The United States is home to more turtle species than any other country in the world, almost 100 species, and subspecies. But those turtle species are not distributed evenly, so most states won’t always be home to the same turtle species, even if they are very close.
Arizona is home to 7 turtle species. In this article I am going to take a closer look at each species and cover a few basic things about them, things like the appearance, lifespan, how big it can get, diet, where it lives, conservation status, and reproduction.
Quick list of the native turtles of Arizona:
- Arizona Mud Turtle Kinosternon arizonense
- Desert Box Turtle Terrapene ornata luteola
- Desert Tortoise Gopherus agassizii
- Sonora Mud Turtle Kinosternon sonoriense sonoriense
- Texas Spiny Softshell Apalone spinifera emoryi
- Yellow Mud Turtle Kinosternon flavescens flavescens
Now let’s take a closer look at the native turtles of Arizona.
The Native Turtles of Arizona
Quick Note: Most turtle subspecies are very similar, so besides some few differences in color it’s possible that everything else about them to be the same.
Quick Note: In this list I am also going to tell you the conservation status of the species, meaning how close they are to extinction. I will give a more in-depth explanation of this ranking works, at the end of the article, but until then I will add a picture that will let you know the basics.
Arizona Mud Turtle (Kinosternon arizonense)
Description: Like most mud turtles the Arizona Mud Turtle has a dome-like shell. The top part of the shell is usually colored olive, brown or yellow-brown. The bottom side of the shell is usually colored yellow-brown. The color of the skin is usually the same color as the upper part of the shell, with the exception of the lower side of the head which is usually yellow-brown or yellow.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 50 years.
How big it can get: They usually reach sizes between 5 and 7 inches.
Where it lives: As the name implies Mud turtles prefer to stay in water bodies that have a soft bottom, composed of either sand or mud. So they can be usually found in lakes, swamps, marshes, and rivers.
Diet: Mud turtles are omnivorous, which means that they will eat meat, snails, fish, insects, as well as fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of vegetation.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: The nesting period starts in May, and ends around the end of July. The incubation period is longer than that of most turtles, lasting around 100 to 110 days.
Desert Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata luteola)
Description: The Desert Box Turtle has a very dome-like shaped shell, that can range in color from brown to black, and it’s usually covered with a multitude of lines and spots that can range in color from yellow to orange. The lower side of the shell is usually yellow and has lines that are brown or black. The skin is usually covered in multiple yellow spots.
How long it can live: Between 50 and 100 years.
How big it can get: Most Box turtles reach sizes between 5 and 7 inches.
Where it lives: Unlike most turtles, Box turtles live on land instead of water. They can be usually be found across open woodlands as well as grasslands and meadows.
Diet: Box turtles are omnivorous, so they will eat anything that they can find, meat, insects, fruits, vegetables, and any kind of vegetation.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Reproduction: The nesting period takes place between May and July. The incubation period for the eggs is between 70 and 80 days.
Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
Description: The Desert Tortoise doesn’t stand out too much from the rest of the tortoises. It has a typical coloration, the shell is usually brown with a few lighter spots, and the skin is usually grey or brown.
How long it can live: Between 60 and 80 years.
How big it can get: In general Desert tortoises reach sizes between 10 and 15 inches.
Where it lives: As the name implies the desert tortoise can be found in the desert. While they are there they spend most of their time in burrows.
Diet: They are herbivores, and they will eat most plants that they can find.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Reproduction: Nesting season starts in early spring, and ends in late summer. On average, the incubation period of the eggs ranges from 80 to 90 days.
Sonora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense)
Description: The Sonora Mud Turtle has a dome-like shell. The top part color ranges from olive to dark brown. The top part of the shell also has three mild lengthwise keels. The lower part of the shell is usually colored yellow or yellow-brown. The color of the skin is usually brown or black and it’s covered with olive-colored spots.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 50 years.
How big it can get: They usually reach sizes between 5 and 7 inches.
Where it lives: As the name implies Mud turtles prefer to stay in water bodies that have a soft bottom, composed of either sand or mud. So they can be usually found in lakes, swamps, marshes, and rivers.
Diet: Mud turtles are omnivorous, which means that they will eat meat, snails, fish, insects, as well as fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of vegetation.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: The nesting period starts in May, and ends around the end of July. The incubation period is longer than that of most turtles, lasting around 100 to 110 days.
Texas Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera emoryi)
Description: Like most softshell turtles the TexasCoast Spiny Softshell Turtle has a very flat appearance. The color of the shell and skin is usually is olive-colored or dark green with multiple small white spots. It also has bumpy projections beginning at the front edge of the carapace and going partway down the center of its shell. Located along the bottom edge of the carapace are three lines that follow the edge of the shell going back towards its’ head.
How long it can live: Between 40 and 60 years.
How big it can get: In general males are considerably smaller than females. Males reach sizes between 5 and 10 inches, while females reach sizes between 9 and 20 inches.
Where it lives: Spiny Softshell turtles can be found in any aquatic habitat: lakes, rivers, reservoirs, wetlands, and marshes.
Diet: They are carnivores, so they mainly eat insects, snails, and small aquatic animals.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: Nesting season starts in early spring and ends during the summer. The incubation period of the eggs is 80 days.
Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon flavescens)
Description: Yellow Mud Turtles have a dome-like shell that is usually colored olive, dark brown, or black. The lower part of the shell is usually colored yellow, hence the name Yellow Mud Turtle. The color of the skin is usually the same color as the upper part of the shell.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 50 years.
