Western Painted Turtles

Scientific Name: Chrysemys picta bellini. Their scientific name means “golden turtle painted” for the golden color of their bellies and the pattern on their faces. 

Description: Painted turtles have a distinctive yellow striped head and legs with a red rimmed carapace (top shell) and a patterned plastron (bottom shell). They get their name from the ‘painted’ look of the stripes on their body. Painted turtles hatch at just about the size of a quarter. Measuring the length of the carapace, males will grow up to 6 inches in length and females up to 10 inches. Females also tend to have shorter claws than males. Males use their longer claws to grip females during courtship rituals.

Behavior: Painted turtles are often found basking on large rocks and logs. Basking helps them get rid of parasitic leeches. Many hibernate during the winter months by burrowing into the mud. 

They are diurnal (active during day time) and rest either on the bottom of a pond or on a partially submerged object, such as a rock. 

Painted turtles mate from late spring to early summer and eggs are laid in early summer. Females may mate with multiple females in a single season and one clutch can have eggs that developed from multiple different pairings. Females can lay fertilized eggs for up to 2 years after a single mating. Females lay 4 – 15 soft shelled eggs in a hole in soft sandy soil that will stay warm from sunlight. Eggs that develop above 84 degrees Fahrenheit will become female. 

Diet: As omnivores, painted turtles eat a variety of plants and animals. They prefer aquatic insects, crustaceans, plants and algae but will also eat frogs, earthworms, larva and small fish. Will forage for food underwater using their claws to flush out prey. Their heads need to be submerged underwater to be able to swallow their food.

Range and Habitat: Painted turtles are found all across the northern United States and southern Canada. A rare few have been found as far south as northern Mexico. These turtles are highly aquatic and require slow moving, shallow streams, lakes and ponds with muddy bottoms. Their habitat should also have rocks or logs for basking in or near the water.

Fallschirmjager, 2011. Wikipedia Creative Commons.

Conservation: Climate change has been affecting all turtle species. With the generally warmer temperatures, the ratio of male to female turtles hatching has become skewed. Since warmer temperatures mean more females than males, this does mean that there are fewer males to mate with. This leads to less biodiversity within the genetic population and can lead to more genetic mutations.

In Oregon, painted turtles face problems like water pollution, soil erosion and habitat fragmentation. They are considered a critically sensitive species in Oregon due to the dropping population numbers.

How you can help: Doing things like recycling, using less fossil fuels and using fewer single use items can help fight climate change. In Oregon, voting to protect the habitat for the painted turtle will help stop their habitat from being shrunk down. Locals can help make sure to stop water pollution by not littering and cleaning up after themselves or others when outside.