Pond & Marsh Turtles

Bog Turtle

• The bog turtle lives in shallow bodies of water that are slow-moving, including bogs, swamps, streams and wet meadows. They build their nests primarily in sunny, open parts of meadows, bogs or fields. The bog turtle has three to four eggs at a time in June or the beginning of July. The incubation period lasts seven to eight weeks, hatching in September. In the winter they live in the mud at the bottoms of streams, ponds or lakes. Bog turtles are believed to live 25 to 30 years. The bog turtle is considered a "threatened" species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Spotted Turtle

• The spotted turtle makes its home in small ponds, marshes, bogs, wet meadows and slow-moving streams. It feeds on small crustaceans, spiders, insects, frogs, worms and at times aquatic plants. It prefers open areas with sandy or loose soil, primarily in meadows and fields. On average, they lay three to four eggs in June. The incubation period lasts 70 to 83 days and the eggs hatch in the end of August or in September. The spotted turtle spends its winter in the mud or vegetation of lakes, streams and ponds. They're thought to live at least 26 years. These turtles favor cool temperatures and when it is hot they bury themselves in leaves or relax in a stream.

Wood Turtle

• The habitat of the wood turtle is marshes, fields, woodlands, and coastal forests. Wood turtles feed in water and on land, consuming earthworms, tadpoles, mollusks, insects, algae, grass, mushrooms, berries and moss. They build their nests in sandy soils along roadsides, embankments or in fields. Wood turtles lay six to eight eggs in May or June. The eggs hatch about 75 days later in the beginning of the fall. Wood turtles pass the winter underwater in leaves or mud, or in muskrat tunnels in the banks of streams. The average lifespan of the wood turtle is 60 years or more.

Eastern Box Turtle

• The eastern box turtle lives in coastal forests, marshes, fields and woodlands. They eat a diet of earthworms, berries, fruit, fungi, grass, snakes, frogs and insects. Eastern box turtles make their nests in gravel or sandy soil and typically lay four to six eggs in May or June. The incubation period lasts two to three months and the eggs hatch in August or September. In the winter eastern box turtles live in leaf litter, abandoned mammal holes, loose soil, sand or in the mud at the bottom of a stream or pond. At times they burrow as deep as 2 feet down when the soil freezes. The average lifespan is 50 to 75 years.

  According to the Massachusetts Audubon website, the oldest vertebrate known to man is an Eastern box turtle that is 138 years old. The eastern box turtle builds a domelike structure for itself in the late afternoon out of leaves or grasses. They spend the night in this structure, oftentimes using it several nights in a row.

Painted Turtle

• The painted turtle lives in shallow water where they bask on sloping banks, fallen trees or rocks. Their diet consists of aquatic animals and plants, small fish, tadpoles and snails. Painted turtles lay their eggs in sandy or loose soil where there's sun. Their clutches include five to six eggs and are laid from June to mid-July. The incubation period is 70 to 82 days and the eggs hatch during mid-August and September. Painted turtles spend the winter in leaf litter or mud at the bottom of bodies of water such as ponds, slow-moving streams and lakes. They live 13 years or more.