Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had posted pics of my box turtles last week and someone had responded to them concerning the raised ridge on their backs or smooth carapace. I don't remember exactly what he had said now. If you read this, please repost the info for me. I tried to search the archives, but I guess I am not very patient in reading through everything.

Thanks much.

You can find all the old stuff by clicking "Archive of Old Forums" way at the top of this page.
I did that for you and here's that message I left:

They look like ornates to me.
Many people confuse ornates and Florida boxies.
The way to tell for sure that they are ornates and not Florida box turtles is very simple.

You see that stripe running down the middle?
If it seems smooth and not well raised, it is an ornate box turtle (terrapene ornata ornata).
This is true for the desert box turtle as well (terrapene ornata luteola).

If it is a raised ridge, then it is one of the carolina sub species, such as the Florida box turtle (terrapene carolina bauri)
This is called a "medial keel", which is a characteristic feature of all the carolina sub species.

Best of luck,

Bill Tracy
My Box Turtle Site
My Turtle Stuff

In addition, adults of these species will have different shell shapes. Ornates are more rounded and squat, while floridas are taller, thinner and more ovalish when viewed from above. Floridas also tend to look as if their mass is shifted backwards when viewed from the side. Of course these subjective terms are not all that useful without some exposure to each of the species.

This is why we get a lot of repeat questions.... people are not willing to do their own research. It does get frustrating.