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Western Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta bellii
Description
The largest and most colorful painted turtle, with a big branching dark figure spread across a red-orange belly. In Indiana it favors the northwest.
Stats
Size
Carapace 4 - 9 inches
Status
Common
Similar Species
Midland Painted Turtle, which has only a small faint central plastral smudge rather than a large branching figure.
Diet
Aquatic vegetation, insects, crayfish, and carrion.
Habitat
Slow, shallow, vegetated ponds, sloughs, and river backwaters.
Reproduction
Lays 4-15 eggs in early summer; hatchlings may overwinter in the nest.
Western Painted Turtle
Western Painted Turtle
Chrysemys picta bellii
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