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Eastern box turtle

Terrapene carolina · Turtles · Reptiles

Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina): Hinged plastron lets adults close the domed, keeled shell almost completely; upper jaw slightly hooked. Carapace colour highly variable: brown with yellow or orange markings in eastern box turtle (about 15 cm, four hind toes). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Eastern box turtle on the forest floor
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash
Scientific name
Terrapene carolina
Family
Emydidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern United States from southern Maine to Florida and west to Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In Canada NatureServe treats Ontario as an exotic record and SARA lists the species as Extirpated.
Biology

How to identify it

Hinged plastron lets adults close the domed, keeled shell almost completely; upper jaw slightly hooked. [1][2]

Carapace colour highly variable: brown with yellow or orange markings in eastern box turtle (about 15 cm, four hind toes). [1][2]

Mature males often have red irises and a concave rear plastron; females have a flat plastron and vent at or inside the rear shell edge. [1][2]

Three-toed box turtle (T. c. triunguis) has a tan or olive shell and three hind toes; males' heads may be entirely red. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Forests, fields, forest-brush and forest-field edges; open woodlands, pastures and marshy meadows, often near streams and ponds. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal; in summer activity is mostly morning and after rain; hibernates in October/November to March-May burrowed in loose soil, mud or stump holes. [1][2]

Omnivore: snails, insects, berries, fungi, worms, carrion; young are mainly invertebrate eaters. [1][2]

Home ranges are usually 2 ha or less and overlap; individuals often return to the same hibernation area. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern United States from southern Maine to Florida and west to Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In Canada NatureServe treats Ontario as an exotic record and SARA lists the species as Extirpated.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology