Nice to see someone that appreciates a good shovel with a long handle and built to do the job. Short handled shovels are back breakers, unless you are one of the little people. A cheap long handled shovel is a wallet breaker because it doesn't last if you're working it regularly, even with respect. One of the hardest things for a new hire on a landscape crew to learn is that a shovel is not a pry bar.

Yes, both are Box Turtles,the lighter one is certainly a boy, and the darker one might be a girl. Sometimes this can cause color variations, but often it is just genetics, sort of like in humans. Sliders (and Cooters, and other water turtles in that family) have much less domed shells, probably for pushing through the water, plus, they can get much larger.

Box turtles have become popular pets, although their needs in captivity are complex. Most turtle and tortoise societies recommend against box turtles as pets for small children. Box turtles are easily stressed by over-handling and require more care than is generally thought. They require an outdoor enclosure, consistent exposure to the sun and a varied diet. Without these, a turtle's growth can be stunted and its immune system weakened. Indiana and other states have laws against collecting the turtles from the wild. In many states, it is illegal to keep them without a permit. Collecting box turtles from the wild may damage their populations, as these turtles have a low reproduction rate. Is it a male or a female?To distinguish between a male and a female box turtle, it is simplest to turn the turtle over and examine its plastron. The male usually has a concave area centered posterior to the hinge. This adaptation apparently aids the male's ability to climb on top of the female during mating. Once maturity is reached, the chance of death seems not to increase with age. The survivorship curve of box turtles is therefore probably similar to that of other long-living turtles. The average life span of adult box turtles is 50 years, while a significant proportion lives over 100 years. The age of a growing box turtle in the wild can be roughly estimated by counting the growth rings on the scutes; the plastron is the best place to do this because it also allows examination of wear pattern. box turtles can close very tightly to protect themselves from predators. While the shell of an adult box turtle is impenetrable to virtually any animal, they do not always close in a case of threat. North American box turtles are omnivores with a very varied diet as box turtles "basically eat anything it can catch". Invertebrates (amongst others insects, earth worms, millipedes) form the principal component, but the diet also consists for a large part (reports range from 30-90%) of vegetation. The diet is amended with fruits (amongst others from cacti, apples and several species of berry). Prior to hibernation, box turtles tend to move further into the woods, where they dig a chamber for overwintering. Ornate box turtles dig chambers up to 50 centimeters, while Eastern box turtles hibernate at depth of about 10 centimeters. The location for overwintering can be up to 0.5 km from the summer habitat and is often in close proximity to that of the previous year. So, maybe if you let it go, it will stick around. Because box turtles occupy a wide variety of habitats (which both vary on a day-to-day, season-to-season, but also species-to-species basis), a standard box turtle habitat can not be identified. There is no telling when exactly your turtle will go into hibernation. Although, it is not to late to set it free and let nature take its course. I think what you need to hear is that it will be just fine. If I'm not late and probably am, hope this will educate for future box turtle encounters So,wish it luck and set it free in a box-turtle-like environment and hopefully you have set it free. Nature is cruel but we don't have to be. That turtle has over gone thousands of years of evolution and survival ... It knows what to do. Good luck. This post was edited by Soleil.Blume.Hooke on Sat, Dec 15, 12 at 17:52

Thanks everyone for sharing in my joy! To Rhizo. When I got him from the pet store, a kid had dropped him a few days before and he has a scrape and a bit missing from his shell. Also I live in the high desert so there won't be very many box turtles wandering around :-) To kitasmommie: there must be something at your house that he likes; do you have flowers or something near the garage? Your yard must be in the boundaries of its territory and something draws it to your yard the same time every year.