Western Box Turtle. Terrapene ornata is a species of box turtle commonly known as the Western Box Turtle. Read more...

When a Kentucky woman purchased a home in the town of Campbellsville, she had no idea that she would also be taking in an unexpected animal: an Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) with a bright blue shell. Of course, the color wasn’t natural. She soon learned from one of her new neighbors that one of the house’s previous residents painted turtles around the property, licensed wildlife rehabilitator Tonya Poindexter tells Popular Science. The homeowner contacted Poindexter’s Wilderness Trail Wildlife Center in London, Kentucky and their team collected the colorful turtle, and then drove it around two hours for a check-up There, the team realized that the adult female turtle also had a layer of red on her shell beneath the blue. In other words, it seems like she received a paint job more than once. To make matters worse, the seemingly oil-based paint is exceptionally touch, layered, and difficult to remove, says Poindexter. “Putting paints and chemicals that were never intended for an animal onto that shell is simply not something we should be doing to wildlife,” she explains, emphasizing that a shell is part of the turtle’s body and skeletal system and it grows and mends itself along...

Terrapene triunguis in a vintage natural-history emblem celebrating one of the state’s distinctive regional reptiles. Its domed carapace, earthy-colored markings, and recognizable three-toed hind-feet...

Terrapene triunguis in a vintage natural-history emblem celebrating one of the state’s distinctive regional reptiles. Its domed carapace, earthy-colored markings, and recognizable three-toed hind-feet...