Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have had 2 boxes for about 20 years, and i got them when they were adults. one of them recently died, and im feeling sorry for the alive one, and i wanted to get a baby to accompany him. its an eastern box, and im about to go camping down in red river gorge, in KY. and i wanted to know my chances of finding a juvenile eastern and where i should look. any help will be grately appreciated. thanks much. -will

Consider a few things before you go searching: juvenile box turtles are extremely adept at hiding and would be very difficult to find. It would be very unethical to remove a box turtle from its native habitat when other options are available to you : eastern boxturtle populations are in trouble, in part because of collection of wild turtles. Also, an adult eastern is likely to behave rather aggressively toward a younger/smaller turtle, so you'd potentially be asking for trouble.
I'm sure that others on this forum can think of a multitude of other reasons for you to reconsider....
I've included a link for Turtlehomes: please consider adopting a turtle that's already been in captivity and that would probably be a more suitable companion for yours.
And finally, box turtles are not particularly social creatures:
what is making you think your turtle wants or needs a friend?
Except for mating, they're pretty solitary....
Link

one more thing, eastern box turtles are protected, capturing one would not only be a bad idea but it'd also be breaking the law, just one more thing for you to consider

chances of locating juvenile box turtle on camping trip --- smaller than chance of winning lottery.

In over 20 years of keeping and actively searching for turtles of all kinds, especially box turtles, just this year I found what I believe is a one year old, the youngest I've seen in the wild.

Other than that, some sub-adults I have found (3 of them).

As others have pointed out, though, box turtles do not need nor desire companionship.

Also, please do not take turtles from the wild. There are plenty of captive bred ones available for cheap online. Hatching time is here in force, so box turtle babies will be available shortly.

thanks guys. if you ever see a great deal on a baby boxer then tell me, ok? thanks! -will