By: Kelsey Feighner

As we slowly (very slowly!) inch our way towards spring, the wildlife effectually united states of america will start becoming more active as they take advantage of the meliorate weather condition to showtime near the business of finding mates and having babies. In one case spring finally arrives and the ice is gone from lakes, ponds, and rivers, Michigan'due south many turtle species will emerge from their burrows at the lesser of the bodies of water to join the spring madness.

Afterward their courtship and mating, males and females get their split up ways. Females will lay their eggs between late May and early June in moist sand in a sunny spot. Female turtles lay their eggs in small cavities dug into the sand, and so bury and leave them on their ain. Many eggs become nutrient for other species, but some survive to hatch into baby turtles a couple of months later. The eggs hatch into males or females depending on the temperature of the eggs. Warmer eggs hatch into females, while cooler eggs hatch into males. The newly hatched babies are on their own, to quickly get into water and start to learn how to survive in the tough outdoors. They'll learn to eat foods like insects, tadpoles, vegetation, shellfish, and occasionally other pocket-sized animals and feces. If they survive, they will have numerous years (varies by species) to achieve sexual maturity and start laying eggs of their own. This late sexual maturity is due to the long lifespan of almost turtles, but can mean large trouble with the dangers that face turtles these days.

Dangers to Turtles

Some of the biggest dangers facing turtles include the draining of wetlands, contaminated runoff into watersheds, predators, pet trade, and vehicles. Since almost turtles in Michigan are aquatic (only one, the box turtle, is terrestrial), they are highly dependent and sensitive to changes in the h2o. They can easily be affected by toxins coming from agricultural runoff or from land evolution. Their long lifespan merely contributes to this by giving the toxins more than time to build upward in the turtle'due south system. Similar many species, turtles are highly dependent on wetlands for a dwelling house, and wetlands are one of the most endangered ecosystems today. Even if areas of wetlands are left near adult areas, this just opens turtles upward to some other serious danger – vehicles. Turtles are well-known for existence tiresome-moving animals and the wide stretch of a road takes quite a long time for them to get across. Often they don't get in. While they exercise have their infamous crush for protection, it can't always protect them from the weight and force of a car. Even if the turtle isn't outright killed by beingness run over, the shell can however exist damaged or cracked, which tin open the turtle to infection or make it more easily attacked past predators.

What kind of turtle did I discover?

Have you lot establish a turtle in your lawn? Or maybe you stopped to assistance one safely cantankerous a route, or saw one hanging out on a sunny log in the river. Michigan has nine native species of turtle, but most of them are quite easy to tell apart. The markings on the shell and caput, besides equally the shape of the beat and mouth are all great ways to identify a turtle. The top of the beat is called the carapace. The scales roofing the crush are called scutes. The caparace might be high and dome-shaped on some turtles, similar the eastern box turtle or the Blanding'south turtle.

Eastern Box Turtle

(photos by Jim Harding)

Blandings Turtle

Other turtles, like the painted turtle, have a flatter carapace.

Painted turtle 1

(from http://herpsofmichigan.webs.com/turtles)

Michigan as well has the spiny soft-trounce turtle, which is the but Michigan turtle to have a soft carapace that lacks scutes and is rubbery and skin-covered.

soft shelled turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

You can also look at the colors or pattern of the carapace to give clues to what species of turtle you're looking at. This is the best manner to identify the rare spotted turtle, well named for the xanthous spots on its carapace.

spotted turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

Turtles can as well be identified with the help of the plastron, which is the bottom of the shell. The plastron on many of the Michigan turtle species is yellowish or orange, but some may take other markings on information technology. The wood turtle has blackness blotches on the outer edges of the plastron.

wood turtle

(from http://herpsofmichigan.webs.com/turtles)

The only terrestrial turtle species in Michigan, the Eastern Box Turtle, has a flexible hinge on its plastron that allows it to completely close itself in its vanquish for protection. It's the only turtle that tin can completely close itself off like this.

painted turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

You lot can as well use the markings on the caput and neck or the shape of the oral cavity to help identify a turtle you've found. The map turtle has narrow yellow stripes on the head and neck, along with a xanthous spot behind the eye.

map turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

The musk turtle has two light yellow stripes on the side of the head, along with a pointed snout.

musk turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

Turtles eat a variety of food items, including tadpoles, snails, other mollusks, crayfish, insects, and plants. The shape of their mouth tin give you a hint as to what they eat. The map turtle to a higher place eats more often than not mollusks and uses their strong jaws to vanquish the shells. The snapping turtle has a hooked beak like a hawk, and will eat just about any pocket-size creature information technology can catch in improver to plants and carrion.

snapping turtle

(photo by Jim Harding)

How common are these turtles?

The painted turtle is probably Michigan's most common turtle, found throughout the state. The Musk Turtle and Snapping Turtle are likewise establish throughout the state, though the musk turtle is more often than not harder to come across due to its secretive habits. The Spiny Soft-vanquish and Map Turtles are unremarkably found in the Lower Peninsula only, mostly in the southern & central counties.

