Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Box Turtle Babies
Box turtles, often called terrapins, live in woods or meadows across the eastern two-thirds of the United States. You may have seen a box turtle in your backyard or crossing a highway.
Box turtles are reptiles. Turtles lay eggs on land. When the female turtle is ready, she finds some soft soil. She digs a hole with her back legs. She lays four to six eggs in the hole. Then she covers the eggs with dirt. She leaves the nest and never sees her babies.
The sun warms the eggs in the nest. After about two months, the eggs hatch. If it is in a place with a cold climate, the baby turtles, called hatchlings, may stay under the soil until spring comes again. If it is a warm climate, the hatchlings dig their way out of the soil after they hatch. They already know how to dig and how to find their own food.
