Box turtles also have a hinged plastron (bottom shell) that allows them to close up shop in the front and rear, creating a “box” that protects their entire body from predators. Formerly, the eastern ...

Box turtles are one of the most well-known turtle types in the world. Learn about their biology, sizes, and how to care for ...

A turtle who somehow shucked off his transmitter and absconded from a western Pennsylvania sanctuary was found 20 miles away ...

This hinged area allows the turtle to withdraw into the shell and close up tight like a box, hence the common name of these animals.

A Box Turtle’s range is probably several acres in size. Females will wander farther in search of a nesting site. Turtles go into a torpid state called “brumation” during winter.

Hinged-shell turtles, however, particularly eastern box turtles, are well protected. Flexing its hinge joint, a box turtle can completely close its plastron against its high-domed, yellow ...

But it’s what happens after the shell opens that first earned legislators’ interest back in 1979, when North Carolina became the first state to make the eastern box turtle its mascot.

Some of the box turtles pull themselves up and crane their little necks over the sides. Each one has a small radio transmitter epoxied to its shell to track its movements.

MIDLAND, Texas — The transition from the winter season to the spring season brings out the desert box turtle, also known as the ornate box turtle.

The eastern box turtle is celebrating 30 years as the most highly honored reptile in the Great Smoky Mountains. Here's how it won that status.