CautionNot food
Eastern box turtle
Terrapene carolina
High-domed woodland turtle. Leave it. Populations cannot take harvesting.
- Marks
- High dome; hinged belly; colorful markings
- Size
- 5–6 in shell
- Habitat
- Woods, wet meadows, after rain on roads.
- Season
- April–October.
- Frequency
- common
A terrestrial turtle with a hinged plastron that closes up like a box. Shell patterned in yellow and orange on brown. Males often have red eyes.
If this is the one
Salmonella risk if handled. Do not keep as food or pets. If you move one off a road, send it the direction it was walking.