Spotted Turtles are native to Virginia. 5” in length and live up to 100 years. They are an endangered species. Never pick up turtles (of any kind) and move them to a new location; they have home territories they know and moving them can cause them to starve or get killed in their wandering trying to find home.

Like box turtles, each has a unique pattern of spots so individuals can be tracked visually. They are a curious hybrid of species and behavior. They are most like painted turtles in their general form and behavior in the spring to meet up in ponds and mate in the water. But then, like box turtles, they will go live in the woods around the pond for the summer. In this sense they are their own worst enemy, for they do not have the thick shell protection that box turtles have, and can be attacked by predators as small as raccoons.

They are omnivores and eat a large variety of aquatic plants and organisms.

‍ ‍For a deeper dive into Spotted Turtle, click this link to     Wikipedia