The Freshwater Turtles Of Massachusetts
Massachusetts has eleven freshwater turtles, ten of which are native, and one of which was introduced, and is considered to be invasive. The state has excellent protection for its turtles, and of the natives, six are protected under MESA – the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. The six protected turtles are:
- The Blanding’s turtle
- The Northern diamondback terrapin
- The Northern red-bellied cooter
- The Bog turtle
- The Eastern box turtle
- The Wood turtle
The four turtles which are not thought to require state protection are:
- The Spotted turtle
- The Snapping turtle
- The Eastern musk (stinkpot) turtle
- The Painted turtle
And finally, one species is considered to be non-native and in fact, invasive – the red-eared slider
The Law On Turtles In Massachusetts
We encourage you to check with state laws before deciding to keep a turtle as a pet or collect one from the wild. You are not allowed to keep any turtle that is on the Massachusetts endangered list. The best practice, according to the Audubon Society, is not to collect any turtles from the wild, although the collection of unprotected turtles from the wild is permitted in the state. No turtles may be caught in the state for food except with a permit.
The Freshwater Turtles of Massachusetts – The Endagered Guys
The Blanding’s Turtle Emydoidea blandingii
The Blanding’s turtle may have interesting pointers for how we can avoid the effects of aging in humans. This turtle is endangered. However, it is a very long-lived animal, and most interestingly, in fact, it behaves just like it did when it was a youngster, including being sexually active and potent up into its nineties.
This medium-sized turtle grows to a carapace length of 9 ½”. It features a dark brown carapace, or upper shell, which is domed in shape. The shell has pale-colored blotches. The plastron, or lower shell, is pale lemon in color and has darker even patterns. This turtle’s plastron hinges and closes up very tightly to protect the animal when it is attacked or feels threatened. It has dark brown skin with yellow stripes and blotches.
The Blanding’s turtle hibernates, a process known as bromating, in the winter months. Bromating is a type of hibernation where the turtle buries itself in mud or debris. Female turtles may move as much as half a mile away from their bromating site to make their nest. They are shy animals and if disturbed they will hide at the bottom of their pond where they will stay for a couple of hours.
They are omnivorous and eat small fish, crustaceans, tadpoles, frogs, berries, and water weeds. These prefer clean, shallow, water which has good sunbathing spots nearby. In Massachusetts, this turtle is found in the east of the State, although not in the Cape Cod area. Its status in the state is Threatened.
The Northern Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
This turtle is found in the salt marshes of Massachusetts. Although it is not Federally protected, it does have state protection. A medium-sized turtle with distinctive patterns and coloring is unique in the state, as it lives in brackish water – the only turtle in Massachusetts that can survive in these conditions. Females are larger than males and grow to a carapace length of up to nine inches. Males are smaller, with a carapace length of up to six inches.
The carapace, or upper shell, is lightly wedged shaped and is colored, gray, brown, black, and green. The carapace has ringed patterns on the scutes, and there is a noticeable keel that is bumpy in appearance.
They live along the Atlantic shore, in creeks, estuaries, and salt marshes. They need to be within reach of dry, sandy, areas for making their nests. Threats to these turtles include road accidents, predation, pollution, loss of habitat, and recreational activities such as off-roading.
The Northern Red-bellied Cooter – Pseudemys rubriventris
This turtle is considered to be endangered both in the State and Federally. This is a large turtle that grows to a carapace length of 13.5″, and a weight of 13 lb. In color, it is black with red markings. The males have a pink plastron, or lower shell, and the females have a red lower shell. These colors tend to darken as the animal gets older. They have black skin with cream or yellow fine stripes. Males are a little smaller than females, although they have longer claws and tails than females do.
Northern Reed-Bellied cooters are found in isolated populations in Plymouth County and Bristol County. Historically, the species was more widely spread in the state. They enjoy freshwater ponds and rivers that have plenty of water weeds which provide both food and shelter. These need to bask and choose homes where there are fallen logs that they can use.
They are principally vegetarians, although when young they will eat more protein in the form of water insects and small crustaceans. The threats to these turtles are the usual combination of habitat loss, pollution, road accidents, and collection by humans for use as pets.
The Bog Turtle Glyptmeis muhlenbergii
This is another turtle that is protected under Massachusetts state law and regarded as being endangered. It is also classified as endangered by Federal law.
This is a small, rather cute turtle that grows to a carapace length of just four inches. Each scute, or scale, on the dark brown upper shell, has a starburst pattern in red or yellow. The plastron is a dull brown, occasionally bearing yellow markings. The skin is dark brown or yellowish brown in color. In males, the tail is a little thicker and longer than that of the female, and the male’s plastron is more concave.
In Massachusetts, this turtle is right at the edge of its range, and can mainly be found in Berkshire County. This species likes to live in fens and wetlands. Its habitat is also characterized by the presence of rare plants.
The bog turtle is a shy and secretive animal. During the winter, they find a safe place, for example, among the roots of trees, and there they stay in a kind of semi-hibernation, often in groups. On sunny spring days, they might emerge to get some sunshine.
Although they are lively swimmers, they tend to paddle around in the shallows. They are most active in April, May, June, and September. These are omnivores, and they like invertebrates such as slugs, worms, and millipedes, and they also eat pondweed. They are opportunists and eat what comes along.
They do not have a very robust reproduction strategy, mating late in life and only laying a few eggs at a time. These have a small range, and so they are very vulnerable to changes in the environment, as their instinct is to stay close to home. The threats they face are the usual ones – habitat loss, road accidents, collection by unscrupulous humans, pollution, and now, climate change.
The Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina
This turtle is a very beautiful animal that has a black or brown carapace, or upper shell, which is marked with delicate yellow patterning. They grow to a carapace length of around 5″. Males are more vividly colored than females. They have pink or red eyes, in contrast to the females who have dark brown eyes.
In common with all box turtles, they can seal themselves up very tightly to protect themselves against predators. They do this using a hinged plastron.
They are daytime hunters and they eat small insects, crickets, worms, tadpoles, mollusks, and crustaceans. If the weather gets too hot or too dry for their liking, they dig themselves into a shallow burrow where they can hide in the temperature and humidity that they prefer. They like to live in thickets, fields, bogs, marshes, woodland, meadows, and on stream banks.
In Massachusetts, they are designated as being a species that is of Special Concern. Habitat loss is the main threat to this turtle, along with road mortality and nest disturbance.
The Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata
This small turtle is regarded as endangered throughout the United States. Growing to just a bit less than a carapace length of five inches, you can easily recognize this turtle by its bluish-black colored shell that is ornamented with small yellow polka dots. The males have dark-colored heads, the females have lighter-colored heads, and both sexes have an orange blotch on the side of the head. The males have longer, thicker, tails than the females.
These turtles enjoy flooded, boggy, marshy areas, and they require plenty of waterside and aquatic vegetation as well as a soft muddy bottom. They spend a lot of their time on the land, and the females will look for hotter, dryer, areas where they can make their nests.
The Wood Turtle Glyptemis insculpta
The wood turtle is not of national concern in the United States, but it is of Special Concern in the State of Massachusetts The population in the state is limited and not very well studied or understood.
The wood turtle is a medium-sized animal with a carapace length of up to eight inches. It gets its name from the woody appearance of its upper shell, which looks almost as if it has been carved out of wood by a rural craftsman. The carapace is brown, gray, or tan, with black and yellow lines on the scutes (scales). The plastron is yellow with darker patches on each scute. Males have a plastron that is more concave than that of females. The skin is usually black with yellow, red, or orange speckles.
This turtle can be found in many parts of Massachusetts but their numbers are not really known. It seems that they may be quite thinly spread around the state. They like to live in riparian areas – forests, woods, fields, meadows, and bogs that are close to rivers.
They are omnivores, and particularly love to eat worms. These have an interesting behavior known as “stomping”. They drum their feet on the ground in a likely area, and this brings worms to the surface, all ready to eat.
Because these turtles come late to sexual maturity they are especially vulnerable to habitat loss. For example, something as simple as a grass mower may destroy nests. Building on riverbanks destroys wood turtle habitat. And of course, predation by animals and humans is an ongoing issue.
Massachusetts Freshwater Turtles That Are Not Under Threat
The Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentine serpentine
One of the biggest turtles in Massachusets, its Latin name reflects its appearance – with a very long, mobile, snake-like neck. It has a rather large head and often has barbels around its throat. It grows to a carapace aggressive. He can, however, give you a serious bite if he is trying to defend himself, so be very careful if you encounter one of these.
They need to live in large bodies of water that offer them a good supply of food. They are omnivores, and they prefer more protein in their diet when they are younger. The common snapping turtle can tolerate a wide diversity of weather and seems quite adaptable. It is not considered threatened at this time.
The Common Musk Turtle (Stinkpot) Sternotherus odoratus
The stinkpot gets its unenviable nickname from its habit of emitting a skunk-like odor if he is scared. This is designed to make his enemies run away. When he is undisturbed, he is no more nor less stinky than any other species of turtle.
They grow to a little less than five inches long, and they have a fairly steeply sloped upper shell, or carapace, which is dark brown in color. These have a dark-skinned head with bright yellow stripes and you can spot a couple of barbels under their chin. They prefer living in shallow, slow-moving, or even still water that has a muddy bottom where they can hide. They need to live in water with plenty of weeds; they usually hide during the day and hunt at night. Like most turtles, they are omnivorous, eating bugs, small fish, mollusks, crustaceans, water weeds, and tadpoles.
The Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata
This small turtle is designated as endangered throughout much of the United States. In Massachusetts, it is not considered to be under threat, and they are to be found throughout the state. It grows to a plastron length of a bit less than five inches long. It can be recognized by the bluish-black color of its carapace which is small yellow spots. The males have dark-colored heads, whereas the females have paler-colored heads. Both males and females have an orange blotch on the side of the head. The males have longer, thicker, tails
They can be found living in flooded, boggy, marshy areas, such as shallow marshes and wet meadows. These turtles need a home that has vegetation and a soft muddy bottom. They spend a lot of their time on the land, where females will seek out hotter, dry, areas in which to make their nests.
The Painted Turtle – Chrysemys picta
The painted turtle is a member of the beautiful painted turtle family. With its black upper shell, or carapace, marked with fine red lines and a red edge, it is one of the prettiest turtles in Massachusetts. Its plastron is golden, the neck has red stripes, and the head has yellow stripes. It is one of the most common freshwater turtles throughout Massachusetts and is not considered to be under threat.
Females grow to have a carapace length of up to ten inches long, and the males are a little smaller, as is in many turtle species. This difference in size is accounted for by the need for the females to produce and store eggs.
These turtles like water with plenty of vegetation and a muddy bottom. They need to bask in the sun to gain energy, so look for them where there are rocks and fallen logs. In the winter, they hibernate.
The Red-eared slider – Trachemys scripta elegans
This is an invasive species and is not considered to be a Massachusetts native.
How Can I Be A Friend To Turtles In Massachusetts?
You can find some very good advice on what to do if you find an injured turtle here. To find out more about how to preserve turtle habitats, you can check out this useful site.
