"Jane" is a gulfcoast box turtle. Jane being plain is her claim to fame so we love her just the same and let her do her thang especially since her name shoulda been Joe!
Dumb us, before we knew how to tell gender the correct way (by shell and tail), we thought eye color made the difference. DUH! So, several turtles later we found out Jane was a Joe but the name had already stuck. Jane is a celebrity and has been in the local newspaper due to the fact that she (oops!) HE demonstrates psychomotor skills to kindergarten classes in the metroplex area. He does pull-ups, roll-overs, etc. Shhhhhh! He is my husbands favorite out of the 17 plus that he raises.
"John" is an ornate. He was named for our x-landlord who found him. John has a mean look in his eye due to the red color but instead he is a gentle, easy-going box turtle.
Ornates are distinctive in color and markings. Most are marked like John but diverse in patterns. Unlike most water turtles, which bite and hang on till it thunders, box turtles never bite unless hurt and even then it takes a lot of pain before they will even attempt it. All of the turtles in our possession are well cared for. Many were rescued from situations that would have resulted in death. The others were given to us by people who either found them in their yards or bought them and then realized they weren't a simple responsibility. They can't live indoors in a cardboard box lined with paper with only lettuce to eat. They need fresh sunshine, fruits, vegetables, and as natural an environment as possible.
"Myrtle the Turtle" is a northeastern box turtle. She really has a beautiful shell. Myrtle is very gentle and loves to have her head rubbed.
She has white markings around her mouth that makes her look like she has been drinking milk and yellow/orange dots on her neck and front legs. She also travels to the schools with several others to take part in "turtle education". Each turtle is distinctivly diverse. They have their own particularly unique personality and looks. Never underestimate their ability to entertain either. Turtlekeeping is not for everyone and not everyone is meant for turtles. If you can't provide the next best thing to "mother nature" then don't attempt it. It would be better to turn them lose in the wild than to kill them with ignorant kindness.
These little boogers are "babies." Some have been born in captivity while others were adopted. Look closely and you will notice there are two sizes. The smallest ones are only a few months old. The larger ones are 3 - 5 years old. Box turtles (often called terephins) grow very, very slow and live to be very, very old. One way to know that your box turtles are happy and content is to find new hatchlings. They are about the size of a quarter (25 cent piece). Adult females can carry eggs up to 3 years! The babies above are enjoying canned dog food. This suppliments their vegetable diet of strawberries, melons, green peas, etc. Their little mouths are so small that you have to cut up everything very tiny else they would starve. Once in a while one of the new hatchlings can't quite catch on to how to eat. My husband very patiently takes a small bit of canned dog food and pushes it at the hatchlings mouth until he gets so exasperated that he'll open it. Then my husband shoves it in. It works!