Woodland and Tidewater Turtles

by

Each summer, a female Eastern Box Turtle and I have an ongoing debate about the best place to lay her eggs, only because her preferred spot is in the middle of my driveway. With visions of smashed eggs or hatchlings under the wheels of unsuspecting vehicles, I try to dissuade her from digging her nest in such a perilous spot. Sometimes she moves on; other times the nest has already been excavated, and her eggs laid before I discover it. Thus far, the score board has been in my favor and I imagine dozens of hatchlings safely crawling off to do what turtles do.

Long before the English colonists set foot in the New World, prehistoric man viewed the turtle in three ways: as a source of protein; items to be made from their skin and shells; and as a divine creature who carried the world upon its back. In Native American teachings, “turtle” is the oldest symbol for the planet.

The first written account of turtles in the New World came from Thomas Harriot, noted astronomer and mathematician, who accompanied the 1585 expedition to Roanoke Island. He noted the abundant “Tortoyses bothe land and sea kinde” the Croatans hunted for food. In his observations while exploring the Chesapeake Bay region from 1607 to 1609, Captain John Smith described eating a turtle and noted that the native peoples used turtle shapes in their ornamentations.

Our region is rich in reptiles, turtles being the most ancient of them all. Evolutionarily conservative, they have changed little since their origin in the early Triassic period. Of the 220 modern species that inhabit the world, Virginia is home to less than two dozen species. The majority are highly aquatic, returning to the land to feed, mate and lay their eggs. Most turtles are omnivorous, but a few are carnivorous and some are herbivorous.

While popular culture depicts a turtle’s shell as its home, its shell is actually its protective armor, the upper part bony called a carapace, and the underside called the plastron. The jaw lacks teeth, but it has a tongue and a horny beak. With their strong jaw muscles, carnivorous turtles like the snapping turtle, can crush the shells and bodies of their prey.

Turtles taste, see, smell and feel. They must be able to see clearly both underwater and out of water, so turtles have good eyesight. They are not only capable of tracking and snatching prey, they must be skillful maneuvering around obstacles. They have some hearing, but they don’t hear well at high frequencies. That doesn’t stop them from moving around and doing everything they need to do to survive and thrive. Let’s take a look at some of our most common varieties.

EASTERN BOX TURTLE

Found primarily in woodlands, this small terrestrial turtle takes shelter in meadows and grasslands during wet periods. Reaching only about six inches in length and weighing less than one pound, males have red eyes, while females’ are yellow-brown. Mating occurs between late spring and early fall, and the females will lay one or more clutches of three to eight eggs. In less than three months the hatchlings will either spend winter in the nest or emerge and find a warm place to hibernate until spring.

Juvenile Eastern Box Turtles are primarily carnivores, eating slugs, worms, insects and larvae. As adults, they are omnivores, eating a variety of plant materials and feeding on carrion, fish, amphibians and eggs. Because of their ability to withdraw and enclose its head, limbs and tail within its shell, adult box turtles have few predators, but turtle eggs, hatchlings and juveniles often fall prey to raccoons, skunks, coyotes, foxes, even snakes and owls.

RED-BELLIED TURTLE

The Red-Bellied or Redbelly is so called because of its reddish plastron. The are primarily a turtle of freshwater lakes, ponds, black water swamps, slow moving creeks, and tidal rivers. Those living in brackish waters may often be found with barnacles attached to their shells, indicating a sedentary lifestyle beneath the water.  

These large basking turtles emerge from the water in early to midsummer and lay two egg clutches with anywhere from 10 to 35 eggs each. While the adults are herbivorous, the juveniles are omnivorous, dining on both water plants and small fish. They are active during the day and, as our largest basking turtle, spend warm afternoons on partially submerged logs and stumps.

SPOTTED TURTLE

This colorful turtle is easily recognized by its blackish-green body peppered with bright yellow or orange spots. The male has brown eyes and a tan chin, while the female has yellow eyes and yellow chin. They are a fresh water turtle found in ponds, ditches, flooded fields, creeks, the floodplain of meandering creeks, bogs, marshy pastures, and forested wetlands. They are most active in the spring and may even be seen about during warm spells in the winter. By summer they retreat to the water where they will bask, partially submerged.

