Egg-laying Painted Turtle

I'm pretty sure this Painted Turtle was out of the water and in loose sandy soil in order to lay eggs. (This picture doesn't show the carapace scutes well enough to tell if she's an Eastern Painted Turtle, though they are our most common subspecies of Painted Turtle.)

There is another possible explanation for this turtle's presence, though it's also related to egg-laying. Apparently females will sometimes create a false nest, presumably to frustrate the many animals (like foxes, snakes, crows, raccoons, even some squirrels - basically any carnivore/omnivore that can find the eggs) that will eat turtle eggs. Sadly for turtles, a large number of them never get past the egg phase of their development.

Our Eastern Painted Turtles don't lay a lot of eggs; usually a clutch will have around 5 eggs. Particularly large Painted Turtles generally lay more eggs at a time. This particular turtle seemed a little small so I wouldn't expect much more than 5. She might lay 4 more clutches of eggs in a year, though 1 more is probably normal.

FWIW in the past I've met Red-eared Sliders and Northern Red-bellied Cooters who were probably laying eggs, though this might be the 1st Painted Turtle I've seen laying eggs.

June 15, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 300994046, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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