...try red/orange/yellow bell peppers!

Check the label on your supplements. Some brands contain color enhancers (plant pigments, carotenoids), but many don't.

What kind of box turtle is this?

Thanks for posting...interesting topic.

I usually only note a difference when mine emerge from hibernation: the red of the males' eyes is more vibrant in spring, or at least seems to be...

Thanks. He is doing great. Eats well and is very active.I'm not sure though how to tell how old he is. He was a rescue. His shell is about 5in long. Can I find a way to tell his age by that or other means? Thanks again.

The only way to really know for sure how old a turtle is would be to know the date it hatched.
I have a foster turtle right now and then I met someone over the summer who had a turtle that was 4 years old, it was known that it's 4.
It's exactly the size of my foster turtle so I'm guessing she's 4 years old too... but I'll never know for sure.
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PHRatz

Ok those of you who've bred a lot of babies.. I have an eye color Q for you all.
I still have Kibbles that baby who was dug up in late fall last year by people doing work in their backyard.
At what age have you noticed a change in eye color & have you ever noticed a baby male gain a red eye color before it has reached puberty?
Kibbles is a year & a half old or so, recently I've noticed that there's some color to the eyes that wasn't there before. It's not exactly red, it's more the brownish color that my Shell E's eyes are, I expect that since color has recently appeared it will probably change again as Kibbles gets older but I wonder- at what age have you seen red eyes that were for sure red?
Anyone ever notice?
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PHRatz

I have an Eastern, hatched from an egg laid in my yard and raised by me. He will be four this October. He is beginning to take on male characteristics.....his shell being relatively flat, the tail elongating, brightening colors and the beginning of an indentation in his plastron. The characteristics are just starting but seem pretty definite. However, I do not yet notice any changes in eye color. He still has some growing to do also before he is full size.
For that matter, I have found two different wild males late this year whose eyes were not very red (although red). My one female also has very dark red eyes.
Regarding age. I think here in the more northern part of the country, rings ARE a good age indicator (until the turtle is older and the shell has worn smooth). My four-year-old has four definite rings formed each winter (some lesser rings indicate changes in growth rate in between). In warmer climates where they may stay active longer, I imagine the rings may be more ambiguous.