Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Starting during the later part of the spring last year, my female boxie sat in one spot in the back of her cage. The soil in that spot was lose and the spot was shady that didn't get too hot and didn't get too cold. My female guarded her spot all the time except during feeding or mating. Once I witnessed my male trying to walk into "my female's territory". She snapped at him. Besides this time, I have never seen my female snap. Does this mean my female is guarding eggs I don't know she even layed? Or am I just hoping for baby turtles so much that I'm fooling myself?

I've never heard of a female box turtle guarding a nest for any significant amount of time: they may stay on the nest overnight after they've finished laying late in the evening, but typically they walk away when they're done. Even that may be more a result of fatigue, rather than guarding.
Yours may just have a favorite spot and doesn't want company.
Stephanie

That's what I thought. Just making sure. The reason I posted was because I would never think my female would ever snap at my male, but I guess she was just a little cranky that day or something.

Thanks,
Ryan

Interesting? But I agree with above advice.
It's probably Box Turtle PMS...
However every animal is different with regard to their various personalities. Some act weird all the time; some only when it's a significant event in their life. How are we to distingiush when it's the pot of goal?
One of my female boxies bobs her head ever so slightly just before laying. Just to be sure; you may want to remove her to a box not letting her see what your about to do. Hey boxies are smart... It pays to be careful....We wouldn't want your female to think, it's an unsafe site.
Carefully dig up the suspected area, just as if you know there's something there. After you have checked; leave the site exactly the way it was before digging; and go ahead and put miss hissy back there.
Since it's loose soil; go down to eight inches....Five or six inch circle. It pays to check ....nothing lost....maybe something gained..and it will confirm a certain type of behavior for that female that in the future...you won' t be wondering...You'll know ...whether she laid eggs or just faux pas.
Ric

if the soil's still loose she likely didn't lay eggs, boxies stomp the ground down after laying and loose soil isn't what they look for when laying a nest as it collapses while they're digging, they'll quickly reject an area that's either too rocky or too loose, also guarding a nest isn't something box turtles or any turtle does, since they themselves could end up getting eatten then whatever was hunting would find the eggs.
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My Site
1.2.1 Terrapene Carolina Triunguis
0.1 Nymphicus hollandicus
1.1 Melopsittacus undulatus
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Thanks for the help. It will be interesting to see if she acts the same way this year when she gets her lazy but out of the ground and wakes up from hibernation.