Chrysemys picta picta
Eastern Painted Turtles
are water turtles. They can grow up to nine inches long.
They are black with smooth, flattened shells. The top part of a
turtle's shell is called a carapace. The carapace has many
small plates called scutes. The Eastern Painted Turtle has
thick lines between its scutes. This turtle also has red
markings around the edges of its carapace. Michael Tuma
The bottom part of the turtle's shell is called the plastron. The plastron of the Eastern Painted Turtle is yellow.
These turtles also have yellow and red stripes on their necks, legs, and tails.
Michael Tuma
Eastern Painted Turtles
live in marshes,
lakes, ponds, rivers, and slow-moving streams. They prefer
water with lots of plants, and logs they can climb out
on. These turtles bask in
large groups. Basking is when the turtles leave the water to
soak up sunlight. This helps them warm up, since they are
cold-blooded, and gets rid of parasites,
such as leeches, which don't like the sun. Michael Tuma
Sometimes painted
turtles bask with other turtles, such as the larger Red-eared Slider.
If any of the turtles sense danger, they will all quickly dive into
the water.
Eastern Painted Turtles are our most common turtle. They breed in the Spring, and females dig nests from May to July.
First, she will climb a little ways onto the shore. She will then dig a hole that is close enough to the water so that the bottom of the hole will have some water in it. The hole she digs will be about four inches deep. Next, she lays her eggs in the hole; each egg is about an inch long. The female then fills the hole back up to hide her nest. Painted turtles do not raise their young. Baby turtles will hatch and dig their way out of the nest in about 10 weeks.
The sex of the turtles is decided by temperature. If the temperature in the nest was very warm, all the baby turtles will be females. If it wasn't warm enough, then all the babies will be males. Many predators will eat the young turtles.
Mark Moran
Eastern Painted Turtles eat many plants, including duckweed, algae, and water lilies. They also eat earthworms, insects, leeches, snails, crayfish, tadpoles, frogs, fish, and carrion. Carrion is dead animal matter.
Animals that prey on Eastern Painted Turtles include: herons, raccoons, larger turtles, crows, large fish, snakes, crows, hawks, bullfrogs, and foxes.
Eastern Painted Turtles hibernate in the Winter.
Copyright, John White
Copyright, John White
Relationships in Nature:
Red-eared Slider Mu
Relationship to Humans:
Eastern Painted Turtles are not eaten as often as larger turtles, such as snapping turtles. They are good controllers of insects, snails, leeches, algae, and other pesky organisms. Painted turtles do not bite, but they have sharp claws which can scratch you when they try to get away. Remember to always wash your hands right away after handling a turtle, because they sometimes carry bacteria which can cause diseases.