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.
Delaware is home to 9 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 Delaware:
- Common Musk Turtle (Stinkpot) Sternotherus odoratus
- Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina serpentina
- Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina
- Eastern Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum
- Eastern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta picta
- Northern Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
- Northern Redbelly Turtle Pseudemys rubriventris
- Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans
- Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata
Now let’s take a closer look at the native turtles of Delaware.
The Native Turtles of Delaware
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.
Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)
Description: The Common Musk Turtle has a very plain appearance with very consistent colors. The color of the shell and the skin is usually very similar and it can usually be dark brown or black. The shell has one distinct feature and that is a ridge that traverses the entire length of the shell. Another distinguishable feature of the Common Musk turtle can be found on its head in the form of two light-colored stripes.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 50 years.
How big it can get: Common Musk turtles are very small, they usually reach sizes between 3 and 4.5 inches.
Where it lives: Like most aquatic turtles, the musk turtle can be found in all minds of slow-moving and still body waters. But in general, they prefer waters that have a soft bottom, like mud or sand.
Diet: Common Musk turtles are omnivorous and feed on small aquatic and semi-aquatic animals, aquatic plants, and carrion, and any other kind of fruit or vegetable that they can find.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: Nesting season usually starts in late May and lasts until August. The average incubation period of the eggs is 75 days.
Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)
Description: Common Snapping Turtles can range in color from brown to black. They usually have very long legs, necks, and tails. And they have a pronounced beak-like mouth.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 50 years.
How big it can get: Between 12 and 15 inches, in rare cases, some of them can reach even 19 inches.
Where it lives: A habitat generalist, the common snapping turtle can be found in almost any body of freshwater with a muddy bottom.
Diet: They are omnivorous, which means that they eat both meat and plants. When it comes to the meat they will scavenge, or actively hunt their prey in the water.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: Nesting season is May to July. Incubation usually lasts between 70 and 100 days.
Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Description: The Eastern Box Turtles have a very dome-like shaped shell that ranges in color from brown to black. Besides the shape of the shell, the other most recognizable element is the pattern of the shell and skin, the pattern of the Eastern Box turtles can vary from individual to individual but it can usually be described as a lot of spots or blobs, that are colored yellow, red or orange.
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.
Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum)
Description: The Eastern Mud turtle has a very plain look, the upper part of the shell usually lacks any pattern and the color can range from a dark yellow to black. The lower side of the carapace is also very plain, but it’s usually a little lighter than the upper part. One of the few distinct features of the Eastern Mud Turtle is the stripes on the head that can range in color from white to 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.
Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)
Description: The skin color of the Eastern Painted Turtle usually ranges from dark olive to black. The shell is usually the same color as the skin, but the edges are usually red, orange, or yellow. The bottom part of the shell will usually be colored yellow. The skin of the Eastern Painted Turtle will usually be covered with stripes, near the head they are usually yellow, and on the rest of the body, the color usually ranges from red to orange.
How long it can live: Between 20 and 30 years.
How big it can get: Most Painted turtles reach sizes between 5 and 7 inches.
Where it lives: All Painted turtles subspecies prefer to live in freshwater, and they can be usually found in slow-moving rivers, ponds, and lakes.
Diet: Painted turtles are omnivorous, which means that they will eat fruits, vegetables as well as meat.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: Nesting season starts in March and ends in June. The amount of time it takes the eggs to hatch is around 80 days.
Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin)
Description: The Northern Diamondback Terrapin Has light-colored skin that is covered with small black spots. The shell is usually light brown and it’s covered with circular black patterns.
How long it can live: Between 25 and 35 years.
How big it can get: males usually reach sizes between 4 and 6 inches, females reach sizes between 5 and 8 inches.
Where it lives: Diamondback terrapins can usually be found near brackish waters, and in coastal salt marshes.
Diet: Diamondback terrapins are carnivores, so their diet is mostly made out of meat, fish, insects and other small animals.
Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Reproduction: Nesting season is between April and July, the incubation period usually lasts between 80 and 90 days.
Northern Redbelly Turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris)
Description: The color of the skin and upper shell of the Northern Redbelly Turtle is usually dark brown or black. The upper part of the shell is covered with a subtle red pattern, and with a more pronounced one near the sides of the shell. On the other hand, the lower part of the shell is completely red, with a black pattern usually found in the center. The skin is usually covered with stripes that can range in color from white to yellow, to red.
How long it can live: Between 40 and 60 years.
How big it can get: Northern Redbelly turtles are average-sized compared to most turtles, reaching sizes between 10 and 12 inches.
Where it lives: They can be found in all kinds of slow-moving, and still bodies of water. But in general, they prefer canals and lakes.
Diet: The Redbelly turtles are mainly herbivores, and they usually eat aquatic plants.
Conservation Status: Not Threatened
Reproduction: The nesting season usually starts in March and ends in June. The average time an egg needs to spend incubating is 80 days.
Red Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Description: The most distinct feature of the Red Eared Slider are the red lines that can be easily seen behind the eyes, those lines can vary in color from red to orange and rarely yellow, but in most cases they are red. In general, the color of their skin and shell can range from brown to black, and their skin is covered with yellow stripes.
How long it can live: Between 30 and 40 years.
How big it can get: Red Eared Sliders usually reach sizes between 7 and 12 inches, in most cases, the females are slightly bigger than the males.
Where it lives: They are often found in slow-moving streams, creeks, lakes, ponds, and marshes with a fresh and warm water supply.
Diet: Red Eared Sliders are omnivorous, their diet usually consists of meat, fish, insects, snails, aquatic vegetation, fruits, and vegetables.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Reproduction: The nesting season usually starts in March and ends in June. The average time an egg needs to incubate is 75 days.
Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
Description: The Spotted Turtle has a black upper part of the shell that is covered with yellow, orange, or red spots. The lower part of the shell is usually yellow, orange, or red with a black pattern. The upper side of the skin is usually black and covered with spots just like the upper part of the shell, while the lower part of the skin is colored just like the underside of the shell, yellow, orange, or red.
How long it can live: Between 100 and 150 years.
How big it can get: Spotted turtles are one of the smallest turtle species in the US, usually, it only reaches sizes between 3 and 4 inches.
Where it lives: In general Spotted turtles can be found in marshes, wet meadows, swamps, bogs, and shallow borders of ponds, lakes, and streams.
Diet: Spotted turtles are omnivorous. They feed primarily on aquatic vegetation and invertebrates, but will also eat invertebrates.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Reproduction: The nesting period starts in May and ends in July. On average the incubation period for the eggs lasts between 80 and 90 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.
Here is a list that explains what every status means:
- 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 Delaware
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.
Delaware 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. Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Delaware, have laws that protect wild native turtles. You can check out the laws of Delaware 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 Delaware. 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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