The Florida box turtle is a turtle

Turtle

Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 belonging to the family Emydidae

Emydidae

Emydidae, commonly called the pond turtles or marsh turtles, is a family of turtles. Previously, several species of Asian box turtle were classified in the family. However, revised taxonomy has separated them to a different family. Now, Emydidae, with the exception of two species of pond turtle,...

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Geographic range

It is endemic to the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and the extreme southeastern portion of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

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Habitat

It can be found in damp environments, such as wetlands, marshlands, and near swamps, but usually does not enter water deep enough to swim.

Description

Like other box turtle

Box turtle

The box turtle , or box tortoise is a genus of turtle native to North America . The 12 taxa which are distinguished in the genus are distributed over four species. It is largely characterized by having a domed shell, which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to...

s, the Florida box turtle has a narrow and highly-domed shell with a hinged plastron that allows it to close its shell tightly. However, the Florida box turtle is quite different in appearance from the other subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of Terrapene carolina

Terrapene carolina

The common box turtle is a species of box turtle with six existing subspecies. It is found throughout the eastern United States and Mexico. The box turtle has a distinctive hinged lowered shell that allows it to completely enclose itself...

. Its carapace

Carapace

A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...

has a distinct pattern of bright radiating yellow stripes that make it easily identifiable. The coloring of the plastron can vary anywhere from solid yellow to solid black, with any number of variations in between. This turtle has very sharp claws as well as a sharp beak used for catching small insects and eating fruits, vegetables, and fungi.

As pets

Florida box turtles can be kept as pets. They will gladly eat celery stalks, lettuce, squash, pumpkin seeds, zucchini, tomatoes, and many other green leafy vegetables. They will take a wide variety of mushrooms like portabello. For treats, they enjoy mulberries, strawberries, blueberries, apples, and bananas.

By law, no person may possess more than two of these turtles. One may be prosecuted by fine and removal of the animals if they own three or more without a reptile permit. This species can only be found in Florida, so they are protected in many areas. They offer these pets at many pet stores as hatchlings, which are usually healthier than the box turtles from the wild.