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Animal Information Michigan Turtles

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Animal Information Michigan Turtles 1 Animal Information Michigan Turtles Table of Contents Blanding’s Turtle………………………………………………………………………………………2 Common Map Turtle…………………………………………………………………….………….4 Common Snapping Turtle………………………………………………………….……………..6 Eastern Box Turtle………………………………………………………………….…………..……8 Painted Turtle…………………………………………………………………………………………10 Red-Eared Slider……………………………………………………………………………………..12 Spotted Turtle…………………………………………………………………………………………14 Wood Turtle……………………………………………………………………………………………16 Blanding’s Turtle 2 Emydoidea blandingii John Ball Zoo Habitat – There are 3 Blanding’s turtles located in the Hillside Habitat. One can also be found in the Red Barn. Individual Animals: 3 Male, 1 Undetermined Undetermined o Housed in Upper Red Barn o Hatched September 2014 . Wild (Michigan) o Arrived August 29, 2016 The Hillside 3 arrived: o May 07, 2008 from a private donor o November 17, 2016 from Mesker Park Zoo (Indiana) o November 18, 2016 from Children’s Zoo at Celebration Square (Saginaw, MI) Life Expectancy Can reach over 70 years of age. Statistics Length – 6-9 inches Weight – 1.6-3 pounds Diet – Omnivore Wild – algae, leaves of soft aquatic plants, fish, fish eggs, frogs, crustaceans, adult and larval insects, and carrion. Predators – Northern short-tailed shrews, Striped skunks, Virginia opossums, raccoons, foxes, and the North American River Otter. Most predation is on eggs, and juveniles. Habitat Blanding’s turtles are semi-aquatic, living mostly in shallow wetland habitats where aquatic vegetation is abundant. Region Native to Canada, stretching as far west as southeastern Ontario and as far east as southern Nova Scotia. They continue southward to the United States. With a range including the Great Lakes region, this reptiles’ range stretches as far northeast as Maine and as far northwest as South Dakota and Nebraska, including southeastern New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, southern Michigan, southeastern Minnesota, New Hampshire, as well as Ohio. Blanding’s Turtle 3 Emydoidea blandingii Reproduction – Polyandrous: females mate with several males during on breeding season. The females reach sexual maturity at 14 to 21 years, averaging maturity at 18 years. Males tend to reach sexual maturity at around 12 years. The females have all of the control in the courtship process when it comes to choosing their mates. However, during courtship, the males are very aggressive and are the ones who seem to be in control, mounting the females and grabbing their carapaces. The females tend to mate with the same males each year. Mating takes place year round, but mostly the start of spring in March and early April. o Mating takes place at night. Females will only nest and lay eggs once a year, between the last weeks of June and the beginning of July. Clutches are products of more than one father, and may be cared for by multiple male turtles, usually two, but occasionally up to three mates. Clutch sizes range from 3 to 19, averaging around 10 eggs. The incubation period typically lasts between 80 and 128 days. Females leave the eggs once they bury them in a safe nesting spot, and the males watch over the eggs from then on until the final days of the incubation period. Behavior Blanding’s turtles are mostly aquatic, they commonly emerge from the water to rest on logs, sedge clumps, or any terrestrial land that is close to their aquatic homes. Overwinter in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. On land males will travel, on average, over 6 miles in a day. Adaptations The hinges of the ventral shell are able to move. Conservation Concerns Road mortality Habitat destruction Conservation Ask Be thoughtful while connecting and engaging with Nature o If you care, leave it there o Help turtle cross the road Common Map Turtle 4 Graptemys geographica John Ball Zoo Habitat – Located in the Hillside Duck and Turtle habitat. Individual Animals: 1 Female Female o Wild Hatch (Michigan) . Date: Unknown o Arrived July 02, 2008 Life Expectancy Can live as long as 20 years. Statistics Length o Female: 7-10 inches o Males: 3.5-6.5 inches Diet – Omnivore Wild o Females: clams and crayfish. o Males: aquatic insects and small crustaceans. o Both are also known to eat snails, dead fish, and some plant material. Predators Raccoons, Skunks, Foxes, North American River Otters, and Coyotes. Habitat Ponds, river-bottoms, and lakes Region From southern Quebec and northwestern Vermont. West through the Great Lakes and into southern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. South to Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and then northwestern Georgia. It also occurs in the Susquehanna River system located in Pennsylvania and Maryland and also in the Delaware River. Common Map Turtle 5 Graptemys geographica Reproduction They breed in the spring and the fall. Mating takes place in deep waters. The nesting period lasts from May to July. The female usually lays two or multiple clutches in one breeding season. Clutch size ranges from 