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Post by HighCotton on Sept 7, 2019 6:47:33 GMT -5
I was talking with a customer in southern Indiana a while back when the subject turned to turtles. He told me he hated to see the demise of the box turtle as he hadn't seen one around his place for decades. On the flip side, I've seen quite a few of them this year. So far, I've seen 6 of them in the past few months on our hunting property near Bridgeton. They've become a bit of a herpetology study for my grandson. Here's one that we moved off the road to the nearby ditch:  And here's another that I used to educate him on determining the sex:  For those that want to harbor a guess on specifically the second (bottom) photo...What sex? |
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Post by Pinoc on Sept 7, 2019 9:39:48 GMT -5
Without flipping it over I would say a female because of the brown eyes.
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Post by nfalls116 on Sept 7, 2019 10:10:45 GMT -5
Male
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Post by esshup on Sept 7, 2019 11:20:53 GMT -5
We will never know because we can't talk turtle. We don't know how it identifies.  |
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Post by Sasquatch on Sept 7, 2019 22:25:38 GMT -5
Nice pics. As said earlier, without turning it over I would say female. Males have bright red eyes. Females Can have reddish eyes, but they are a duller hue.
My hunting area is blessed with an abundance of them ( relatively ). I think it's because the topography keeps them in the hollers and out of the roads.
I moved at least five of them across the road in various places this spring.
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Post by HighCotton on Sept 10, 2019 13:42:51 GMT -5
I forgot to post this up. My grandson was telling his cousins about our outing which reminded me! So, the lower pic is most likely a male. Though the pic is not the best, the eyes would've probably showed brighter in better light. First clue is the plastron as shown here. The male plastron is indented:  Another clue shows that the marginal scutes flare out a good bit on the males. These are kind of like the outer edges of the domed shell:  The male here is one of the largest (longest at 7" plus) I've ever found in the wild. I also thought the shell showed interesting markings on the right rear, Like maybe a coyote or another critter took to gnawing on part of the shell. I would love to know how old this dude is! |
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Post by Sasquatch on Sept 10, 2019 15:09:51 GMT -5
No doubt with the shell. Color and cameras can be tricky. I had a bright blue mistflower that just looked white no matter what I did. Super project for the kids.
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Post by nfalls116 on Sept 10, 2019 19:04:14 GMT -5
I forgot to post this up. My grandson was telling his cousins about our outing which reminded me! So, the lower pic is most likely a male. Though the pic is not the best, the eyes would've probably showed brighter in better light. First clue is the plastron as shown here. The male plastron is indented: Another clue shows that the marginal scutes flare out a good bit on the males. These are kind of like the outer edges of the domed shell: The male here is one of the largest (longest at 7" plus) I've ever found in the wild. I also thought the shell showed interesting markings on the right rear, Like maybe a coyote or another critter took to gnawing on part of the shell. I would love to know how old this dude is! Did you ask him? |
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Post by HighCotton on Sept 11, 2019 6:01:46 GMT -5
I did ask him, or it and he or she just wouldn’t come out...
of its shell!
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Sept 11, 2019 7:50:24 GMT -5
Probably shell shocked.
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