March 25 Life in the Water

The first day I spotted painted turtles getting some sun was on Sunday afternoon, March 22. But today was the first day I saw one up close, from 4 feet away on the bridge at Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Chrysemys picta is the most common turtle in North America and hardy enough to live in small urban ponds. Did you know? That for winter many turtles just bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of the pond! There they go into torpor, slowing their body systems to use as little energy as possible. From October to March, they keep a body temperature of 43 degrees F and somehow stay healthy despite no muscle movement or eating. They will mate once in March and possibly again in June. Like other turtles, the females will lay eggs in a depression in sandy soil, bury them, and move on. This one let my whole class of 4th graders watch it float for ten seconds before it swam a few feet to get under a fallen cattail. I'd be moving slow too if just waking from a four month nap.