Unfortunately, due to the many dangers listed above that face turtles, half of Michigan'due south turtles are either listed every bit a Species of Special Concern or Threatened. The Wood Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, and Blanding'due south Turtle are all listed equally being of special concern in the state. The biggest threat facing all of these turtles is nest predation, especially by raccoons. Raccoons are currently overpopulated in the land and they take learned how to hands track down turtle nests and oftentimes consume all of the eggs. This means very few juvenile turtles bring together the population. While these turtles might seem common right at present, nearly of the individuals seen are older, and once they brainstorm to disappear, the population of these species volition fall fifty-fifty more. Being hit by vehicles on the road is another major threat facing these turtles, particularly the box turtle.

Michigan has 1 threatened turtle species, the Spotted Turtle. This species has fallen prey to all of the threats listed above, particularly wetland draining and pet trade or individual collection. They are completely protected past Michigan constabulary, only but fourth dimension will tell if this will help this rare species of turtle.

What tin I do for turtles?

1) Assistance protect wetlands! Wetlands are one of the virtually threatened habitats in Michigan and in the country. They're often drained to exist turned into agriculture fields or adult for houses or other buildings. Though many of the big wetlands in Michigan are now protected under police, many smaller ones are yet threatened with evolution. You lot can help by writing to your lawmakers to tell them how of import wetlands are and why we need to protect them. Y'all can also check for small areas of wetlands on your own land and how to protect them from pollution or destruction. Vist http://world wide web.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,seven-135-3313_3687—,00.html and https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,vii-153-10370_22664-61132–,00.html for more than information well-nigh wetlands.

2) Exit turtles in the wild! Many people observe a baby turtle and decide information technology's a skillful idea to proceed it for a pet. This is a major effect for some of our native turtle species. You are Not helping that turtle or the species as a whole past taking it from the wild! Turtles are wildlife and demand to stay in their natural habitat in social club to acquire how to survive themselves and eventually contribute to sustaining the population by convenance. Even keeping the turtle for a picayune while can cause issues if the turtle is fed incorrectly or if it no longer knows how to find its ain nutrient once released. It'southward best to savor turtles by viewing them in the wild. You can do this by visiting the Tollgate Wetlands in Lansing, or the Maple River State Game Area, located just northeast of St. John's. There's more data near wetland locations in Michigan here – https://world wide web.michigan.gov/documents/wetland_table_57288_7.pdf

3) Don't release your pet turtle into the wild! The DNR site lists ten species of turtles in Michigan rather than just the nine I mentioned – the tenth species is the Red-eared Slider. This species of turtle is Non native to Michigan, and is an invasive species introduced through the pet trade. Scarlet eared sliders are native to the southern Us and northern United mexican states. In Michigan, they can be found in the Muskegon and Lansing areas, as well as Oakland county. Nonnative species can plow into major problems by competing with native species for resources and habitat. If you no longer wish to keep your pet turtle, it'due south best to find a new habitation for it rather than only releasing it outdoors.

4) Drive carefully and aid turtles cantankerous the road! Scout advisedly when you're driving.   , When turtles are moving about to find habitat, mates, and nesting sites, particularly in the leap and early on summer, to avoid striking turtles.  Be just as careful on back country roads as larger highways – Blanding'due south Turtles are known for nesting on the sides of dirt roads and can often past hit while doing so. If yous run into a turtle in the road or by the edge, please stop if it's rubber to do so; and move the turtle to prophylactic. Make sure yous motility the turtle in the aforementioned direction equally it's moving to avoid information technology going right back into the road. If the turtle looks like it'south already been striking by a machine and has a scissure in its shell, you lot can call WILDSIDE at 517-663-6153 for more data on where to take the turtle for help.

For moving nigh turtles, the turtle will like pull its head dorsum into its beat for protection when you approach. You can carefully pick the turtle up past the sides of the beat and move it to a safe location. If yous discover the turtle yous want to help is a snapping turtle, a little more caution is warranted! Snapping turtles are very defensive on land and will snap at anything that approaches them. Their seize with teeth is very strong and tin can be quite dangerous. However, you tin can nonetheless assistance snappers if y'all're careful! If y'all have leather gloves handy, it's not a bad idea to put those on. NEVER selection a snapping turtle (or whatever other turtle, or beast) up past the tail. You tin seriously injure the animal by doing so. The safest way to motion a snapping turtle to avert injury for either party is to option it upwardly by the back of the shell, nigh the tail. Hold the turtle away from your torso; they take a very long neck. Make sure you recall to wash your hands before eating or touching your oral cavity since turtles are known for carrying salmonella.

For more data well-nigh individual turtle species and where y'all can find them, visit

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12201-60650–,00.html

http://herpsofmichigan.webs.com/turtles

For more information on threats to turtles & other reptiles/amphibians in Michigan, and how to help, visit

http://world wide web.herprman.com/amphibian-reptile-management-practices-michigan

Other sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider