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This snapping turtle is said to be more than a century old--I believe it was rescued decades ago from a seafood restaurant in Louisiana (where it was an attraction, not a menu offering).
I found this Painted Turtle just north of Seattle, Washington in the middle of a busy street during rush hour. Here he is in the plastic tub that I had in my car. We released him into the wild away from roadways.
While we were driving back to Athens from Meteora, we saw a turtle attempting to cross a mountain road. I carried him to the other side so he'd be safe but he was too shy after being carried to come out for the picture.
(Pseudemys rubriventris) The northern red-bellied turtle or American red-bellied turtle . It is endemic to the United States. The current range of the red-bellied cooter includes a colony in Massachusetts which was previously a separate species (Pseudemys rubriventris bangsii) as well as the coastal areas of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
June evening at Lake Maria State Park, MN. See a painted turtle in the grass and get out to get a few photos and expect it to run off like most painted turtles do, but it didn't. It was digging in the ground a hole and thought it was strange and then the first egg popped into the hole and watched her drop 8 eggs into the hole and then covered the hole and walked back to the lake.
It's hard to make out the actual size from these photos, but this guy's shell was about 13 inches long. Head to tail he is probably closer to 18 inches.
Didn't want to mess with him too much as we weren't certain if he was a snapping turtle or not (he's not; snapping turtles look a whole lot meaner). Went inside for a bit as humidity was hovering around a billion percent and when we checked again he had vanished.
I guess this is probably a "Red-eared Slider", as it looks the same as my last turtle shot, which I looked up at the time.
midland or western painted turtle found near a pond at my aunt's farm
we bugged him a little then let him go
Basking in the little bit of sun at Mill Lake, Abbotsford, B.C. British Columbia's only remaining pond turtle species. Considered vulnerable.
It's been a very long time since my last upload. Life sure has gotten in the way of photography for almost a year. I suppose getting married and buying a house will do that to a girl ;)
As I am going through and purging photos I no longer want to keep I stumbled upon this picture I took last year while hiking. I titled this photo Frank because, well, he looks like a Frank to me. Quite an inquisitive fella who didn't mind me getting a closer look at him. It's not often you see turtles this large in our area...So as you can imagine I was pretty excited to find this fella (or he found me).
I hope to be back to shooting more regularly in the coming weeks :)
The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is a subspecies of pond slider. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States and also popular in the rest of the world. It is native only to the southern United States, but has become established in other places because of pet releases.
Red-eared sliders get their name from the distinctive red mark around their ears. The "slider" part of their name comes from their ability to slide off rocks and logs and into the water quickly. This species was previously known as Troost's turtle in honor of an American herpetologist; Trachemys scripta troostii is now the scientific name for another subspecies, the Cumberland slider.
Red-eared sliders are almost entirely aquatic, but leave the water to bask in the sun and lay eggs. These reptiles are deceptively fast and are also decent swimmers. They hunt for prey and will attempt to capture it when the opportunity presents itself. They are aware of predators and people, and generally shy away from them. The red-eared slider is known to frantically slide off rocks and logs when approached.
Contrary to the popular misconception, red-eared sliders do not have saliva. They, like most aquatic turtles, have fixed tongues, so they must eat their food in water.
The female red-eared slider grows to be 25–33 cm (10–13 in) in length and males 20–25 cm (8–10 in). The red stripe on each side of the head distinguishes the red-eared slider from all other North American species. The carapace (top shell) is oval and flattened (especially in the male), has a weak keel that is more pronounced in the young, and the rear marginal scutes are notched. The carapace usually consists of a dark green background with light and dark highly variable markings. The plastron (bottom shell) is yellow with dark, paired, irregular markings in the center of most scutes. The plastron is highly variable in pattern. The head, legs, and tail are green with fine, yellow, irregular lines. Some dimorphism occurs between males and females. Male turtles are usually smaller than females but their tail is much longer and thicker. Claws are elongated in males which facilitate courtship and mating. Typically, the cloacal opening of the female is at or under the rear edge of the carapace, while the male's opening occurs beyond the edge of the carapace. Older males can sometimes have a melanistic coloration, being a dark grayish-olive green, with markings being very subdued. The red stripe on the sides of the head may be difficult to see or be absent.
Red-eared sliders are omnivores and eat a variety of animal and plant materials in the wild including, but not limited to, fish, crayfish, carrion, tadpoles, snails, crickets, wax worms, aquatic insects and numerous aquatic plant species. The captive diet for pet red-eared sliders should be a varied diet consisting of invertebrates such as worms, aquatic and land plants, and other natural foods. They should never be fed commercial dog food or cat food. Calcium (for shell health) can be supplemented by adding pieces of cuttlebone to the diet, or with commercially available vitamin and mineral supplements. A nutritious food readily accepted by young turtles is baby clams soaked in krill oil covered with powdered coral calcium. Younger turtles tend to be more carnivorous (eat more animal protein) than adults. As they grow larger and older, they become increasingly herbivorous. Live foods are particularly enjoyed and add to the quality of life of captive turtles. Providing a wide variety of foods is the key to success with captive red-eared sliders. For pet red eared slider turtles, one can feed them treats occasionlly, like shrimp, chicken, cucumbers, or tomatoes. Larger turtles have been known to prey upon younger turtles.
Courtship and mating activities for red-eared sliders usually occur between March and July, and take place under water. The male swims toward the female and flutters or vibrates the back side of his long claws on and around her face and head. The female swims toward the male and, if she is receptive, sinks to the bottom for mating. If the female is not receptive, she may become aggressive towards the male. The courtship can take up to 45 minutes, but the mating itself usually takes only 10 to 15 minutes.[citation needed]
Sometimes a male will appear to be courting another male. This is actually a sign of dominance, and they may begin to fight. Juveniles may display the courtship dance, but until the turtles are five years of age, they are not mature and are unable to mate.
After mating, the female spends extra time basking to keep her eggs warm. She may also have a change of diet, eating only certain foods or not eating as much as she normally would. Mating begins in May and egg-laying occurs in May through early July. A female might lay from two to 30 eggs, with larger females having larger clutches. One female can lay up to five clutches in the same year, and clutches are usually spaced twelve to thirty-six days apart. The time between mating and egg laying can be days or weeks.
New York Aquarium Coney Island NY
Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina
Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge
Mashpee, MA
This Box Turtle crossed our path when out for a walk this afternoon. If you look closely, you can see annual growth rings on the scutes of the turtle's carapace. Count them, and you will have a fairly accurate idea of how many years old the turtle is. I am guessing that this old coot was close to thirty years old or more!
Is anyone familiar with who might have painted the white spot on his shell?
(Eretmochelys imbricata) Having a snack at Mainit, Anilao. - The hawksbill is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It is also listed as endangered throughout its range by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. An exhaustive review of the worldwide conservation status concluded that the hawksbill is suspected or known to be declining in 38 of 65 geopolitical units where information is available. (www.turtles.org)