Jared's Turtle Blog

Life Cycle

Painted Turtles start their life breaking through the shell of an egg with their “egg tooth”. An egg tooth is a small sharp nub on the turtle’s beak that is just used to break through the shell and eventually comes off. At this stage they are called hatchlings. The hatchlings (only about an inch in shell length) race as fast as they can towards the pond or lake water, still learning how to use their legs. Amazingly they are pretty good at it even though they were just born. Swimming also comes fairly naturally to them, but they get even better over time. The next stage is when they become juveniles. Now they are a bit bigger and are better at getting food and surviving. Painted turtles mature at ages anywhere from 5 to 12 years, depending on the gender of the turtle. They can be between five inches to twelve inches long. Once they are mature they will find a mate. The pregnant female turtles crawl up onto the beach of the lake or pond yearly and find a safe, easy place to dig a nest. She then lays up to twenty eggs and fills the hole with sand, gravel, or dirt. Painted turtles live over 20 years old, so they can lay many eggs in their lifetime. Once the egg hatches and new hatchlings pop out, the process repeats, again, again, and again.

Habitat and Distribution

Where do painted turtles feel at home? Well any sort of pond, lake or marsh is an ideal location for a painted turtle. A slow flowing river would do but they don’t enjoy fast moving water or rapids. They like a place with relatively shallow water and a log or rock poking out of the water to bask in the sun. They like to have a muddy bottom in their aquatic space with abundant plant growth.
Where can I find a painted turtle? In Canada you can find them only in very southern areas. (Just before the border to the United States) They are found in the “bottom” part of all southern Canadian provinces. In the U.S. you can find painted turtles in almost all the eastern states, a bunch of the central states and a few of the north-western states.

Identification

Well what does it look like? It may be hard to distinguish a painted turtle from most pond turtles from a first glance, but if you flip it over you will notice a bright red plastron (lower shell) with black markings. Or with different species of painted turtle, a more plain yellow plastron. The carapace (upper shell) of the painted turtle is a dark olive color. Also they have bright yellow markings on their neck, limbs and tail. There is also a thin red rim around the outer edge of the carapace, and some more yellow markings. These turtles have a rounder shell than other turtles like map turtles, which have pointed ridges on top.

Diet

A painted turtle’s diet consists mainly of vegetables and plant matter. They will also eat many other things including: crayfish, insects, worms, small fish and frogs. Since painted turtles have a wide range of foods to eat, it must make it easier to survive.

Difference in gender

Without special testing you cannot determine whether a painted turtle is male or female at a very young age. However, once they get older and more mature there are a few easy ways to tell what gender a painted turtle is. The first one is that males have fatter longer tails compared to females. Next is the cloacal opening on the female is very close to the tail base, and on a male it is closer to the tip of the tail.

Image Credit: WesternPaintedTurtle0655-web by Earth Sanctuary

How do I know when my turtle is sick?

It is important to me and probably all turtle owners to know about the health of my/their turtle. Some things that may mean that your turtle is sick are clogged nostrils or blocked airways and fungus or diseases growing on the turtles shell. Other things could be: Major changes in the turtles behavior and not eating.

My turtle won’t eat!

This could mean a few things. One is that the turtle is not comfortable in it’s habitat (Especially when you first get it). Another is that you have previously been over-feeding the turtle.
Also the turtle could have a sickness so don’t completely ignore it. If it goes on for a long time, then you have to help it.
My turtle would not eat for a month or so but he is perfectly fine now. He seemed to be just not hungry. I think he was getting used to his new habitat.

How Do I Help My Turtle?

The best thing that you can do for your turtle is bring it to a vet. If there is one available in your area then you should take your turtle to a reptile specialist or someone who has a lot of knowledge on turtles. I have never had to take my turtles to the vet but I think that they give you medication for your turtle or if it is a shell fungus, something to rub on the shell.

Edited by: Max and Jordan

Green Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are large turtles that live in the ocean. They can reach 1.5 meters in length. Sea turtles are mostly herbivores meaning they eat plants, not meat. They feed mainly on sea-grass, but are known to sometimes eat jellyfish.

Like all turtles, green sea turtles need to bask (aka sun tan). Basking prevents algae from growing on their shells. Turtles will bask on the beach for many hours at a time.

Sea turtles usually live to be about 80 years old if they reach maturity. I think that it is amazing that they can live that long! The only real dangers for these turtles are humans and sometimes large sharks. When they first hatch, they have many more creatures to worry about. These are: Crabs, seagulls, raccoons, other birds etc.

These large, graceful, ocean dwelling reptiles are sadly endangered.

The reason why they are threatened is mainly because of getting caught in fishing nets. The other reasons are habitat loss, caused by development near or on nesting sites, and pollution of course.

