Midland Painted Turtle - Chrysemys picta marginata

The Chrysemys picta marginata or the Midland Painted turtle gets its name from the geographical area it inhabits. They are endemic to the midlands of the North American continents. From Quebec and Ontario in the north their geographical range extends to the land-locked parts of Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Like all American painted turtles the Chrysemys picta marginata also has dark olive or black carapace. There are orange, red or fiery marking on the peripheral scutes. The shell is flat, smooth and broad. The scutes on the shell are arranged alternately and each of them has a yellow to olive margin that might fade with age. There is a vestigial medial stripe on the carapace. The plastron is yellow with a symmetrical dark blotch at its center. This blotch is a distinctive feature of the Midland painted turtles. The coloration is more vivid in hatchlings and juveniles and as the turtle grows up it starts fading and in a full grown turtle only a vague pattern remains. The rest of the body is olive and the head, the limbs and the tail are covered with red and yellow stripes. The ventral part of its head has yellow stripes originating from the snout to the eyes. The male C. p. marginata can reach a carapace length of 5 inches while the females are larger and can grow up to 7 inches. The females have shorter tail and a slightly domed carapace.

The Midland Painted Turtle Habitat

The Midland Painted turtles occupy the regions around the Great Lakes area in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Some groups of the Midland turtles are also found around the rivers Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee. They prefer shallow and quiet fresh water bodies with ample aquatic plants. They are not cold tolerant and during the months of winter they dive to depth of the water bod y and hibernate in the muddy bottom. They have evolved to voluntarily control their heart beats during the month of winter and thus minimize their oxygen requirement. Whatever little amount of oxygen they need is absorbed by the skin. These turtles are particularly fond of the debris of fallen trees. A 55 gallon water tank is recommended for a single male Chrysemys picta marginata the females need larger tank of at least 125 gallon. They are efficient swimmers hence the water volume is important to give them plenty of room to swim and dive and the larger water volume makes regular filtration easier. The Midland painted turtles are not cold tolerant and an underwater heater is essential. A basking area should be set up in the aquarium under UVB spectrum lamp and a regular heating light so that the basking temperature is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The water temperature should not fall below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Midland Painted Turtle Diet

The Midland painted turtle are omnivores and are equally fond of insects, worms, tadpoles fishes, snails, lettuce, Hyacinth, fresh water algae and other leafy vegetables. Juveniles tend to be more carnivores to fulfill their protein requirement. In Captivity keepers should mix vitamin and calcium powder in their meals.

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