As a nine year old boy living in Lufkin Texas, I was introduced to the wonderful Box Turtle and have enjoyed being their advocate ever since. Before I knew better, I would collect them, care for them, breed them and release them. At one point, I had close to 30! Three toed, Ornate, Eastern and even spotted types. I spent countless hours observing their behavior, mapping their locations, feeding t
hem and learning about them in books. I guess you could say that they were my best friends in many ways. I still remember people coming to our door once they knew of my knowledge. They would ask me questions or bring me a turtle they had found for identification and suggestions on how to care for them. I became know as "Travis, the Turtle Guy." I am now 56 years old and want to join with other advocates in trying to protect these wonderful creatures. I have set up this page as a beginning point to "educate and inform people of the plight of the Box Turtle resulting in advocates for its protection and care." in the not too distant past, I could visit east Texas and see several in the woods, crossing roads and even in the yards I visited. However, in recent years that is no longer the case. This past fall, I saw my first one in over 2 years! Destruction of habitat and being run over by cars are two of the causes, but recent research points to the collecting of box turtles to sell by pet stores as the major culprit in their decilne. I will explain this more in various posts. So, please consider helping me by passing along the information you find on this site and/or becoming an advocate yourself. E-mail me if I can help you in anyway.
