The Spotted turtle has yellow spots on the head, neck, legs, and upper shell or carapace. Background coloration is black. The number and arrangement of spots is extremely variable and changes with age. Hatchling turtles usually have one spot on each plate, while older individuals are well sprinkled with 100 or more. Occasionally, individuals without any spots on the shells may be found, but they still have yellow and orange markings on the face. The lower shell or plastron is yellow and black in color. Male spotted turtles have dark pigment on the hard portions of both jaws; females have yellowish coloration there.
Ten Facts about Spotted Turtle
- Spotted turtles measure 3.5-5.0 inches (9-12.7 cm) in length.
- The breeding season extends from March to May.
- When the female is ready for mating, she lets one male catch her and allows him to climb onto her back. He grasps her shell with all four feet, positions his tail next to hers, and mates with her.
- The female digs the nest, measuring 2 inches deep and 2 inches in diameter, with her hind legs and feet.
- She begins to lay the eggs. Only 3-4 eggs are laid.
- Sexual maturity is reached in 8-10 years.
- Most individuals live for at least 25 years.
- Diet consists of snails, worms, slugs, and spiders.
- Populations of this species ranges from southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and Maine southward along the Atlantic Coastal Plain to central Florida, and westward through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, northeastern Illinois, and across the lower peninsula of Michigan.
- Spotted turtles prefer the unpolluted, slow-moving, shallow waters with a soft bottom substrate and some submergent and emergent vegetation which are important components of aquatic habitats used by spotted turtles.
