Photo by Sandy Wolkenberg, CC BY · source · credits
Variations
4 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Painted turtle
Active basker.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
- Painted turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Painted turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Painted turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Care and water
Behavior
Active basker.
Food
Pellets, greens, insects.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Males have long front claws, a longer, thicker tail and are smaller; females are larger.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Egg-layer (substrate spawner) · Moderate
Females nest on land from late May to July and may lay two or three clutches a year; hatchlings often overwinter in the nest.
Buy a pair of adults.
A large pond with a nesting area.
A cool winter and warm spring.
About 2-20 eggs per clutch (typically 5-9); hatch in 72-80 days.
Hatchlings eat insects and pellets.
- Poor water
- No basking
- No nest site
Where it lives in the wild
The story of the painted turtle
The most widely distributed North American turtle, with yellow stripes on the head, neck and legs and red markings on the shell edge.
German naturalist J. G. Schneider described the painted turtle in 1783, at first in another genus. It is the most widespread native turtle of North America. Its bright yellow and red markings made it a familiar backyard and aquarium turtle.
First described by Johann G. Schneider in 1783.
- Hatchlings in the north can survive partial freezing while overwintering in the nest.
- Four subspecies are usually recognised across its huge range.
- Adults can spend the winter under ice, surviving with very little oxygen.
Sources
9 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Reptile (aquatic turtle), not a fish. The Reptile Database lists only three subspecies (picta, bellii, marginata) and treats the southern painted turtle as a separate species, Chrysemys dorsalis (Starkey et al. 2003), though this is debated. So the legacy 'Southern painted' variant may be C. dorsalis. Needs a basking site and land for nesting.
Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Painted Turtle · The Reptile Database: Chrysemys picta - Familycorrected
New value (legacy had none).
The Reptile Database: Chrysemys picta - Size
Carapace length (CL). Typical adults 11.5-15 cm (CT); 18 cm is a large adult. The western subspecies is larger: NPS (Bighorn Canyon, western painted) gives 'males range from 4 ½ to 7 inches and the females range from 8 to 11 inches'.
Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Painted Turtle · Connecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government) - Lifespancorrected
Sourced range 20-40 years vs legacy 25-40; small change to the lower bound.
Connecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government) · US National Park Service, Bighorn Canyon: Painted Turtle (government) - Where it livescorrected
New value (legacy had none). Reptile Database also lists Chihuahua, Mexico and introductions (e.g. Florida, California, Germany, Spain, Indonesia, Philippines).
The Reptile Database: Chrysemys picta · Connecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government) - Male or femaleConnecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government) · US National Park Service, Bighorn Canyon: Painted Turtle (government)
- BreedingIllinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Painted Turtle · Connecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government)
- Eggs and youngcorrected
Clutch size varies by region and subspecies (CT 2-11, NPS western 2-20, INHS 8-9 typical). Incubation 72-80 days vs legacy 60-80.
Connecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government) · US National Park Service, Bighorn Canyon: Painted Turtle (government) · Illinois Natural History Survey (University of Illinois): Painted Turtle - StoryConnecticut DEEP Wildlife fact sheet: Painted Turtle (government)