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Common Box Turtle — Part 2
Like other terrestrial chelonians, the Box Turtle lives to a great age. It is difficult to explain the exact duration of life of this species, but examples have thrived for ten or fifteen years in captivity, that were old and worn quite smooth when captured.
A curious and interesting specimen was found several years from the time of writing, in Virginia. The writer had been roaming over the beautiful farmlands that once constituted the battlefields of Bull Run and Groveton. He had stopped to examine a noble tree, gnarled in many places from the old wounds of a heavy shell-fire. The tree stood on a knoll near Groveton and had been in the centre of a shower of lead and iron hail during the stormy days of war. On two occasions had the opposing armies swept over this pretty country to the tune of cannon and musketry and many trees beside the one that had particularly engaged the writer's attention, showed battle scars.
These few descriptive words are in strict accordance with a turtle that drew the writer's attention, as it emitted a sudden hiss and closed its shell tightly at his approach. It was a very old specimen, with a dull, lustreless shell. Across its back was a deep furrow, healed by many years. So deeply did this penetrate into the creature's shell that the original injury must have penetrated to the very edge of the reptile's vitals, yet a wonderful tenacity of life and great reconstructive power had permitted the turtle to so heal the wound as to partially cover the deep tear with a rough, bony growth. Along the edges of the shell were other indentations, which had healed in the same manner. Who can dispute the very plausible theory, that nearly forty years before, during a human exchange of metal animosities, this reptile was struck by a flying minie ball that tore the furrow and, by the force of its impact, sent the creature tumbling over the stony ground to produce the deep scars about the edge of the shell. If such were the case, the reptile being full-grown when the injury was inflicted--the severe nature of the wound would stunt all subsequent growth--it had lived many years to attain its size, then possessed the tenacity to recover from the wound and afterward continued to live for nearly forty years after. It may interest the reader to know that this turtle is, at the time of writing, thriving in captivity.
The eggs of the Box Turtle are ovoidal in shape and covered with a thin, but hard shell. They are buried in soft ground, or secreted under leaves. It is an interesting, but curious fact, that the very young specimens are very rarely found.
When retiring for the winter, this turtle burrows to some depth in soft ground. This was well illustrated by the experience of a friend of the writer, who was engaged in the melancholy duty of digging a grave for a large, pet dog. The animal had died in January and a severe frost had hardened the ground for a distance of five inches. After breaking through this it was easy digging and as the gentleman had reached a depth of about two feet he unearthed a Box Turtle, which showed feeble signs of life.