How many people breed and sell box turtles?

[Neal]

I got really lucky. My brother was given some turtles and didn't want to keep them so I drove up and got them. They are all males but one is absolutely gorgeous. View attachment 215386

That male is awesome! I really hope you have success breeding him. I like those types that have the classic solid orange pattern on their shells and vibrant skin color.

Your story sounds similar to mine. I had some tortoises here and there growing up, but box turtles were my favorite thing and always had a good sized group. At one point I had groups of easterns separated by color (yellow, orange and red) and had several "screamers". They were everywhere you could look about 17 - 20 years ago. It's a different world now, as you've noticed.

Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[jakskillz]

I guess I asked my original question more to get a feel if there are breeding projects set up. I always see ads for ornate box turtles but very very few for any of the eastern subspecies. A local pet shop near me a year ago had a dozen hybrid box turtles and some three toed box turtles hatchlings. I constantly check local ads along the whole south eastern US and every now and then someone is selling a turtle they either found or seem to know very little about and it's usually a box turtle. I'm not saying every owner will be great but wild populations will keep suffering since these are pretty turtles and I knew a few people growing up who 'found' their pet turtle just walking around. These turtles are not fast breeders but market demand is unusually high for these and most ads that I contacted only a day or two after being posted were already answered by someone else. Not many other species in my area are taking from the wild in the same numbers that box turtles have been and it's a shame because these turtles may adapt to a certain geographical range and can't just be released elsewhere in the states.