There are basically two kinds of beings in this world: those who wear their box on the outside and those who wear their box on the inside. Clearly, it is far more advantageous to be in the former group. This is obvious for many reasons, chief among which is how few beings belong in thisContinue reading “Day 348: The Box Is Closed”
Tag Archives: box turtle shell
Day 162: Box Turtle Color Camouflage
In a wild setting, color aesthetics can make all the difference between who gets lunch and who is lunch. So you really want to work your particular color camouflage for all you’ve got. For example, let’s say you are born with a tasteful all-over olive coloration, accented with strategically-placed swatches of tan, white and orange.Continue reading “Day 162: Box Turtle Color Camouflage”
Day 135: Box Turtle Shell Scratches
Wild box turtles are quite solitary. Even when it is time to make baby box turtles, a manly and masculine solo box turtle might need to travel quite a ways before he even meets any single lady box turtles. While it can be great to be out and about in nature, roaming through your territory,Continue reading “Day 135: Box Turtle Shell Scratches”
Day 90: Scutes. Scoots.
Smart. Sensitive. Sociable (at least with lady box turtles and anything you want to eat). Flexible. Multi-talented. Strong. Speedy. Great climber. Good swimmer. Five-star hibernator. These are just some of the many awesome things about being a 3-toed box turtle. But one of the coolest is your scutes (pronounced “scoots”). The scutes are located onContinue reading “Day 90: Scutes. Scoots.”
Day 54: Box Turtle Coloration
Shelled beings are experts at using coloration to maximum effect. There is a lot more to picking out the optimal shell colors than a casual observer might detect. For example, say you want to select a coloration that will make it very hard for potential predators and tasty prey (not to mention the ever-lurking largeContinue reading “Day 54: Box Turtle Coloration”
Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Shell Rot
By the time Bruce was rescued to me as an adult, Malti had been living with me for about two years. During that time, I had made a LOT of mistakes in pretty much every area where a newbie tortoise owner can make a mistake. But I was also working overtime to correct those mistakesContinue reading “Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Shell Rot”
Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Turtle Versus Tortoise Versus Terrapin
If there is anything more confusing than box turtle taxonomy (that is, classification)….well, let’s just say that here at Casa Feathers n Beak n Shells, we are pretty sure there isn’t. For example, why are some turtles called “turtles,” while other turtles are called “tortoises” or “terrapins?” The simplest explanation would be that “turtles” liveContinue reading “Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Turtle Versus Tortoise Versus Terrapin”
Bruce Explains Box Turtles: About the “Box”
Box turtles, regardless of how many toes they have, are called “box turtles” because of one unique trait they all share in common. That trait is quite amazing. Every box turtle is able to pull all of its body parts – head, tail, legs and feet and claws, all of it – inside its shellContinue reading “Bruce Explains Box Turtles: About the “Box””
Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Shell Color
3 toed box turtles don’t look like other species of box turtles. Not only do they have 3 toes on each of their back feet (instead of 4 or 5 toes per foot like other species of box turtles), but they also have different shell and skin colors. To further complicate matters, boy 3 toedContinue reading “Bruce Explains Box Turtles: Shell Color”