Eastern Box Turtles Mating & Laying Eggs
Eastern Box Turtles can be found throughout most of the Northeast (though not yet confirmed in Vermont). These turtles are well-known (and named) for their hinged bottom shell (plastron) which allows them to seal themselves in and be all but impenetrable to predators. Eastern Box Turtles, along with many other species of turtles, are currently engaged in courtship, mating and laying eggs. After climbing on top of the female and grasping her between the top (carapace) and bottom shell (which she spreads apart if sufficiently receptive) with his hind feet, the male leans back, plants his carapace on the ground and stands upright for up to an hour while they mate.
This one encounter provides the female with enough sperm to produce fertile eggs for up to four years. If the 4-8 eggs a female Eastern Box Turtle lays survive predation (skunks, raccoons foxes, crows), they will hatch in August or September. As in other turtle species, the temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. Warmer nests tend to produce females, while cooler nests produce males.
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