What kinds of turtles live in Indiana?

Table of Contents

This blog post will go over seven excellent types of turtles that you might find living in Indiana!

Alligator Snapping Turtle.
Blanding’s Turtle.
Eastern Box Turtle.
Eastern Mud Turtle.
Eastern Musk Turtle.
False Map Turtle.
Northern Map Turtle.

How do I find out what kind of turtle I have?

Many turtles have distinct carapace shapes or markings that can be used to identify them. Some turtles have colouring such as yellow-throats or red lines on their necks. Some turtles are very small and don’t grow bigger than your hand such as the stink-pot or slightly bigger is the spotted turtle.

What does a Indiana snapping turtle look like?

The Snapping Turtle is best identified by its large size, long saw-toothed tail, small cross-shaped plastron, large head, and sharp curved beak. The carapace is massive, with a strongly serrated posterior edge and three low keels along the midline.

What kind of turtles live in southern Indiana?

Below is a complete listing of Indiana’s native species of turtles:

Alligator snapping turtle (endangered)
Blanding’s turtle (endangered)
Eastern box turtle (special concern, protected)
Eastern mud turtle (endangered)
Eastern musk turtle.
False map turtle (special concern)
Northern map turtle.

What is the most common turtle in Indiana?

Common Map Turtle Graptemys geographica. Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina carolina. Eastern Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum. Eastern Spiny Softshell Apalone spinifera spinifera.

Is it illegal to keep a box turtle in Indiana?

Recent initiatives have led to the protection of the Eastern box turtle in Indiana. Since 2004, the collection of Eastern box turtles from the wild is prohibited. A permit is required to care for captive specimens in the state.

What is the most common turtle type?

The box turtle is generally considered the most common species of turtle in the United States. The box turtle is a part of the family Emydidae. Box turtles can be found in five out of seven continents, and Emydidae is the largest turtle family on the globe.

How do you identify a freshwater turtle?

Freshwater turtles are often small with flat feet. Land turtles, called tortoises, have big, round shells and flat feet. Sea turtles that have smooth, flat shells and flippers for swimming. Take advantage of a turtle’s size, color, and other features to determine its species!

How do you tell if a turtle is a snapping turtle?

Snapping turtles are easily recognized by their dark carapace (upper shell) with a deeply serrated back margin and a small plastron (bottom shell) that does not completely cover all of the animal’s flesh. Three low keels (or ridges) on the carapace of younger turtles often become obscure as the turtle matures.

What box turtles are in Indiana?

There are two species of box turtles native to Indiana. They are the eastern, which does or did range all across the state. The other species is the ornate box turtle that has a very restricted habitat in Hoosierland.

Are yellow bellied sliders native to Indiana?

The yellow-bellied slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) is a land and water turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. This subspecies of pond slider is native to the southeastern United States, specifically from Florida to southeastern Virginia, and is the most common turtle species in its range.

What kind of box turtles are in Indiana?

The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a species of hinge-shelled turtle that lives on forested land in Indiana. Box turtles are long-lived, slow to mature and have few offspring per year.