Spotted Box Turtle

1 Overview

The Spotted Box Turtle is a turtle within the box turtle genus, native to the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. Now scarce and endangered, it is one of the rarer members of the genus, with a distinctive appearance and a relatively small carapace.

Box turtles are generally small and far less drought-tolerant than tortoises, so they cannot stray far from water. Apart from a few forest types, such as the yellow-margined box turtle, or desert types, such as the desert box turtle, most live along water margins. They spend most of their time on land foraging and are omnivorous, distributed across many parts of the world. In captivity they are a relatively common group.

Chinese Name: Spotted Box Turtle

English Name: Nelson’s Box Turtle

Scientific Name: Terrapene nelsoni nelsoni

Taxonomy: Kingdom Animalia, Class Reptilia, Order Testudines, Family Emydidae, Genus Terrapene, Species Spotted Box Turtle

Reproduction: Oviparous

Distribution: native to Mexico

Habits: highly tolerant of temperature and environmental change, and its omnivorous habit makes food easy to obtain and feed.

2 Physical Characteristics

The most distinctive feature of the Spotted Box Turtle is its carapace: a yellow or deep-yellow shell covered with dotted scars, growing to about 16 cm. The carapace is dome-shaped and the plastron is a slender oval, giving the individual a slender impression.

The Spotted Box Turtle is also called the spotted box turtle. This box turtle, distributed in western Mexico and covered with small yellow dots, is perhaps the least known; reports on it are few and academic study is limited.

The Spotted Box Turtle is divided into two subspecies. Smith (1979) listed six criteria to distinguish them, but Buskirk and Ponce-Campos (2011) noted that none is practically useful for subspecific identification, so the subspecies question needs re-study. Currently the two subspecies can only be told apart by locality.

The Spotted Box Turtle’s eggs are about 2.9 to 3.3 cm in diameter, some only 1.7 to 1.8 cm. Hatchlings have spotted and black-marked shells; as they age the carapace color and spots fade. Adult males have brown spots, while females have yellow or tan spots.

Incidentally, the box turtle genus is omnivorous, eating insect larvae, crustaceans, shellfish, fish, amphibians, aquatic plants such as arrowhead, fruits, and algae, and sometimes forages on land.

3 Care & Husbandry

The Spotted Box Turtle is not common in the market. Although easy to keep, its conservation status has drawn little attention and few people keep it. Its bright appearance attracts many fans even without direct keeping.

Due to habitat destruction, water pollution, and over-collection, Spotted Box Turtle numbers have declined. But the species is legally protected; in Mexico, capture and export are strictly limited. In 1995, CITES listed the Spotted Box Turtle under Appendix I. Possibly because of pet-market demand, it has recently been imported into Japan.

Because they are easy to collect, most box turtles sold as pets are wild-caught adults. Thanks to the box turtle’s remarkable adaptability to both dry and wet conditions, mortality is far lower than for other turtles, and they are even easier to keep than tortoises, interacting with owners more than tortoises do.

All box turtles are listed under CITES Appendix II, and U.S. states have their own protective laws, closely watching population declines. Although trade and keeping are not banned, most states prohibit capturing and commercially trading wild tortoises and box turtles. Asian box turtles are also CITES Appendix II.

4 Habitat & Environment

All turtles’ feeding is governed not by their digestive system but by temperature; when too cold, a box turtle will not eat no matter how hungry. Thus the environment is vital to health and growth. Keeping box turtles outdoors, moving them indoors only in winter, is ideal. In an aquarium setup, land should occupy over half the space, the other half a shallow water zone as deep as half the shell height. With an ideal setup, box turtles can easily live over 50 years.

5 Diet & Nutrition

The Spotted Box Turtle is typically omnivorous but eats a large amount, and studies show its food range is broad, so in captivity variety is key to health.

In captivity, successfully keeping the Spotted Box Turtle long-term requires time spent watching its feeding and frequently adjusting the diet to meet nutritional balance. Animal protein such as mealworms, crickets, or earthworms should make up about 50 percent, replaceable with box-turtle pellets. Most Spotted Box Turtles prefer to eat on land, so with an aquarium or pond, place food on land rather than in water for better results.

Plant foods such as common vegetables, beans, radish, and potato can be 30 percent. High-fiber plants such as grass, alfalfa, straw, and radish leaves make up 10 percent. Combinations help maintain balanced nutrition and digestive health. The remaining 10 percent is fruit such as grapes, apples, kiwi, strawberries, and cherries. Because fruit is high in sugar it should be a treat only, not frequent, but can tempt a refusing or anorexic turtle. Also vitamin and calcium powder must be supplied at least weekly, mixed with food, and regular sunlight or a UVB reptile lamp is essential, otherwise calcium cannot be absorbed.