Females will deposit from three to six eggs in late spring or summer. Spotted turtles are primarily carnivorous, dining on several types of insects, worms, slugs, snails, crayfish, spiders, and millipedes. Sadly, an unknown number of this native species have been lost to the pet trade by virtue of its colorful spots.

EASTERN PAINTED TURTLE

Many folks confuse Eastern Painted Turtles with baby Redbellies since they are often seen together basking on logs. But Eastern Painted Turtles are full size at four to six inches. They are quite colorful with both yellow and red stripes on their neck. They are most active between March and October but may be seen basking on warm winter days.

It hibernates under logs or stumps underwater or in muskrat or beaver lodges. Eastern Painted Turtles occur in all sorts of aquatic habitats that have permanent water, such as ponds, lakes, deep ditches, swamps, rivers, creeks and marshes.

Females nest on land, laying two to ten eggs once or twice annually, which incubate for about 75 days. They emerge in summer to eat beetles, algae, fish, and invertebrates. Like many other turtles that return to the land to lay their eggs, they are often victims of vehicular traffic on roadways or under the blades of lawnmowers.

EASTERN MUD TURTLE

This abundant freshwater turtle prefers to remain on the bottom of creeks, ponds, lakes and deep ditches. Mud turtles are slow moving and usually hide by day, foraging underwater at night for aquatic insects, mollusks, carrion and a variety of vegetation. They are not strong swimmers and usually crawl along the bottom. In winter, they hibernate in forests, buried an inch or two below the surface.

In late spring, the female digs a nest in soft soil near the water’s edge, depositing three to five eggs that require 100 days to incubate. The hatchlings will remain in their nest until the following spring. To their detriment, hatchlings are often mistaken for baby snapping turtles and killed by people.

EASTERN MUSK TURTLE (STINKPOTS)

This drab little freshwater turtle earns its nickname due to its foul musky odor it releases from scent glands on the edge of its shell, an apparent warning to its predators. It is abundant in ponds and streams, spending the vast majority of time in shallow, heavily vegetated waters.

It typically only ventures onto land to bask or when the female lays two to nine eggs in a shallow depression under shoreline debris. An unusual behavior is the tendency to share nesting sites with other musk turtles. It is adept at climbing partially submerged tree trunks or branches as high six feet above the water and has been known to accidentally drop into boats or canoes passing underneath.

DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN

This salt marsh turtle inhabits the tidal channels of rivers and bay estuaries that are bordered by Spartina grass. The Diamondback was once an epicure’s opening dinner course during the early twentieth century, when it sold for a dollar an inch to be rendered into soup for the well-to-do. Its population plunged until the market for turtle meat disappeared. Changing tastes saved it from extinction.

Terrapins are strong swimmers, well adapted to its marine environment. They have webbed hind feet and strong jaws for crushing shells of clams and snails. They can live in high concentrations of salt water for extended periods, and their skin is largely impermeable to salt. To obtain fresh drinking water, Diamondbacks sip the freshwater surface layer that can accumulate on top of salt water during rainfalls or raise their heads into the air with mouths open to catch falling raindrops.

SNAPPING TURTLE

This large infamous turtle has earned its name, for on land even the hatchlings can snap savagely at anything that moves. This is our region’s largest freshwater turtle; the state record weighing in at over fifty pounds. They are frequently found in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, swamps, and freshwater and brackish marshes.

Snapping Turtles are voracious predators, eating anything they can subdue. Foraging both day and night, they are omnivorous with an extensive diet. Despite their fearsome reputation, they are not without their own predators. Its eggs are eaten by raccoons, foxes and skunks, while adult raccoons dig the adults out of the mud and attack them from the rear.

Despite misconceptions, turtles do not make good pets. They require sunshine, food diversity and natural activity to maintain good health. Turtles do not come out of their shells but grow with them. Aquariums or terrariums are much too small for their needs, and you are contributing to the population decline by removing the adults from the population, thereby eliminating future generations as well.

According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife, it is illegal to sell, purchase or relocate any turtle species that are native or naturalized in Virginia. If you see a turtle in your yard, let it be. They instinctively know where to go. Moving or relocating them may only result in tragedy.

If you would like to learn more about turtles, contact the Virginia Hematological Society at www.vaherpsociety.com.