Painted Turtle Eastern Health Information
Breeding
Eastern Painted Turtles mate between March and June. The courtship ritual is very graceful, with the male swimming past the female and stroking her head and neck. If the female is ready to mate, she strokes his limbs in turn. Mating occurs on the bottom of the pond. Between May and July, the female digs nests in sunny areas near the water. She lays clutches of between 2 and 20 eggs which hatch after about 76 days. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of incubation. Higher temperatures, of 87 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, produce females, temperatures below 77 degrees Fahrenheit produce males. Both males and females will be born if the temperature is around 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Hatchlings have an "egg tooth," which they use to break out of the shell. This tooth falls off after a couple days after birth. The hatchling turtles may spend the winter in the nest. They can even survive being frozen.
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