Western Painted Turtles are medium-large North American basking turtles similar in size & form to sliders, with an olive to greenish mildly to moderately-patterned carapace & a showy ‘color explosion’ plastron. The carapace is smooth, oval & flattened with no keel. The highest and widest points are at the center. The posterior carapace rim is not serrated. Vertebral scutes are usually broader than long and underlying neurals are 6-sided and shortest anteriorly. The carapace is olive to black with yellow or red borders along the seams and red bars or crescents on the marginal scutes.  They have a poorly-developed medial stripe, yellow, red or even completely absent. Their plastron is not hinged. The plastron hind-lobe has only a slight posterior notch. The head is moderate-sized with a slightly projecting snout; the upper jaw has a terminal notch bordered on each side by a cusp. Skin is olive to black, with red and yellow stripes along the neck, legs and tail; the head is striped with yellow. A yellow line extends from below the eye and sometimes meets a similar line from the lower jaw. There is a large, yellow streak on each side of the head behind the eye. The chin is marked with two wide yellow lines that meet at the tip of the jaw and enclose a narrow yellow stripe. The vertebral and pleural seams are alternating and display a reticulate pattern of lines on the carapace with a large, dark figure on the carapace, which branches out, taking up most of the plastron's surface.

Western Painteds are the largest of the painted turtles. Adult males can reach 4 - 7" while females can achieve anywhere from 8 - 10" in carapace length.

TEMPERATURE RANGE (°F)

• Air Temperature:  Low to mid 80's
• Basking Temperature:  High 80's to low 90's
• Water Temperature:  Low to mid 70's

Western Painted turtles are extremely hardy with most temperatures as their range extends into the northern US and Canada, thus making them excellent specimens for a year-round outside habitat in most of the US. However, there are some that believe that those found in the warmer climates are not able to handle the cooler climates than that their northern counterparts can. Be mindful of this if outdoor hibernation in the northern U.S. is planned.

CARE DIFFICULTY

Western Painteds are great beginner turtles. They are hardy turtles and are very tame around keepers, which makes them more enjoyable since they aren't constantly running and hiding when keepers come near them. Females do get a bit large, up to 10", and can be a strain on housing.

CAPTIVE DIET

Throughout their lives, Western Painteds are omnivorous with the strong preference for being carnivores. This creates the opportunity for keepers to offer too much in the way of proteins. It is important to keep a check on the turtle's diet and ensure that it is getting a well-rounded feeding. In captivity, they do well on Mazuri and ReptoMin, Reptile/Pond 10, Cichlid Sticks, feeder fish, occasional ghost shrimp, aquatic plants (such as Water Lilies, Water Hyacinth, Duckweed, Anachris, Water Lettuce, Water Fern, Pondweed, Water starwort, Hornwort, Water milfoil, and Frogbit), veggies (such as Zucchini, Squash, Collard Greens, Beet Leaves, Endive, Romaine, Red Leaf Lettuce, Kale, Escarole, Mustard Greens & Dandelions) and some fruits, crickets, meal worms and blood worms.

RECOMMENDED FEEDING SCHEDULE

For the first 6 months of life, feed commercial pellets or meaty foods such as earthworms or fish once daily, enough to diminish appetite but not gorge the turtle. After 6 months, switch to every other day feeding. Romaine lettuce & other leafy greens may be offered daily for graze at will. Over time adjust diet content & schedule accounting for growth, activity level & appetite. Overfeeding high-protein foods causes rapid growth, shell deformities (pyramiding) & is believed harmful to the liver & kidneys.

CAPTIVE HABITAT

These are avid baskers, so a basking spot is required. UVB lighting is needed as well as a heat lamp over the basking spot. The basking platform will require a heat lamp to maintain daytime temps around 85-90°F and the UVB lighting will provide them with the necessary means to process calcium. A submersible heater is recommended if the water temps fall below the recommend range. They are excellent swimmers and their captive habitat should have a water depth as deep as possible without allowing them to escape. Aquatic substrates are optional, ranging anywhere from a bare bottom to sand, river rock or a fine-to-medium size gravel.

RECOMMENDED ENCLOSURE

Barring the large size of adult females, single adult painteds would do well in a 75 gallon aquarium. Single adult females would need a minimum of a 125 gallon tank. This allows them plenty of room (quality of life) in addition to plenty of water to assist in good health and filtration. Basking areas can be made of dirt, sand, gravel, smooth rocks or flat rocks, driftwood or anything that will support their weight and is non-abrasive.

Adding additional sliders to a habitat requires that you increase the size of the tank accordingly by half (ie; 1 male = 75 gallons, 2 males = 110 gallons, etc). Stock tanks also make great alternatives to glass and acrylic aquariums.

WATER DEPTH

Painteds are accomplished swimmers, even as fresh hatchlings, and require deep water.

COMMUNITY HABITAT

Painteds make great community inhabitants with other species from the same region and other painteds as well, provided that adequate space is given. Additional males, even of other species, can be problematic in the form  of aggression even in large enclosures. Sliders have powerful jaws and can easily kill smaller turtles, so only turtles of comparable size are recommended.

Painteds can lay anywhere from 1 to 23 eggs at a time, dependant upon the size of the female. Incubation time lasts anywhere from 65 to 80 days at 71.6° - 89.6° F.

Males are produced when incubation temps are maintained at 71.6° - 80.6° F.

Females are produced 86° - 89.6° F.

Mixed geneders produced between 80° - 86° F.

ENCLOSURE

A hatchling's captive habitat should mimic that which it would have as an adult. The requirements are the same pertaining to lighting, heat, basking and water depth. Some keepers worry that their turtle might drown in a deep water aquarium and opt to give the hatchling a shallow habitat. That is completely inaccurate. Hatchlings - even fresh day old hatchlings - do quite well in deep water. Hatchlings should also be provided with numerous plants (artificial or live) for stability, hiding and climbing. The temperature range for hatchlings and yearlings is a bit different, however, simply because of their high mortality rate. Hatchlings and yearlings should be maintained in the same range as the daytime and basking temperatures listed above, however, their water temps should be kept between 78° and 80°F.

DIET

They do well on a diet of worms, fish, crickets, augmented by a quality turtle food such as Mazuri and ReptoMin. Veggies should be offered, although some hatchlings do not take to them until they are older.