McMartinVille--Reptiles

 
NO NEED FOR A CAR, CLICKED YER MOUSE... AND HERE YOU ARE! "McMartinVille"
 

Ornate Box Turtle

 

Order:  Testudines (turtles and tortoises)
Family:  Emydidae (aquatic and subaquatic turtles)
Genus:  Terrapene (box turtles)
Also known as:  Western Box Turtle

Scientific Name:  Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz, 1857

Habitat:  Grasslands and open wooded areas of the Plains states.

Terrapene=from Native American word for turtle, ornata="ornate"

Length: Carapace to 5.75 inches.
Food:  A variety of items--box turtles are omnivorous and opportunistic.   Western Box Turtle Range
This female was found in a back yard in Wheatland, Oklahoma in July 2001.  I left some old tomatoes out for it since it was the middle of a very hot, dry summer.  Several turtles come and go in their yard and have become somewhat accustomed to human presence.  Ornate Box Turtle
 

 

Here is another female from the same location, found May 2005.  Notice this individual has a higher-domed carapace.

 

We have a female ornate box turtle as a pet. You can find out more about our pet by clicking here.