Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   containing:
      Dead Down Woody Debris

2nd alternative:
      (Any Emergent Wetland or Bog)

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Ponds, lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams and rivers are all homes to painted turtles. They prefer shallow water with a muddy bottom and ample aquatic vegetation and often move overland to find suitable habitat. Many are killed while attempting to cross roads. Painted turtles tolerate organic pollution and even survive in urban areas. Painted turtles feed in water on a variety of foods including aquatic plants, insects, snails, crayfish, tadpoles, small fish, and carrion.

Females nest from late May into July, seeking sunny sites with slightly moist sand or soil near the water.

Eastern Painted Turtle

Habitat: Quiet, shallow ponds, marshes, woodland pools, rivers, lake shores, wet meadows, bogs, and slow-moving streams. Stagnant and polluted waters are sometimes inhabited. When in water, usually remains in submerged vegetation. Basks on small hummocks logs, rocks, sometimes congregating in large groups. Hibernates by burrowing into mud or decayed vegetation of pond bottoms.

Special Habitat Requirements: Aquatic habitat

Nest sites within a few yards of water or up to one-half mile away.

Habitat: Painted turtles prefer quiet shallow ponds, marshes, bogs, and slow-moving streams. They thrive where submerged vegetation and basking areas are abundant. During the evening they sleep on the bottom of a pond or in shallow water among submergent vegetation. Painted turtles hibernate on the muddy bottom of ponds and lakes and are one of the first turtle species to come out of hibernation in spring; they have been noticed swimming beneath ice. In May, painted turtles may migrate between bodies of water, sometimes in large numbers, and may even be seen feeding on land.