1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Active, shy and needs clean water; may eat small fish.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Active, shy and needs clean water; may eat small fish.
Check your local laws. US: live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length and viable eggs may not be sold or distributed commercially (FDA, 21 CFR 1240.62; exceptions for science/education/exhibition, non-business transfers and export). CITES: all map turtles (Graptemys spp.) are in Appendix II since 23 Feb 2023, so international trade needs CITES permits. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Needs a basking dock with UV and heat lamp and deep water. Never house with fish.
Pellets, snails and vegetation.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are much smaller (shell 7.5-14 cm vs up to 24 cm) with long front claws and the vent behind the shell rim; females are larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate
Mates in the water from early April through May (some autumn mating). From May into July females lay 2-3 clutches of about 6-15 eggs in open sandy or loose soil, usually at dusk or dawn. Eggs hatch in late summer or early autumn; embryos and hatchlings make clicking sounds in the nest.
Pair.
Large tank with basking spot.
Winter cooling.
About 6-15 eggs per clutch in Missouri (about 19 per clutch in Illinois), 2-3 clutches a season; eggs about 35 x 22 mm, hatching in late summer or early autumn.
Hatchlings are fully independent: house them in shallow warm water with a basking spot and feed small pellets, worms and daphnia daily.
A map turtle of large central US rivers, olive with a road-map pattern of yellow lines, a keeled saw-edged shell and a large, wide yellow mark behind each eye plus yellow spots under the eye and on the jaw. It basks on logs over the water and rarely comes onto land except to nest.
American herpetologist Fred Cagle described this map turtle in 1953. It was named after the Ouachita River. It is common in rivers of the central US.
First described by Fred R. Cagle in 1953. Named for Named after the Ouachita River.
9 facts checked with sources
Reptile (aquatic turtle), not a fish. Described as a subspecies of G. pseudogeographica; INHS says elevated to species by Vogt (1980), MDC says 1993. The legacy alias "sabine map" is wrong: the Sabine map turtle is now its own species, G. sabinensis (Reptile Database; INHS still lists it as a subspecies). Hybridises with the northern false map turtle in Missouri, so trade animals can be intergrades. Reptile Database quote is from the fetch tool's reading.
Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Ouachita Map Turtle · Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government) · The Reptile Database: Graptemys ouachitensisNew value.
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government)Carapace length. Females up to 24 cm (MDC; INHS 22 cm); males only 7.5-14 cm. Legacy 20 cm is below the female maximum; the larger well-sourced figure is used.
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government) · Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Ouachita Map TurtleNew value. Legacy story said "central USA", which agrees. Reptile Database also notes an introduced population in Germany (Schloddarick et al. 2026).
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government) · Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Ouachita Map Turtle · The Reptile Database: Graptemys ouachitensisLegacy agrees.
Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Ouachita Map Turtle · Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government)Legacy "lays 6-12 eggs" is close; the sourced range is 6-15 (about 19 per clutch in Illinois).
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government)Legacy said 6-12 eggs. Incubation length not given.
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government) · Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Ouachita Map TurtleLegacy ("bright yellow postocular mark; found in the central USA") is supported.
Missouri Department of Conservation: Ouachita Map Turtle (government)Corrected by the coordinator of this check: the CoP19 proposal as submitted covered five broad-headed species, but the USFWS reports that the adopted listing covers all map turtles (Appendix II, in force 23 Feb 2023).
eCFR 21 CFR 1240.62 Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements · USFWS press release: Critical progress at CITES CoP19 (Nov 2022) · USFWS: Ancient reptiles need modern regulations