Painted Turtle

Chrysemys picta
Range: Most of the United States excluding the southwest; also
found throughout southern Canada

Habitat: Painted turtles prefer slow moving, permanent waters

but they will not hesitate to move over land or spend time in
ditches, creeks, streams, and ponds. They prefer areas with large
amounts of aquatic vegetation and places to bask in the sun.

Diet: Omnivorous, diet includes aquatic plants, insects,

crustaceans, snails, small fish, leeches, tadpoles, and carrion.

Lifespan: Between 35-40 years, however most individuals will not live that long

Description: Small turtle, usually averaging 6 inches in length, with the female being slightly
larger than the male. The carapace is most often a dark green color with red, orange, and
yellow visible around the edges. The plastron is not hinged, and can be a variety of colors
including yellow, orange, and cream. The skin of both males and females is green and covered
with yellow markings.

Breeding: Courtship occurs at any time during the active season of the year. Males will swim
backwards in front of a potential mate and vibrate his front claws on the females chin and
head. Receptive females will respond by touching the male’s forelegs with her claws. Females
dig a nest cavity and lay between 3 and 20 eggs. Like many reptiles, incubation length and sex
of the babies is dependent upon humidity and temperature. Colder temperatures produce
mostly males.

Behavior/Adaptations: Painted turtles are highly resistant to cold temperatures. They have
been seen swimming under the ice on warm winter days or basking when there is still snow on
the ground. The dark green color of the shell hides the turtle in murky water and protects it
from predators. Other than egg laying and basking, almost all other daily activities take place
underwater.

Predators: Skunks and raccoons have been known to predate on adult painted turtles.
Smaller, juvenile turtles are killed by water birds, bullfrogs, fish, and snakes. Painted turtles
frequently get run over by cars while they are attempting to get to a nesting site or while
building nests on the side of the road.

Conservation: Painted turtles are a common species in North America and are currently not
listed as threatened. However, many turtles die annually due to encounters with vehicles. They
are also susceptible to pollutants, which make them an important indicator species for local
watersheds.

The Zoo’s Painted Turtles: Our painted turtle hatched in 2000 and is female.

Interesting Facts:
• The painted turtle is one of the most common turtle species found in North America.
There are four sub-species of painted turtle, two of which are found in the Great Lakes
region.
 • Hatchlings are usually only 1 inch in length!
• Turtles don’t have vocal chords, but they can make a hissing sound.

Empathy Stories and Messages

• Painted turtles are one of only five species of turtles that can survive in Northern
Minnesota. In the summer, painted turtles breathe air through their nose. In the winter,
they burmate/sleep under the mud on the bottom of lakes and ponds. Since the water is
very cold and they are not moving, they don’t need to breath as much. To stay under
water all winter, painted turtles take in oxygen from the water through their vent, or
butt! Can you imagine spending all winter at the bottom of the pond?

• We think of turtles as being slow, but they can walk as fast as a person (4 mph) and
swim faster than the best Olympic swimmer! Their cousins the tortoises are the slow
ones! Turtles need to be fast because they will hunt fish, insects, and other animals.
Have you ever tried to catch a turtle in the water? Was it easy or hard? We think of
turtles as being slow, but they can walk as fast as a person, about 4 mph, and swim
faster than the best Olympic swimmer! Their cousins the tortoises are the slow ones!
Turtles need to be fast because they will hunt fish, insects, and other animals. Have you
ever tried to catch a turtle in the water? Was it easy or hard?

Lake Superior Zoo Conservation Message

Story (ages 6 and up): Turtles live in a wetland habitat that can be easily polluted. When it
rains, the water can carry pollution from lawns, streets, and sidewalks to the lowest part of the
land. Often, the lowest part of the land is where the ponds, rivers, lakes, and streams are
located. This makes wetlands more easily polluted than other places.
What you can do: Make sure trash goes into the garbage and reuse and recycle what you can.
By keeping garbage off the street, we are keeping it from blowing into wetlands. We must also
be careful about fertilizers and other chemicals we put on our lawns. Any chemical that is put
on our lawns can wash into the sewer and end up in a nearby wetland.

Story (ages 9 and up): For many turtles, whether their young hatch as female or male
depends on their temperature while they’re in the egg. Eggs exposed to warmer temperatures
tend to produce females, while cooler temperatures tend to produce males. A warming climate
could mean more females hatch than males, (or the eggs get too warm to hatch at all) which
would make it harder for the turtles to reproduce each generation afterwards.
What you can do: Saving energy helps to reduce carbon, which reduces the effects of climate
change. We can help animals like turtles by asking our parents if we can walk/ride our bike to
our friends’ houses instead of driving. We can also conserve energy to reduce the amount of
greenhouse gasses by turning off lights when we leave a room, and unplugging electronics that
aren’t being used.

Information taken from the following sources:

Harding, James. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. Ann Arbor: The University of
Michigan Press, 1997
Walls, Jerry. Cooters, Sliders & Painted Turtles. New Jersey: T.H.F. Publications, 1996
http://www.torontozoo.com/animals/details.asp?AnimalId=483
https://www.warnernaturecenter.org/animals/paintedturtle