Today a family brought in a baby painted turtle they found swimming at Atwood Lake. He was smaller than a quarter - and very cute (as all baby animals are!). As much as we would have liked to let him go here, it is not allowed. Reptiles in Ohio cannot be releases into the wild in a new location or after they have been held for more than 30 days. This is an important law - turtles that are released in new locations or after time in captivity can carry and transport diseases. We were able to get some great pictures though - they will be perfect for our turtle presentations this summer.
Painted Turtles usually nest mid May to mid July; eggs usually hatch sometime in mid August. Some hatchlings may overwinter in the nest and emerge in the Spring. Painted turtles (as well as many other types of turtle) have temperature-dependent sex determination; that is, turtles that develop at the mid range of temperatures (22-27 degrees Celsius in painted turtles) will be males, turtles that develop at the extremes of this temperature range will be female. The hatchlings mature in 4-5 years for males, and 6-10 years for females. Painted turtles can live for around 20-30 years.
