Blaze

Egypt

Chili

Shelly

I was raised in Northern Virginia and was outdoors a lot as a kid so naturally I came in contact with Eastern Box turtles. I don't know if they are as prevalent in Fairfax County now as they were back in the 70s and 80s but we'd find several every year. One of our secret spots was actually a busy road that ran through a wooded area on the way to the big shopping mall in town. We called it "turtle road" because we saw many turtles trying to cross it. Sometimes we'd get out and catch one if Mom was in a good mood.

I made a pen in the backyard of our house with chicken wire across the top and built a small pond and put a trio of box turtles inside. I had two males and a female and I would bring them inside and brumate them during the winter, although looking back on it I don't know why I did that. They probably would have done better outside. One summer I found a baby turtle in the pen which was my first time - if I can take any credit for it at all - breeding reptiles in captivity.

1979, family photo with an Eastern Box turtle keeping everyone happy

There was a classic family moment once when we were taking our first and only professional family portrait in the backyard. The photographer got setup with his camera on a tripod and everyone got in position except for my younger brother Mark. Mark was crying and wanted nothing to do with being in the picture. Finally, to get him to submit, my parents allowed him to be in the photo holding one of the turtles we kept in the outdoor pen behind us. That turned into one of the most iconic family photos of my childhood.

In my adult years I've looked for captive bred Eastern Box turtles and was surprised when someone local to me announced that he had a group he wanted to sell, although these are definitely not captive bred animals. I hurried and bought all of them. The group was male heavy so I replaced two of the males with a female that I found online so now I have 2.2.

2018, finishing off the extras from my son's wedding reception

I keep them inside year-round but I need to find a way to move them outside for 8 or 9 months of the year. I built an outdoor enclosure when I first got them but after using it for a few months I found that it was just too hot for them no matter what I did to try and shade them from the harsh Utah summertime heat. Hopefully I can find another location outdoors where they can thrive.

Like everything else I keep, I was hoping that I'd be successful breeding them. The older female has produced eggs several times but either I can't incubate them correctly or they just weren't fertile. I think at this point I won't try and incubate them artificially any more.