6 to 20 eggs. They hatch after 50 to 70 days of incubation and emerge in August or September. Behavior – Diurnal They must eat in the water. Dormant from November through early April. Exhibits basking behavior. Conservation Concerns Road mortality Habitat loss Water pollution Conservation Ask Be thoughtful while connecting and engaging with Nature o If you care, leave it there o Help turtle cross the road Common Snapping Turtle 6 Chelydra serpentina John Ball Zoo Habitat – Located in the North America Turtle habitat (Weather permitting). Individual Animals: 1 Male Birth date and location unknown Arrived October 07, 2012 o From a Private Donor Life Expectancy Wild: up to 30 years Under Managed Care: 47 years Statistics – Largest species of turtle native to Michigan Length – Carapace: 8-18.5 inches o Tail is almost as long as the shell Weight – 8.8-35 pounds Diet – Omnivore Wild – carrion, invertebrates, fish, birds, small mammals, amphibians, and a surprisingly large amount of aquatic vegetation. Predators – None once they are full grown. The eggs and hatchlings of snapping turtles may be eaten by other large turtles, great blue herons, crows, raccoons, skunks, foxes, bullfrogs, water snakes, and large predatory fish, such as largemouth bass. Habitat Fresh or brackish water. They prefer water bodies with muddy bottoms and abundant vegetation because concealment is easier. Region From S. Alberta and east to Nova Scotia in the north, extending south all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and into central Texas. Reproduction Over most of its range, the common snapping turtle mates from late March to November. Over much of North America, the main nesting period of this species is between mid- May and mid-June. Using its hind feet, the female common snapping turtle digs a flask-shaped nest, usually in relatively loose sand, vegetable debris. In most populations of the common snapping turtle, only one clutch is laid per breeding season. The eggs are roughly the size of a ping-pong ball. Common Snapping Turtle 7 Chelydra serpentina A clutch consists of between 25 and 45 eggs. Incubation last 75-95 days. Adaptations The tail has saw-toothed keels on it. Behavior – Diurnal This species is seldom seen basking, but can often be seen floating just below the water’s surface. Adults sit and wait for prey to swim near it instead of actively seeking it out. Most common snapping turtles enter hibernation by late October. Hibernation usually ends around April, but this varies depending on the location. Conservation Concerns Habitat loss and degradation Pet trade Road-kill and other casual human-induced mortality occurs. Conservation Ask Be thoughtful while connecting and engaging with Nature o If you care, leave it there o Help turtle cross the road Be mindful of wildlife and the environment as you make every day purchasing decisions o Choose your pets responsibly Eastern Box Turtle 8 Terrapene carolina carolina John Ball Zoo Habitat – Located in the Natural Treasures building. One can also be found in the Red Barn. Individual Animals: 3 Males Male – Ted (darker coloration) o Born February 1995 (Estimate) . Location unknown o Arrived February 19, 2015 Male – Bill (lighter coloration) o Birth date and location unknown o Arrived March 08, 2008 Male – Carl (split beak) o Housed in Upper Red Barn o Birth date and location unknown o Arrived 1985 Life Expectancy – Can live over 100 years. Statistics – Length – 4.3-7 inches, females tend to be smaller Diet – Omnivore Wild – snails, insects, berries, fungi, slugs, worms, roots, flowers, fish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, birds, and eggs. Predators – Few species can prey effectively on adults due to their ability to close their shells. Habitat – Forest, savanna, or grassland. Region – Exclusively North America Ranging from southern Maine to Florida along the East Coast, and west to Michigan, Illinois, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Reproduction – Polygynandrous – both males and females can have multiple mates. Sexual maturity is reached around 5 years of age. Mating season begins in the spring and continues throughout summer until October. Males sometimes fall backwards after copulation, and if they can't right themselves they die of starvation. Nesting occurs from May through July. Nests are usually dug in sandy or loamy soil, using the hind legs. Then eggs are laid in this cavity and the nest is carefully covered up again. Eastern Box Turtle 9 Terrapene carolina carolina A female may lay fertile eggs for up to four years after one successful mating. There are 3-8 eggs laid, though usually 4 or 5, and they are elliptical with thin, white, flexible shells. Incubation last roughly 3 months Adaptations Hinged plastron (ventral part of shell) that allows box turtles to close their shells almost completely. Male Box turtles eyes tend to be more colorful than females. The red or orange coloration may help females to identify males from a distance. Behavior – Diurnal When it gets too hot, they hide under decaying logs and leaves, crawl into mammal burrows, or in mud.
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