Type of Shell: High domed Carapace, Plastron is hinged.

Ornate Box Turtles are found throughout the midwestern states, from North Dakota to Texas. Adults reach around five inches in length and can live up to 30 years. This species is a turtle of the grasslands. Dry sandy prairies and woodland savannas are its primary habitats.

They escape the heat of the day by burrowing under vegetation, soaking in mud or going into a burrow. Box turtles emerge in mass during summer downpours During breeding season, they are often encountered on roads.

Like other Box turtles, this species is omnivorous. Their diet consists of mainly of animal matter such as carrion, worms and insects, but berries and other plant matter are eaten as well. There has been data that suggest some plants have higher germination rates when its seeds are passed through the digestive tracts of box turtles.

Breeding occurs during the warm times of the year because of sperm storage by the female. Eggs are laid in late spring or early summer. Females have delayed reproduction, and may not lay their first clutch until 8 years old. This reproductive method works with high adult survivorship, but this mode of reproduction does not work when human disturbance cause cracks in their survival strategy. Adult box turtles are often collected for pet trade; their habitats are often turned into farm land. Fragmentation of their habitat creates an edge effect that increases predator density. Turtle/Vehicle collisions have a significant effect on the population. This species is threatened/endangered in several states; the USDA Forest Service's rocky mountain region had a technical conservation assessment done on the Ornate Box Turtle. Milwaukee County Zoo has done head start programs for the endangered (state listed) Ornate Box Turltes in Wisconsin.

For more information about box turtles, please read C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr.'s North American Box Turtles: A Natural History.

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