Natural History of Clemmys guttata

The spotted turtle, aka Clemmys guttatta, is a super cool semi-aquatic turtle found in freshwater areas all over the Southeast United States.  I ride horses on a HUGE farm off of Plowground road on Johns Island.  At the back of the property there is a large pond back in the woods with huge fish and a mass amount of turtles.  For the longest time I would ride back there and just sit on my horse and check out the animals, but after starting my herpetology class I became super intrigued to determine what these creatures were.  There were a few yellow belly sliders, then I noticed that a few had a different pattern. Yellow spots. AWESOME! I thought this was super sweet especially because they are endangered.  The population at this particular pond is small i think.  I only saw two on this day, and only see them occasionally when I ride back there.  It is quite a trek so I usually only make it back there every now and then.

The spotted turtles had a dark smooth carapace with light yellow spots adorning them.  The one closest to me was a female.  I know this because she had a light orange-ish chin, which is a defining characteristic for female spotted turtles.  I would imagine that she is an older turtle considering she was about 4-5 inches long and this is the typical size for an adult spotted turtle.  I noticed that she had a scar on one of her forelimbs and after some research I discovered that this is very common due to predation and things of that nature.

At the time the female was relaxing and basking in the sun.  She wasn't out foraging for any prey in the herbaceousness surrounding the pond, nor was she eating any plants.  They are omnivores if you didn't already know.  I sat there and watched her for a solid 15 minutes.  Watching her relax was very relaxing for me as well.  Its moments like these that ensure my desire in wanting to study animal behavior.  I cannot think of anything else I'd rather do.  I unfortunately didn't have my phone or a camera, considering I was galloping for miles through the woods.  But this picture is a good portrayal of the beautiful sun basker who made my day.

I hope that these spotted turtles continue to thrive and reproduce in our pond back in the woods.  I am going to keep making the hike, or ride I should say, out there to check on them from time to time.  I hope to see these turtles prevail.  Ill do my best to ensure that they do, though I know I really cannot interfere with nature.  Thats going to be my hardest conquest in studying animal behavior.

Autumn Anthony