One of Westfield’s Best Neighbors

This article first appeared in a slightly modified form in the Westfield Residents Association April Quarterly Newsletter. It was written by Cathy Branch Stebbins with technical assistance from Sigrun Gadwa, Carya Ecological Services, LLC and the State DEP website and with help from Fishmuscle (Stephen Devoto) and Barrie Robbins-Pianka. Photographs from Cathy Branch Stebbins and Barrie Robb

ins Pianka.

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Let’s just admit it—Westfield is home to a lot of characters. They are our neighbors. You see them at the Westfield Residents Association annual picnic with chili on their chins, at public hearings with arms crossed, skeptically listening to the Common Council, and at the Third Congregational Church Strawberry Festival pressing the flesh. We love our Westfield characters and their quirky individuality. But of all our neighbors, my favorite has got to be the Eastern Box Turtle (EBT).

This beautiful and ancient creature wouldn’t hurt a fly…well, maybe it would try to go after a fly, but more likely catch a beetle or an earthworm. Rest assured, an EBT would not harm a human. If you approach them, they might hiss at you and retreat into their shell, or pick up their house on their four sturdy legs and try high-tailing outta there as fast as its little feet can go (which is pretty slow). But this character-resident of Westfield will not mow their lawn at 7 o’clock in the morning after a long workweek, harangue you for a donation to their charity of choice while you’re speed walking, and will not spray foul-smelling, deer-repelling, synthetic wolf urine on the bushes next door while you’re having a picnic. The Eastern Box Turtle is one of Westfield’s most quiet and most considerate neighbors; the kind of neighbor that we want to keep in residence.

May and June are the months when you are most likely to spot an EBT. This is the time when they are out and about looking for companionship and sunny nesting spots in easy-to-dig soil. You already know what they look like if you’ve lived in Westfield for any length of time—they have colorful black with orange, yellow, or tan patterns and high, helmet-like shells, angular facial features, sturdy little legs with claws that are not sharp, and large, soulful eyes. The

turtles with the red eyes are the males, and those with the big, brown eyes are usually female.

They should not be confused with the flatter-shelled aquatic turtles, which also live in Westfield, who can be shy (like pond turtles) or the less adorable (but still beloved) Common Snapping turtle.

EBTS need water for drinking (they are sensitive to dehydration) and for an occasional dip in the pool to cool off on hot days, but they are strictly land-lubbers. Just like you and me, they like hiking and foraging during dry and pleasant weather, dewy Spring and Summer

mornings, or lounging in lush, moist microhabitats where there is deep, moist, organic rich soil. They like hanging out near wetland perimeters or in stony glac

ial till soils. Yep, EBTs know a nice place when they see it, and it looks a lot like our backyards and woodlands in Westfield.

Sadly, people, and the things that people do, are their primary threat. The Eastern Box Turtle is listed by the State Department of Environmental Protection as a Species of Special Concern and are becoming rarer and rarer for a variety of reasons but primarily due to loss of habitat from development, road kill accidents from cars and heavy construction equipment, and “collection”, “rescue” or “relocation” usually by misguided folks who don’t know any better, but also sometimes by poachers who capture and sell them on the internet or to pet stores (a pricker bush around the ankles and a frowney face to them!) For this reason the exact locations of their habitats are often kept secret.

Wild box turtles usually do not survive as “pets” and cannot be relocated from outside of their home territories. A funny thing about EBTs is that they have that “homing” thing going on, and they just “know” where their food and sources of water are. If they are “relocated” from their home base, instead of looking for new sources of food and water, they’ll use the earth’s magnetic field or the position of the sun to reorient themselves back to their home turf. But sometimes they just don’t make it back; usually they die from starvation, dehydration, or the risks associated with the treacherous journey home.

What difference does it make to have one less Eastern Box Turtle? It can mean the end of the entire population in a region! In some groups there are only one or two males or females sustaining an entire population. And according to the State DEP, a box turtle takes well over a decade to reach sexual maturity! Some believe they have to be, like, age 13 or 14 years old before they can even reproduce! This suspected fact of life plus the fact that they have low egg outputs and egg survival rates create a delicate balance of survival. So even the loss of one box turtle can doom an entire population in a region…forever! This is why you shouldn’t give EBTs as gifts to the grandkids.

The good news is that a healthy and unharmed box turtle can live over 100 years old if they are left alone. Populations of box turtles can hang on in a patch of forest within a city or in between neighborhood subdivisions if they are allowed to peacefully co-exist next to human habitats, but this means they need considerate and informed neighbors.

