When Macksim Brown was nine, he became interested in box turtles – called terrapins by locals, but pronounced more like “tarpin”.
The Cherokee word for the box turtle – which is from the genus of Terrapene – is said to be “Daksi”.
Now at age 10, Macksim has ten box turtles, all named. There is Junebug, Jenny, Lolo, Alvin, Cloe, Watermelon, Lexi, Jasmine, Aladdin, and Tripod, who only has three legs.
Most of the turtles were found in the woods or along roadsides, where they were in danger of being struck by vehicles.
Jasmine showed up at the turtle farm on her own. Perhaps she was looking for a boyfriend.
Macksim has done a lot of research and can tell you all about the turtles. He says that turtles will eat a wide variety of items for food including watermelon, cucumbers, earthworms, mealworms, boiled eggs, cantaloupe and bananas. The turtles are fed daily by Macksim.
When cold weather arrives, the turtles bury themselves in the ground and usually emerge in March. On cool mornings, they like to sleep in and are not very active until the sun has warmed the earth.
Macksim can tell whether a turtle is a male or female. He says the males have reddish-orange eyes while the females have dark brown eyes. Also, the females have shorter tails.
Macksim said the males are defensive of their territory and will fight each other. Junebug bit Alvin and the two had to be separated.
Only one turtle has wandered off and never returned. The rest stay around in the yard. Box turtles in the wild seldom travel more than a mile from where they were hatched and can live up to 50 years. The females lay eggs and cover them with dirt.
The box turtle plays a prominent place in Cherokee lore. The design on the turtle’s shell symbolizes the 13 phases of the Cherokee calendar. Turtle shells were used as rattles in ceremonies and used to carry dirt for ceremonial mounds.
The box turtle is the state reptile for both North Carolina and Tennessee.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the Graham County Rescue Squad. Email him at mcclungs@email.com.