Tuck (Box Turtle or Box Tortoise)
Terrapene Ornate
These 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.
This is Tuck; she is a Western Box
Turtle. She has a plainer shell. She crawled into a yard where a dog chewed on
her shell, but was rescued in time.
Box turtles are reclusive by nature,
so it may be challenging to spot them in the enclosure.