Painted Turtle

(Chrysemys picta)

The Painted Turtle can be found on the southeast side of Vancouver Island. The one in these photos was in the Victoria area.

These turtles prefer the shores and shallows of lakes, ponds, ditches, sluggish creeks, and streams. These waters have muddy bottoms and a variety of aquatic plants. Painted turtles also require nearby upland nesting areas that face south, are relatively dry, and the soil is easily dug for nesting sites.

During the breeding season, the male will face the female head-on and, with his long claw, will gently stroke her head. The pair will sink to the bottom, where mating occurs.

Egg-laying takes place at night from early June to July. The female first digs a 12 cm deep hole with her powerful feet and then deposits 6 to 18 small, 3 cm long, white eggs, and covers them with soil and leaves. The eggs hatch in September, but the hatchlings remain in the nest until the following spring.

Painted turtles feed on frogs, tadpoles, insects, snails, and a variety of aquatic plants. Young turtles are mostly carnivorous. But tend to eat more plant life as they age.

The painted turtle is found on the southern portions of Vancouver Island, a few Gulf islands and the Sunshine Coast between Powell River and Sechelt.

Painted turtles will hibernate in the mud for up to six months of the year. They can live up to 30 years. Sometimes you can see them basking on a log offshore, stacked three high. There was another turtle called the western pond turtle, but it is not found on Vancouver Island anymore.

This turtle is the only native freshwater turtle on Vancouver Island, although there are populations of the red-eared slider turtle showing up in some areas. The slider has red ear spots, while the painted turtle does not. Red-eared sliders are an introduced species to the Island. The common snapping turtle has started to become established here on Vancouver Island as well.

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