The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is the only species of Chrysemys, a genus of Emydidae. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago, but four regionally based subspecies (the eastern, midland, southern and western) evolved around the last ice age. Its shell is smooth, oval, and flat-bottomed. Its skin is olive to black with distinctive red, orange, or yellow stripes on its extremities.
Ten Facts about Eastern Painted Turtle
- It lives in slow-moving fresh waters from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.
- The painted turtle is 10-25 cm (4-10 in) long and weighs 300-500 g (11-18 oz); females are larger than males.
- The painted turtle is active only during the day, when it can often be seen basking for hours on logs or rocks.
- Mating occurs in spring and fall.
- Sexual maturity: reached at 2-9 years for males and 6-16 years for females.
- Adults in the wild may live for over 40 years.
- The turtle eats aquatic vegetation, algae, and small water creatures including insects, crustaceans, and fish.
- It is preyed upon by snakes, alligators, rodents, birds of prey, and particularly raccoons.
- They find their homes in shallow waters with slow moving currents, such as creeks, marches, ponds, and the shores of lakes.
- Temperatures of 23-27 °C (73-81 °F) produce males, and anything above or below that, females.