Although green sea turtles lay almost 200 eggs, many of them don’t survive their first night of hatching, because of predators, or because the city lights lead them the wrong way when they are trying to follow moonlight into the water. People sell “turtle safe” lights that prevent this from happening. I don’t think that will help a lot though.

Green sea turtles live mainly in tropical waters, but migrate to different places.

The good news is that there are groups that are trying to save the sea turtles!

Post edited by: Jordan and Jack

Image Credits: Honu (Green Sea Turtle) by kahunapulej, and Beaching by jurvetson

Happy Birthday Squirt!

On September 12, 2011, Squirt had her first birthday! I have never celebrated a turtles birthday before so we both had an experience. We made a cake (not for her to eat) and sang happy birthday. While we were singing, Squirt spent the whole time hiding in her shell. I guess she didn’t like it that much. For her present, we got her a can of tuna. She enjoyed that very much!

I am very proud to be a turtle owner for a whole year now. The time seemed to pass by so quick. You know what they say: “Time fly’s when you’re having fun.”

When I first got him.

More Recent

Photos taken by me!

After my really fun and exciting summer, I am back at my blog. I will try to create some more posts as soon as possible!

Thanks for visiting and commenting!

Image Credit:

Florida’s Gopher Tortoise – By: minds-eye

Do NOT let it bite you! Alligator snapping turtles have the second most powerful jaws of any animal on earth. This makes it a great hunter. Also, in its mouth, there is a worm-like appendage to attract  fish. The fish swims into the open mouth of the snapping turtle, but  instead of getting a meal, it is turned into a meal. I wonder how alligator snapping turtles can handle waiting at the bottom of a pond with their mouths open until a fish comes by. I know I couldn’t!

The dark shell of the alligator snapping turtle makes it easy to blend in with mud on the bottom of a pond or lake.

Alligator snapping turtles eat all types of meat: fish, amphibians, snakes, turtles,  or any other variety of animal found in a lake or pond.

Alligator snapping turtles can be two and a half feet long! Imagine having one that big as a pet. You would need a big aquarium!

Would you want to have an alligator snapping turtle as a pet? Why or why not?

Image from: animal.discovery.com

Edited by: Daniel and Zach

When I can’t think of the name of African side-neck turtles, I call them happy face turtles. I find they always have a happy smile in every picture I see of them. African side-neck turtles get their name because when they hide away in their shells, their neck is bent sideways.

Usually they get no bigger than 12 inches long. (Pretty big) African side-neck turtles can live for about 16 years in captivity. They eat a lot of things including: Fish, crayfish, and all different kinds of worms.

If only they lived near me.

Image from sandfiredragonranch.com

edited by: Liam and Jordan

Box turtles  are unlike most turtles I know of. Instead of spending most of their time in water, they are normally roaming around on land, like a tortoise. The thing I like most about them is their amazing coloration. Box turtles are found in woody grassland areas, always with a pond or lake nearby. Their diet consists of fruits, green vegetables, chicken and I’ve seen them being fed meal worms before. They eat more meat when they’re young and more vegetables when they’re older. If you have one as a pet, it may outlive you. Some live for up to 100 years! Box turtles can be 6 – 8 inches long as an adult.

I hope you enjoyed my post. If you have any questions relating to box turtles, please comment!

Image credit: easternboxturtle 13130607 by: Sharon Taylor Photography of Kettering

Edited by:  Molly and My Mom

Who new a glass box could be made so cool! I have a 55 gallon aquarium with two cute little turtles living in it. I have added stones for the bottom and a rock sculpture thing in the center. The fake plants make it very pond-like and are a great hiding spot for the turtles. Also, I have two live aquarium plants that the turtles can nibble on.

To keep it clean, I have three small filters. The filters also keep the water moving around. In the middle of the aquarium there is a heater to keep the water warm.

Shining through a screen with a wooden frame is a UVB light to keep the basking rock warm. On the other side is a black plastic top with a skylight to see in and a flap to open when I’m feeding the turtles.

P.S. My aquarium is four feet long. (In the picture it looks smaller).

Do you have an aquarium? Comment to tell me what’s in it.

Image by me

Edited by: Reid and Matthew

Out of all the amazing places on Vancouver Island, Mount Washington is one of my favorites. It has beautiful sights and in the winter has great snow to play in, ski, and snowboard. They have snow gear rentals and safe chairlifts for a fun day in the snow.
In the summer, Mount Washington is a great place for a hike to the lake, and downhill mountain biking. There are always birds around, and trout jumping in the water. On the way to the lake there are all different kinds of trees and plants. One of the plants is a wild blueberry bush, so you can stop to have a snack. There are some rest stops along the way near some marshes where you can often see fish. Mount Washington is a great place!

Why not make your next trip to Mount Washington!

Image Credit: Mt Washington – 23 by: cookierace

Edited by: Jordan and Max