An adult eastern box turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This turtle is one of the most common turtles that we see at the Turtle Rescue Team. They are a terrestrial turtle, but still generally live near aquatic environments. As adults, they reach lengths of up to 6-8 inches. They get their name from their hinged plastron, which allows them to fully retract their head and legs into their shell when threatened, called “boxing.”

Sexing: In adult turtles, males generally have brighter coloration, red eyes, a concave plastron, and longer tails. Females tend to be more brown in coloration with a flat plastron and shorter tails. It can be harder to determine the sex in juvenile box turtles.

Specific Considerations: Box turtles are very commonly hit by cars while searching for mates or nesting sites during the spring and summer after it rains. They are also commonly struck by landscaping equipment or attacked by dogs. Box turtles may accidentally entrap their legs, heads, or tails when they box.

Distinguishing between male and female box turtles. (Source: Spike the Turtle)

A box turtle hatchling with an egg tooth and umbilical scar. (Source: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, UGA)

Range of the Eastern box turtle in North Carolina (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult common musk turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

These turtles are mostly aquatic and have a distinctive musky smell due to a secretion from their anal glands – they’re sometimes called “stinkpot turtles.” Like box turtles, musk turtles have hinged plastrons that allow them to escape from predators. This turtle is found across the entire state of North Carolina – unlike the stripe-necked musk turtle, which is only found in the western part of the state (see below). The turtle can be identified by having two stripes on their face. As these turtles do not tend to venture far away from water, they are seen less frequently than other turtle species.

Sexing: Males have thick, sharp, horny tails while females have smaller, more blunted tails.

A musk turtle hatchling. (Source: Project Noah)

Range of the common musk turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

Adult common snapping turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This turtle is rarely misidentified – it has a very distinct appearance and is commonly seen by the Turtle Rescue Team. Snapping turtles can grow to be quite large – up to 14 inches in length. These turtles have large heads, a long neck, and small unhinged plastrons. They are commonly encountered on land during their nesting season. Snapping turtles are known to be aggressive – handlers should never place their hands near the front half of the turtle, as they are able to very quickly reach their long necks around to give a powerful bite. They can be lifted by the back of their shell. 

Special Considerations: Snappers are frequently hit by cars while crossing roads. Their instinct is to make themselves appear bigger and more threatening when a car approaches, and as a result they frequently have injuries to the top of their carapace.

How to properly lift a snapping turtle by grasping the back 1/4 of the carapace. (Source: Herps of NC)

A snapping turtle hatchling. (Source: Maine Audubon)

Range of common snapping turtles in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult painted turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This aquatic turtle has a flat carapace with large scutes, an unhinged plastron, and very bright coloration. Adults are usually between 5-8 inches in length. They can be seen basking near bodies of water but do venture far enough away from water to encounter vehicles. They are not found in the southern-most part of the state.

Sexing: Males have longer claws and tails than females.

Painted turtle hatchling. (Source: Herps of NC)

Range of painted turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult spotted turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

The spotted turtle is aquatic and is generally found near marshes or similar habitats and are more commonly seen in spring. They are small – adults only grow to about 3-5 inches – and have distinctive spots on their shells. The carapace is usually darker in color than the plastron, which is usually yellow or pink.

Range of the spotted turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult yellow-bellied slider. (Source: Herps of NC)

Another species commonly seen by the Turtle Rescue Team, the yellow-bellied slider can be difficult to distinguish from the river cooter (see below). While juveniles have bright yellow markings on their shells, adults lose this coloration, having just faint yellow lines on the carapace with a yellow plastron. Sliders have a yellow y-shaped spot behind the eye, rounder jaws, and are more dome-shaped than cooters.

This species can also be difficult to differentiate from the red-eared slider, which is invasive in North Carolina (see below). Yellow bellied sliders will lack a red streak behind the eye, but it is possible for yellow-bellied sliders to hybridize with red-eared sliders.

Sexing: Sexing can be difficult in this species, but males tend to have longer claws and longer tails than females.

Special Considerations: While these turtles frequently present to the Turtle Rescue Team after being hit by a car, they are also commonly brought in for accidental fish hook encounters.

Yellow-bellied slider hatchling. (Source: Herps of NC)

The range of the yellow-bellied slider in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult river cooter. (Source: Herps of NC)

Cooters can grow to be fairly large, and can be differentiated from yellow-bellied sliders by their overall flatter shape and prominent black markings on the plastron. Cooters also have flatter chins than sliders. It is difficult to distinguish the river cooter from the Florida cooter (see below), but river cooters will sometimes have a “C” on the second side scute while Florida cooters do not. River cooters will hybridize with Florida cooters. These turtles are frequently seen basking near bodies of water, especially rivers and large streams. Adults can grow up to 13 inches in length.

