Gardening for Wildlife â

The Colourful Painted Turtle

Related Terms: animal, reptile, turtle, painted turtle

photo: Wendy Leszkowicz	Â

By Terri-Lee Reid

One of the most common turtles in North America, the painted turtle can be identified by its colourful markings. Similarly coloured males and females have yellow streaks on their heads and necks as well as red markings along the edges of their shells. These bright colours are especially apparent against their green-brown bodies. Females mature at six to 10 years of age whereas males mature much earlier at three to five years. While some may live for 40 years, most painted turtles do not live this long. Shell size can range from 90 to 250 millimetres.

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photo: Arlene Neilson & Gary M. Stolz	Â

In Canada, there are three subspecies of painted turtles: the eastern painted, midland painted and the western painted. As such, painted turtles can be found across Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. One of the differences between these subspecies is the colouration/markings of their plastron (lower shell).

In the wild, painted turtles can be found in slow-moving, quiet and shallow fresh water such as in ponds, lakes, marshes, streams and rivers. They have a preference for waters with mud bottoms, aquatic vegetation and rocks or logs on which they spend their day basking. Where basking sites are scarce, it is not uncommon to see painted turtles stacked upon each other.

Lacking teeth, painted turtles have horny plates that they use to grasp their prey. In addition, their tongue does not move freely. Because of these restraints they find it easier to feed in the water. Starting out life as carnivores they eventually become more herbivorous in their food choices. Common food items include aquatic insects, fish, frogs, snails, tadpoles, carrion, algae and aquatic plants such as milfoil and water lily.

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photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service	Â

Their breeding season begins in the spring with many males chasing a female. The male that catches up to the female strokes her head, encouraging her to follow. Mating occurs on the bottom of the waterway. To lay her eggs, the female typically chooses a south-facing area where the eggs will be subjected to warm temperatures. She then digs a hole and deposits one egg at a time, generally laying between four and 15. When egg-laying is finished, she covers the nest with soil and compacts the nest with her shell and feet.

After incubating for approximately 80 days, the hatchlings begin to emerge out of their soft shells. Sometimes the hatchlings stay in their nest for the winter, emerging in the spring. The sex of the young is determined by temperature during incubation; low temperatures produce males, whereas females are produced by warmer temperatures.

Active during the day, painted turtles spend their nights on the bottom of the waterway and, depending on their region, may spend their winters hibernating in the mud bottom.

There are many dangers that face eggs and hatchlings. They can be eaten by predators such as foxes, mink, raccoons and coyotes. Those that stay in their nest over the winter are sometimes not able to survive the cold temperatures. Adults are very cautious — they enter into the protection of water at the first sign of danger and are able to withdraw their legs and head into their protective shell. But they also fall prey to the same predators mentioned above.

However, predators are not the only threat that painted turtles face. Dealing with the destruction of wetlands, traffic mortality, nest damage and people illegally taking them as pets, painted turtles have a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to survive.

If you live in an area with painted turtles you may be lucky enough to attract some to your property. You would need to create a large pond that doesn't freeze completely in the winter. They prefer ponds with muddy bottoms, aquatic vegetation and don't forget rocks and logs both in and along the sides of the pond for basking. Never take turtles from the wild to put in your pond. If you create habitat with all the right requirements, in time a painted turtle may find it and call it home. In the meantime, you can have fun looking for the other species of wildlife that have found your pond — frogs, salamanders, aquatic insects, dragonflies and damselflies, not to mention all the birds and mammals that will use the vegetation surrounding the pond.

If your property is not large enough to accommodate a turtle pond, explore local wetlands and see if you can spot some in the wild. You may even want to get involved in local efforts to ensure these areas are protected from development.