Appearance
All box turtles have a distinctive hinged lowered shell that allows them to completely enclose themselves. The desert box turtle lacks the raised carapace keel of the Eastern Box Turtle, and its colors are muted for camouflage in the desert. The colors of the mature turtles are lighter and more muted than the colors of the young. Most, but not all, male turtles have red irises. Other characteristics of males include concave plastrons, thicker tails with the cloaca nearer the tip, and longer rear legs with larger, curved inside claws which are used to grip the female shell during mating.
Habitat
It lives in arid, open prairie areas.Reproduction
Nesting takes place from May to July. Clutch size ranges from two to eight eggs, and incubation lasts about seventy days. They can live 25 years or more.Males are normally sexually mature by 8–9 years of age, but in captivity have been known to breed as young as age 2. Females normally require 10–11 years to reach sexual maturity. Their breeding season lasts between March and May, and nesting sites will be chosen from June to July. Males will be sexually active from the time they emerge from hibernation until September or October. Males often mate aggressively with other males.
Food
It is an omnivore, eating native vegetation, insects, and sometimes carrion.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