Sexing: Males have longer claws than females.

Range of the river cooter in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult Florida cooter. (Source: Herps of NC)

This turtle looks very similar to the river cooter (see above), but lacks a “C” on the second side scute. Generally, Florida cooters prefer wetlands and marshes while river cooters are more likely to inhabit rivers and large streams, which is another way to differentiate between the two species. The Florida cooter can hybridize with both the river cooter and the Northern red-bellied turtle.

Sexing: Males have longer claws than females.

Range of the Florida cooter in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult eastern mud turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This small semi-aquatic turtle is sometimes mistaken for the common musk turtle (see above) in eastern North Carolina. However, the mud turtle lacks the two stripes on its head. Mud turtles have double-hinged plastrons and can grow to be up to 5 inches in length. They prefer shallow, slow-moving water and are sometimes found in brackish marshes. As hatchlings, mud turtles may look like hatchling snapping turtles, but can be distinguished by their hinged plastrons and shorter tail.

An eastern mud turtle hatchling. (Source: Herps of NC)

Range of the eastern mud turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult striped mud turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This mud turtle is very similar to the eastern mud turtle (see above). While it can have three stripes on its carapace (hence the name), sometimes these stripes are not visible. Like the eastern mud turtle, this turtle prefers shallow stagnant water.

Sexing: Males have longer tails than females.

A striped mud turtle hatchling. (Source: Conservancy of SW FL)

Range of the striped mud turtle in North Carolina (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult chicken turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

These turtles can sometimes look like yellow-bellied sliders. They have textured shells as well as vertical stripes on the hind legs, and their carapace is usually not as ornate or colorful as sliders. Chicken turtles have hingeless plastrons and grow up to 9 inches in length. They are usually found in sluggish water, such as in marshes.

Sexing: Females are larger than males.

Chicken turtle hatchling. (Source: Tennessee Aquarium)

Range of the chicken turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult red-bellied cooter. (Source: Herps of NC)

This turtle can look like a river cooter, but generally has some red markings and is, overall, darker in color with black skin. This turtle also has a more restricted range than the river cooter and is only found in the northeastern part of the state. They will sometimes hybridize with Florida cooters. This turtle is considered threatened, mostly due to competition from non-native red-eared sliders (see below).

A red-bellied cooter hatchling. (Source: Philly Watersheds)

Range of the red-bellied cooter in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult diamondback terrapin. (Source: Herps of NC)

This turtle is really only found along the coastlines of North Carolina – usually in coastal marshes and tidal creeks. Diamondback terrapins prefer brackish water and have ornate patterns on their shells but have high variation in coloration. These are a threatened species, affected by hunting and crab traps.

Sexing: Females are larger than males, with females growing up to 9 inches and males being only about 6 inches long.

Special Considerations: These turtles need to be held in brackish water with a specific gravity of about 1.014. This can be accomplished using aquarium salt and fresh water. If you have a terrapin in your care, you will also need to allow it to soak in fresh water for about 15 minutes a day.

A smaller male terrapin on the left and a female terrapin on the right. (Source: Herps of NC)

A diamondback terrapin hatchling. (Source: Herps of NC)

Range of the diamondback terrapin in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult bog turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This tiny turtle has a dark-colored shell, hingeless plastron, and a distinctive orange or yellow blotch on the head and neck. They only grow to be up to 4 inches in length as adults. These turtles are not commonly seen as they tend to bury themselves in mud most of the time in bogs and wetlands. This species is considered threatened due to habitat loss and the pet trade.

A bog turtle hatchling. (Source: Herps of NC)

Range of the bog turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult stripe-necked musk turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This musk turtle can be distinguished from the common musk turtle (see above) by the markings on its head. Common musk turtles have two stripes on their heads, while stripe-necked musk turtles have more ornate markings on their heads with a series of stripes on their necks. This species has fleshy “barbles” on their chins and can grow to be between 3-5 inches in length. Stripe-necked musk turtles are rare in North Carolina.

Range of the stripe-necked musk turtle in North Carolina. (Source: Herps of NC)

An adult spiny softshell turtle. (Source: Herps of NC)

This is one of the more unique turtles in North Carolina because the carapace and plastron are covered by a layer of skin. Spiny softshell turtles also have long necks and a long nose that they use like a snorkel. They are almost always found in water and rarely come on land.

Sexing: Females can be significantly larger than males. Females can be up to 7-12 inches, and males only 5-9 inches.

Spiny softshell turtle hatchling. (Source: Vermont Center for Ecostudies)

Range of the spiny softshell turtle in North Carolina. The blue represents the range of the eastern spiny softshell while the green represents the range of the Gulf Coast spiny softshell. (Source: Herps of NC)