Natural History
LIFE
The ornate box turtle is a uniquely Iowan turtle because it is the only Iowan turtle that is fully terrestrial. These box turtles grow to be approximately 5 inches in carapace length, with a carapace that is high domed and tortoise-looking. The carapace has yellow stripes on a black/brown background color, with a large yellow vertebral stripe down the back. The skin color of this turtle is black or olive colored, with many yellow, orange, and red spots on the front legs and head. Once these turtles reach adulthood, they begin mating during the spring season. Ornate box turtles dig nests in sandy soils, typically for five to six eggs. The eggs hatch approximately 2-3 months after being laid.

HABITAT AND RANGE
The box turtle is only found in few, small scattered populations along the Mississippi Alluvial plain in eastern Iowa, and in isolated pockets with suitable habitat in western, northwestern, and eastern and southern parts of Iowa (LeClere, 2020). These turtles require sandy, open areas. Unfortunately, their habitats are disappearing rapidly due to habitat loss.

DIET
Ornate box turtles consume mostly insects and earthworms, but they are willing to stray from this diet when necessary. Particularly, these box turtles enjoy carrion, but box turtles will eat any dead animals. When in season, box turtles will also eat many kinds of vegetation, such as berries, dandelions, prickly pear cacti, and other fruits and flowers.

CONSERVATION STATUS
Ornate box turtles are threatened. This means that it is illegal to kill or collect this species by law in Iowa (LeClere, 2020).

SOURCE: LeClere, J. (2020). Ornate Box Turtle
(Terrapene ornata). Retrieved July 20, 2020, from
http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-
Herpetology/reptiles/turtles/ornate-box-turtleterrapene-ornata/

Myrtle & Callie's Story
Hartman Reserve’s ornate box turtle, Myrtle, was
brought to us by a park ranger from McFarlane Park in
2013. Calico (Callie), our other ornate box turtle was
found in Hartman Reserve's mulch pile by a working
volunteer group in the summer of 2019. Since ornate
box turtles are very territorial, and were found outside
their ranges, they could not be released back into the
wild. If we did put them back them they would forever
be wandering around and would not mate. We know
they are both female due to their dull eye colors, as
males have brighter eyes. These two box turtles will
happily live out the rest of their lives at Hartman.