If you see a box turtle trying to cross the road, try to avoid running it over; it usually won’t survive. The EBTs that are crossing roads are often the pregnant ones seeking to lay their eggs in the easy to dig sandy soil found along roadways. If you see an EBT in harm’s way in the middle of a busy road, whatever you do, don’t put yourself or your family in harm’s way, too! If you can safely remove the turtle from the road, move it in the direction the turtle wants to go (not back to where it came from). Turtles, like people, are stubborn as heck and will just try to cross the busy road again.

What if you find an injured box turtle? I can share with you from personal experience that it IS possible to save its life. One of the greatest gifts my family and I have ever received was being able to help save an EBT that had several large stress cracks in its shell (aka, carapace), probably due to being run over by heavy construction equipment. It most certainly would have died from infection if it hadn’t been for the fact that we knew who to call to find a vet who takes injured wildlife over the counter at no charge. This particular box turtle received several weeks of care from a vet who successfully cleansed, medicated and repaired its shell using dental epoxy (don’t try this at home), and received several weeks of rehabilitation from a certified wildlife rehabilitator. It was then released back at the exact same spot where it was found. We were thrilled to see the turtle return for a visit a year later with its Bondo still intact!

We later learned that this particular individual, whom we fondly named Boris, was one of the oldest successfully rehabilitated Eastern Box Turtles in Connecticut in recent years, according to those in EBT circles. What a thrill it was to be part of that success! (If you find an injured but alive box turtle, please hold on to it; you can call me at 860 346 0339 or someone at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association at 203 237 2237 to connect you to the right people to help save its life or we can do that for you.)

One more thing; a box turtle can become your best political ally. I mean it. Let’s say the woodlands behind your house are slated for development and you’re not crazy about that, plus you know there’s an EBT population living there. If you and your neighbors have done your advance homework and documented the turtle sitings over time as you have encountered them, consistently submitting the siting forms to the State DEP for inclusion in their Natural Diversity database, the area will be tagged as an area with a species of special concern living on it. A developer must have an environmental review performed by the DEP before they can build there. That gives you some clout during those Inland Wetlands and Planning & Zoning public hearings! It could mean reduced density, special considerations in the project design and during construction, and greater buffer areas for you and for the box turtles living there. The forms and instructions for documenting an EBT “siting” can be found at the State DEP website:

Unfortunately, EBTs are often seriously injured by lawn mowers. These turtles are most active in summer in the early mornings and late afternoons, so try to avoid mowing during those times. Here are some ways to prevent lawn mowing accidents from happening, courtesy of the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association’s Turtle Crossing Project (Sigrun N. Gadwa of Carya Ecological Services, LLC.)

• Lawns should be kept short enough that turtles can be easily seen (> 4 inches).
• Brush hog field edges or managed open habitat in the mid to late winter, when ground is frozen or relatively dry. Turtles hibernate underground during winter months.
• If mowing when turtles may be active is unavoidable, set height of mowing deck to 6-8 inches. Although adult eastern box turtles reach no higher than four inches with necks extended, under certain conditions 8 inches clearance is wise, such as if ground is uneven or rocky or if mower has rotating blades such that suction can draw turtles up into the cutting zone. Uneven ground can elevate turtles into harms’ way. Probability of injury is very high for a flail-type mower with a deck set lower than 6 inches; risk is moderate for a haying cutterbar (attached to side of tractor.)
• When closer mowing (lower than 6-8 inches) is unavoidable, we recommend these precautions: Use a hand-held string trimmer, which would not injure a turtle fully within its shell. For larger areas, have someone walk ahead to check for box turtles. Any turtles found should be moved several hundred feet out of the way. Do not relocate turtles off the site!
• Leave strips or “islands” that are infrequently cut, such as a 3 to 8-foot wide swath of meadow or shrubs between the lawn and the woods edge; beds of shrubs and perennial wildflowers with wood chips; or a meadow-wildflower patch. Turtles will spend more of their time in these areas, feeding on insects and worms, than in the open lawn or field, and they improve the overall habitat quality. Woodchips are a preferred refuge in the heat of the day. Avoid broadcast pesticide use in these areas.

I really do love Eastern Box Turtles (can you tell?). They are quiet and considerate neighbors, worthy political allies, sorta cute, and part of what makes our community a unique and wonderful place to live. I vote to keep them here.