Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have heard about the decline in the the number of boxies in PA. and not only have i heard the news i have seen the news, I haven't seen one all summer! i usually see 4-5 but i have seen none this summer, not even any DOR (which is good). I was wondering if i could help this out by taking a pair of easterns (in possession now) and breeding them and then releasing the offspring to remote locations in PA, i have checked state regulations and it says nothing about this topic. Just wondering if any one had advice. Thanks,
MATT

I do not know PA laws but I do sayto you what a noble deed for one to do to keep the wild box turtle population alive.Brandon

Bad idea if you release them they could have diseases and transmit them to other box turtles lowering the population even further.

I too agree that box turtles are on a decline throughout there range. I go trout fishing a creek in wester central pa and I have never seen a box turtle there. However I see numerous wood turtles, but it is suprising there are no box turtles. Also I am an avid golfer and play many courses throughout the Delaware Valley and have only seen one box turtle in 8 years. I think this is very suprising being that these are the types of habitats where boxies frequent. I think there is def reason to be concerned. Unfortunately releasing box turtles into the wild isn't a good idea. They can definetly bring in new diseases. I am in a similar situation. I hatched six baby boxes this year. However I don't really need six babies, but i can't sell any of them because it is illegal to do so in jersey(along with everything else). releasing them would be a good idea but i don't think it would work. sorry.

I have seen more boxers this year in both central NJ and eastern PA then I have in years. At least 15 total I have seen this year. I even saw couple of nice yearlings which is pretty rare. We have had a lot of rain here in NJ and I think that has something to do with it. Also the Leopard and Bull frogs are out of hand due to the rain, I have been seeing DOR bullfrogs quite often this year, and I never used to see that.
As far as releasing boxers, I would have to agree with the fact that it may spread domesticated disease to the wild population, making it not such a good idea.

http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/faqampr.htm#t1

See URL for more info. Your proposal appears to be illegal, but remember with government, everything has a workaround--yours would most likely be to contact the fish & game biologists and see if you can get a program going with their blessing. They will be concerned about introducing disease from your captive stock into otherwise healthy existing populations.

How has the weather been this year, and the years prior? Could a meteorological explanation be found for the lack of turtle sightings this year in PA?
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

Thanks for all the comments. I read that the reason that the population is so low has to do with the fact of boxies existing in small patches of woods and not being able to travel to other turtles to breed because of all the roads and devoloping thats been going on.,
MATT

i def agree with that box turtles seem to prefer suburban woodlands that are only a couple acres big. However with all the building going on I think it is really taking a toll on them. Thinking about it now i do see more box turtles in the place were I wouldn't expect to find them. So that makes sense.

PA has a law prohibiting the possession of the eggs of any of the native species of reptiles. So to breed and reproduce the animals while living in PA you would be in violation of the law.
I have not heard of anyone enforcing it as of yet but it was added in the last 10 years to the regulations covering herps. Check with Fish and Boat for the details.

That said, introduction of novel pathogens into the population is a concern as this is one of the major scenarios considered for the decline in Gopher and Desert tortoises in the USA because of the introduction of mycoplasma from infected captive animals that were released or escaped.
There have also been relatively recent reports that mycoplasma has been found in box turtles and may have been a contributing factor to some local die offs.

Ed

I'm amazed. I found 27 individual adults this summer(plus a few juvies and one hatchling) in central PA. I've also found 18 adults in Maryland, 2 in New Jersey, 16 in North Carolina, and 7 in Virginia. I do agree that populations need to be protected, but this is the most box turtles I've seen in the past 5 years.

Also I'm not even gonna touch the NA wood population numbers...I lost count after 40.

Here's some boxie pics from this year:

Male hit on road:

Nice young female:

Nice female NA wood

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Jeff H.
http://www.jandsherps.com
http://www.pareptile.org

see any wood turtles in new jersey. I have seen plenty in Pa. Pa is a haven for wood turtles. However i have never seen one in jersey.

>>see any wood turtles in new jersey. I have seen plenty in Pa. Pa is a haven for wood turtles. However i have never seen one in jersey.

This is a little late, but I did see a wood turtle in NJ when I was there 1 1/2 weeks ago.
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Jeff H.
Turtles...lots of turtles...