Luck (Box Turtle or Box Tortoise)
Terrapene ornate
Box turtles are native to the United
States. They have a domed shell that is
hinged at the bottom making it possible for the turtle to close its shell
tightly to keep predators out. Box
turtles are omnivorous eating insects, worms, grass, fruit and berries. Box turtles do not travel far from their
place of birth. Sadly people will take
them from their homes and then rerelease them somewhere else causing them to
wander aimlessly, trying to find their original home until they die.
Luck is a Western box turtle. Usually when we get a box turtle it has been
injured by dogs, or by lawn care tools like a mower or weed eater. In the case of Luck, he was just found by
someone in their back yard. After
checking the neighborhood for the owner, they brought him to us. We call him
Luck because he seems to have escaped the challenges usually faced by small box
turtles.