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 Pet Central
Q&A
Q: How long does
the average box turtle live? -- H.H., Phoenix, AR
A: In the wild,
young box turtles have a high mortality rate. Those that manage to celebrate
their second birthday have only one primary predator to deal with: automobiles.
Those that don't become road kill may live 70 to 100 years. In captivity,
the record age is 45, according to Ron Humbert, former president of the
Chicago Herpetological Society, who has been raising box turtles for 40
years. But he's sure they can live much longer; there are anecdotal accounts
of pet box turtles reaching 65 to 80 years.
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