Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Chelonia Cryptodira
Scientific Name:
Terrapene carolina carolina
Range:
New Hampshire to Georgia and west through Tennessee, Illinois and Michigan.
Habitat:
Coastal marshes, moist or dry palmetto, pine or deciduous forests, damp or dry fields.
Diet:
Wild: Omnivorous - slugs, beetle larvae & worms, vegetables, berries. The young are carnivorous; as they age,they become almost totally herbivorous.
Zoo: Canned dog food, raw hamburger, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, bananas.
Gestation:
Up to 1 year
Litter:
3 to 8 eggs
Life Span:
30 to 40 years but a few may reach up to 100 years
Description:
Adult length is between 4 and 8 1/2". High-domed, keeled shell may be yellow, orange, olive, black or brown and may have a pattern. Plastron may be tan, dark brown, yellow, orange or olive and may have blotches of color. It is hinged and as long as the carapace, allowing a tight fit when the animal retracts. Males have red eyes, female eyes are yellow-brown. They have short, webless fingers; a small, well developed brain and well developed senses of hearing and smell. They are able to distinguish among colors.
Did You Know?
If a turtle has eaten mushrooms poisonous to man and you eat the turtle's flesh, it may kill you!
New York Indians used turtle shells for rattles and buried turtles with their dead.
In late summer, the turtle may eat so much and put on so much fat that it is unable to completely close its shell.
The Genus name, Terrapene, is American Indian for ‘a small turtle.’ The species name, carolina, refers to the state, although the species is not confined to that area. The subspecies name is the same.
Where in the Zoo?
I can be found in the Conservation Education Programs at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
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