Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Found lethargic and barely moving on a road in North Carolina....(at a high elevation).....one year ago.

It does have small orange dots on the side of it's head.

I'm wondering what kind of boxie this is and if this coloration is termed melanistic..or is there a term for it...besides Light Reddish Brown?... lol....

Is it a rare color as I haven't been able to locate any others in books and the net?

Thanks,
Petriglas

>>Found lethargic and barely moving on a road in North Carolina....(at a high elevation).....one year ago.

Looks like a 3-toed box on first glance.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

That is probably an eastern box (Terrapene c. carolina).

3-toeds are not native to NC.
If it was near-dead on the side of the road, it is possible that it was an abondoned captive-- in which case it could be a three-toed. That turtle looks like it has 4 toes on each hind foot. All eastern boxes have four toes, but so do some three-toed boxes.

Assuming it is an eastern box, the coloration and pattern (or lack of it) are indeed unusual. easterns are usually darker in coloration with bright and pronounced markings on the carapace.
3-toeds are more commonly lighter colored with paler markings, like the turtle pictured. But 3-toeds typically have more orange spotting on the head and forelegs.

I go with unusual looking Eastern box.

It looks like a juvenile eastern box turtle. It takes a few years for a box turtle to outgrow the plain juvenile coloring. It seems that females might take longer, but I can't say for sure.

Katrina
-----
1.2 Eastern Muds - Fred, Ethel, Edith
0.1 Iguana - Tiffel
0.1 Bearded Dragon - Foster
Foster turtles: More than I'd like the husband to know about.

I have several juvenile easterns here that are similar in appearance (for the time being): they do get more colorful as they age. The males tend to get especially vibrant as they reach reproductive maturity.

I am going to side with the post above stating that it is an unusually colored Eastern Box Turtle. Though not common, I have found Easterns in the woods of Virginia with this same coloration. As for stating that it is juvenile, it may be an older juvenile, but I think it is more likely past its juvenile stage and that its current age is sub adult or adult. Though we know growth rings are not an indicator of age and rather of periods of increased growth, this particular turtle has quite a number of growth rings. It also exhibits more adult like proportions. What is interesting is its slightly disformed carapace as compared to a normal Eastern of the same age range. The shape may be due to slightly poorer nutrition or a simple birth abnormality. If it is due to poorer nutrition may not show proper growth and could be older than thought judging by the number of growth rings.

It was very much appreciated.

Petri