How big it can get: They usually reach sizes between 5 and 7 inches.
Where it lives: As the name implies Mud turtles prefer to stay in water bodies that have a soft bottom, composed of either sand or mud. So they can be usually found in lakes, swamps, marshes, and rivers.
Diet: Mud turtles are omnivorous, which means that they will eat meat, snails, fish, insects, as well as fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of vegetation.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: The nesting period starts in May, and ends around the end of July. The incubation period is longer than that of most turtles, lasting around 100 to 110 days.
The Conservation Status
The conservation status of a species shows how close a species is to extinction. When a species gets its status there are a lot of factors taken into consideration, not only the number of individuals still leaving.
Even if at the moment there are a lot of individuals of a species, there can be some changes in their environment that will drastically affect the species. For example, the plastic in the water is greatly impacting sea turtles in a negative way.
There are a lot of systems that track the conservation status of a species, but the most well-known and used is the one I used in this article, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. With this system species are classified into nine groups set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. Out of the nine classifications, two of them basically mean that there is not enough data on the species, so you will usually see only seven possible statuses instead of nine.
- Extinct (EX) – No known living individuals
- Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range
- Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
- Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild
- Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild
- Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future
- Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk; does not qualify for a higher risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
- Data deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction
- Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.
Alien Species of Arizona
The turtle species that I listed above are known as native species, but there can be other turtle species that live in that area that are not native, those species are called alien species.
Alien species are species that are not native to an area, but they still live there. Those species are usually brought to that region by humans. So a certain state might be home to 10 turtle species, but only 5 of them can be native.
Alien species can be added to an area to help with certain ecological problems, or by mistake. Turtles can do a lot of good things to an area, they can keep certain insect populations under control, they can eat the overwhelming vegetation, of a lake, that got out of control, and there are a lot of other beneficial things that they can do.
It’s also possible that some unknowing person decided to release a few turtles into the wild. If those turtles manage to reproduce, they can easily start a new alien species in a new area. Overall I strongly suggest you not do this, it can be very dangerous for the ecosystem and for the turtles as well. If you want to know more reasons why you shouldn’t do this, you should read my article: Can Pet Turtle Survive in the Wild? In this article, I explore all the possible outcomes of this situation.
Arizona State Laws Regarding Turtles
Every state in the US has different laws regarding native turtles and turtles in general. Most of those rules are generally designed to protect turtles, so even if they seem a little restrictive, they are there for a good reason. Arizona has its own set of laws that are different from any other state. Since a lot of those laws are about the native species I strongly suggest you visit this interactive map that will point you to an article on this site that explains as simply as possible the state laws in Arizona regarding turtles, tortoises, and terrapins.
What to Do If You Find a Wild Native Turtle
What you can do if you find a native wild turtle really depends on your intentions. If you want to take a few photos from a distance, you can definitely do that. If you want to touch the turtle you can usually do that, but you have to take a few cautionary measures.
You have to remember that most wild animals can carry bacteria, and since turtles spend a lot of time in water those bacteria can be a little more dangerous. So if you touch a turtle make sure that you have some wet wipes near you, if you don’t you should probably avoid touching it. But if you still want to, at least try not to put your hands near your face after you touched the turtle.
The most important thing that you have to watch out for when interacting with a wild turtle is the turtle trying to bite you. Generally, turtles are peaceful creatures, but if they think that they are in danger and they have no way of escaping, then they will definitely try to bite you. To prevent this make sure that you don’t let it too close to your toes (if they are exposed), or to your fingers. If you want to pick up a turtle you should catch it by the sides and keep your hands above or below it, never in front of its mouth.
If you want to feed the turtle, you can definitely do that, that would actually be great, but make sure that you are feeding it the right thing, some foods can be very dangerous to turtles, to find out which food items are good and which are bad you can always check out this article where you will also find a few food items lists: What Do Turtles Eat? ( Including Food Lists )
If you want to take the turtle home as a pet, you first have to make sure that it’s legal to do so. Most states, including Arizona, have laws that protect wild native turtles. You can check out the laws of Arizona on this page: Turtle State Laws.
If it’s winter or close to winter there is a chance that you can find a hibernating turtle. When turtles hibernate, they enter a very profound sleep which allows them to conserve energy. They generally do this because during cold seasons there is little to no food available to them, and because there is no heat to allow them to heat up their body ( turtles are unable to produce their own body heat). If during a cold season you find a turtle that is hibernating, usually the best thing that you can do is to leave it to hibernate peacefully. Usually, turtles know how to choose a good spot to hibernate, so they are probably just fine. If you want to know more about turtle hibernation, I’ve written a more in-depth article that covers the subject, In this article, I cover why turtles hibernate, how hibernation takes place, how aquatic turtles hibernate, how land turtles hibernate, how sea turtles hibernate, what is brumation, and many other important and interesting things about hibernation: Do Turtles Hibernate?
Conclusion
This article should cover every basic thing about the native turtles of Arizona. But if you have a question about something that you couldn’t find in the article you should leave a comment, I will do my best to answer it as soon as possible.
If you want to know more facts about turtles you can always check out the category: Turtle Facts. Or if you are a turtle owner and you want to know more about how to properly take care of a turtle or a tortoise you can always check the Care Guides Section or the Recommended Products Section.
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Do you want another turtle? It’s a desert tortoise who is approximately 3 years old. I would like to find a good home for or if you know of any.
Hello Eva,
Please send me an email with a few pictures of your tortoise and I will gladly help you out find a new home for your tortoise.