Painted Turtle

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) is a reptile that is common in southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico and is related to other water turtles such as sliders and cooters. This turtle lives in ponds, lakes, marshes, and in slow-moving rivers that have soft, muddy bottoms. The maximum carapace size, or shell length, for painted turtles is or 25 cm (10 in.). Its shell is used to protect it from its predators. The skin of an adult Pai... more

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) is a reptile that is common in southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico and is related to other water turtles such as sliders and cooters. This turtle lives in ponds, lakes, marshes, and in slow-moving rivers that have soft, muddy bottoms. The maximum carapace size, or shell length, for painted turtles is or 25 cm (10 in.). Its shell is used to protect it from its predators. The skin of an adult Painted Turtle's head, neck, feet and tail, and the carapace-edge (marginal) scutes have a red and yellow striped design that gives the appearance of having been hand-painted. The plastron, depending on the subspecies, can be entirely yellowish or yellowish-orange, mostly yellowish with a dark pattern in the center, or may have a bold, elaborate pattern of yellow, orange, red and dark gray. The background skin tone of the painted turtle varies from olive green to solid black. The Painted turtle is the only species in the genus Chrysemys. It... less