Cropped version of photo by Postdlf from wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Most box turtles don’t swim much and just take short baths in shallow waters. But the Coahuilan box turtle (T. coahuila) is actually aquatic. That is, it spends much of its life in the water.
It’s a medium-sized box turtle that lives in a very small area in Mexico. Destruction of its marshland home threatens its existence.
You’ll most likely never own one, and you may never even see one. But it’s still fun to learn a little about all the different kinds of box turtles.
What the Coahuilan Box Turtle Looks Like
T. coahuila is a pretty animal that’s usually about 6 to 7 inches (15-18 cm) long.
Its carapace is elongated and dark, usually a solid gray or brown. It may have a central keel, but it’s much less obvious than in other box turtle species.
The head is also grayish and may have some darker splotches as well.
Unlike many other T. c. subspecies, the males of this turtle often have brown eyes. Females’ eyes are usually a pale gray color.
Babies are often born with brighter coloring. But this fades quickly.
Where and How the Coahuilan Box Turtle Lives
This animal has possibly the smallest range of all the box turtles. It lives only around (where else?) Coahuila, Mexico. Unfortunately, agriculture in this area may be making its home even smaller as time goes on.
Cropped and annotated version of image by Makeemlighter,Used under CC BY-SA 3.0
It is considered the only truly aquatic American box turtle. It still likes shallow waters like its cousins, living in the slow-moving, muddy marshlands of the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin. But it spends much more time in the water. And it will venture into deeper water in search of food.
It even mates in the water.
Because it lives in such a small area, the population tends to be dense (a lot of turtles packed together into that small area). So destruction of even a small part of their already small range could be disastrous for them.
What T. c. coahuila Eats
Like other box turtles, this one is opportunistic and an omnivore. So it eats pretty much whatever it can find when it finds it.
It eats both in and out of water. So it’ll eat not only the usual insects and worms, but fish too. It’s really not picky.
Although you’ll probably not have reason to feed one, it would most likely be pretty easy to keep one happy food-wise.