Saturday 19 June 2021

Mama Turtle

I was out for an evening walk around the neighbourhood pond, and I noticed a dark green shape in the grass.  Turtle! She didn't really appreciate me staring at her while she was going through the delicate process of egg laying, so she pulled her head in and peeped at me from the safety of her shell.

She's a Painted Turtle - Chrysemys Picta - one of the eight species of turtle that are native to Ontario. Turtles are ectothermic – or ‘cold-blooded’, which means that they cannot generate their own body heat, and rely on the environmental temperature for this; they warm themselves by basking in the sun. 


These eggs will probably hatch in late summer or early fall. Less than one in a hundred turtle eggs laid will hatch and grow into an adult turtle. Unlike birds, turtles do not tend their nests once laid, nor care for their young once they hatch. Once the female has finished laying her eggs she never sees them again. The babies are on their own!

Painted Turtles have recently been reclassified from Not at Risk, to Species of Special Concern. Extensive road mortality has been the main reason for the change of classification for this species.

Such a pretty face!

23 comments:

  1. Linda tortuga, genial entrada. Te mando un beso

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  2. She's lovely but a terrible mother. Interesting to learn about your turtles.

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    1. She's facing motherhood the same way her own mother did! I'll check the nest site later to make sure she got back to the pond OK.

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  3. Love her 'painted' body too. I wonder whether her offspring will come back to the same area to lay their own eggs as some other turtle species do...

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    1. She is certainly a pretty turtle with those red stripes. I see them basking on the rocks on a sunny day.

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  4. I can see where they get their name. I have never seen one, or at least not close up like this.

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    1. This Painted Turtle was about 7 inches wide across the shell, hard to tell from the photos.

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  5. Ahhh…love her. I’d love to live where turtles live.

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    1. I see them on the rocks basking in the sun, but as soon as you go near they leap into the water and swim away. They can't move so fast on land, especially in the middle of egg laying!

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  6. Great to witness this activity. We have seen quite a few eggs dug up by raccoons recently, but that happens every year and ultimately enough young turtles survive to ensure the continuation of the species.

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    1. I wonder if her eggs will survive as she hadn't dug a very deep hole. But I don't know how deep the hole should be.

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  7. A beautiful turtle! We don't see them where I live, thanks for sharing.

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    1. She is rather lovely isn't she? There are lots of smaller ones living in the pond, she is the biggest one I have seen.

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  8. Replies
    1. But she didn't seem very keen on having her photograph taken.

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  9. Deal...one piece of pie for some yummy strawberry jam. yummm...I'll bet that is so good on the fresh bread you made.
    the heat got up to 113F. Wilting!!!
    I become useless when its that hot.
    today..Sunday it's 103F and the house hasn't cooled down from the last couple of days. the poor air conditioner is on constantly plus our ceiling fans and some portable tower fans too. We will survive but its terrible for the fire danger since we are in drought conditions.
    Now I will go back and read your current post.
    Sue

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  10. Oh the painted turtle is so lovely. I do hope some of her eggs make it to maturity. Interesting information.
    Sue

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    1. My goodness, that's really hot weather, and you were still able to bake that delicious pie! The turtle was gone when I went back the next day, just a small depression in the grass where she was laying her eggs.

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  11. Oh that last shot is classic Shammi 😊 Gosh they aren't very motherly are they, I hadn't realised that.

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    1. They just do what they have to do and that's that!

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  12. Turtles are quite interesting, so thanks for the lesson. The only ones on the prairies I think are "pets". My cousin's wife was cleaning the turtle tank and went to put the two good sized turtles in the bathtub. She was clutching them to her chest when one bit her quite hard on the boob. My wife suggested maybe it was time to wean them?

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