Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We recentley recieved a box turtle from a customer. It appears to be a Western Box, but is extremely light colored. It almost looks hypo. It has bright red eyes, but from the tail length it looks like a female. It also has no color on its legs or anywhere else except for the green head. Take a look at the pics and let me know what you think. I am not sure if it is a Western, a Ornate, or a hypo of either type. Thanks.

Tony Alles
www.reptileguru.com

The next pic

Pic of the bottom of the shell

looks T.O. Luteola to me
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How big is this turtle - almost looks like a gulf coast to me depending on size - also needs a nail trimming but be careful not to cut too short. Mary Beth

Pedantically speaking, "western box turtle" covers Terrapene ornata entirely. The subspecies are usually called "ornate box turtle" (T.o.ornata) and "desert box turtle" (T.o.luteola).

Yours looks a lot more like luteola just based on the buff-colored shell. As far as the hermaphroditic qualities go, many of the pics of female luteola I've seen have the green head which I'm used to seeing as primarily a male feature in the ornata subspecies.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

I agree - looks female. I, too, have seen green-headed luteola females. Looks like a female based on the hind feet, tail, and plastron.

Katrina

I know that it is a female. The thing that is throwing me off is the bright red eyes and the pale shell and skin. All the Desert Box Turtles that I have seen are usually darker in color than this one. I know that can vary, but the red eyes made me think it was possibly hypo. Thanks.