Red Eared Sliders are the most popular aquatic turtles kept as pets. These are known as the 'Dime Store Turtles'. They are easily identifiable by the red mark behind their eyes on each side of the heads. These turtles grow to 12 inches in length at adulthood. They are native in many states throughout the USA and also a popular exported turtle to Asia and other continents. As adults, they enjoy vegetation in their diet.
Sliders acquired their name due to the ability to slide into the water from basking areas. Yellow belly sliders are native from Virginia to northern Florida. Like the red eared slider, they are common in the pet trade. These sliders have a large yellow marking behind each eye, taking the place of the red marking that a red eared slider has. The carapace is marked with yellow stripes. The plastron is mostly yellow with a few dark markings toward the front end.
Map turtles are very common, with over 12 sub species. They are distributed throughout 2/3rds of the USA, east of the Rocky Mountains,north into Canada and south to Florida. The carapace is olive green with fine lines, thus giving the appearance of a map. Males are smaller than females with thick, long tails. They are more carnivorous than other aquatic species, eating snails, insects, and small fish.
Indiana Turtle Care receives many calls about snapping turtles being on people's property. They not only live in retention ponds in residential areas, but also travel through drainage ditches allowing them to relocate in non-wildlife areas. Snapping turtles are to be respected as they are extremely strong and fast. Many are injured by vehicles when females are nesting near roadways.
Miscellaneous Common Aquatic Species
With many species and sub-species of aquatic turtles, Indiana Turtle Care is contacted only about native species that may be injured, but also non-native species that are kept as pets. Unfortunately, as mentioned, owners soon realize that pet turtles are not the easy-care animals they initially believe. Most turtle rescues are no longer able to take in some aquatic species due to the time, space and cost of keeping them. Many owners feel that releasing the turtles is the best for them while in reality it is a health risk for that turtle, existing turtle species in the area and, in most states, illegal to do. After living in captivity, some turtles are not able to care for themselves properly. Non-native released species are not able to live in some climates or environments.
Painted turtles are another common species, divided into 4 subspecies.
All painted turtles have a smooth, dark green carapace without serrations. The plastron is predominately yellow, with no hinge. The black or dark green skin is striped. The chin is marked with two wide yellow stripes, meeting at the tip of the jaw. Painted turtles prefer shallow water areas with soft bottoms and basking areas. It is not uncommon to see many painted turtles basking on one log at one time.
Midland Painted Turtle Hatchling
These turtles are very unique. Their shells, which can be up to 2 feet in length, are soft and flexible to help them easily hide under sandy bottoms of lakes and streams. Their long nose is sometime referred to as a bottle-nose. They keep their snouts close to the water surface in order to breathe. Soft shells are aggressive.
