Painted Turtle

The Painted Turtle is also known by the name of Chrysemys' picta is one of the most common reptiles that are found in the wetlands of North America. It has another name that is painted terrapin. It can be easily recognized because it has a beautiful colorful shell, but cannot be seen very easily as it is very shy and so hides it self.

As it is a reptile which lives both in land as well as water it get a wide variety of food to choose from. They are carnivorous eating mostly larvae, beetles and maggots when they are young. As they grow older they eat insects, snails, crayfish, leeches, small fishes and a variety of plants. The Colored Turtle does not chew its food instead they slice the food using their beaks and gulp it down strong throat muscles.

It lives in the soft muddy bottoms of lakes marshes or slow moving rivers. A very interesting thing about the colored turtle is that when the time of reproduction starts the male does a dance known as the courtship dance for his partner where he chases her and vibrates his claws for her. They reproduce only when she accepts it. Females are larger than the males.

Breeding is only done once in a year. A Painted Turtle may have from 4 to about 15 children .Male Colored Turtles mature at the age of 3 to 5 years while the female colored turtles are matured by the time they are 6 to 10 years.

The Painted turtle though loves water it is often seen in groups basking in the sun .on logs or fallen trees. When basking they lie one on top of the other and in one log as many as 50 are stacked together. Basking in the sun helps them to get rid of the leeches that are parasitic. It hibernates during winters by burying themselves in the mud that is found beneath the ponds and streams for months together. As their body size is small they can move about easily and on sensing danger can quickly dive in the water. Painted turtle rest during the night but are very active during the day. The life span of the painted turtle is 35-40 years.

The Painted Turtles cannot hear very well but their sense of smell and their vision is very bright. To communicate they use the touch method specially during mating. Painted turtles face danger from otters, mink and foxes. Painted Turtles are still used as a source of food in the form of meat, delicacies or soups. Though it is not so widespread these days. Also a part of the pet industry rely on many kind of turtles especially the Painted ones.

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