I saw this fellow Thursday in an area between a small pond and a large one, headed toward the large one. He posed for me in return for my giving him a hand-held ride to the pond of his choice.
It’s now the time of year when this hitchhiker and our other Eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) are feeling the occasional deep chill, getting less basking light, and having difficulties finding a decent meal. Some already have moved south and others are thinking seriously about it. In the case of most wild painted turtles, moving south means tucking into the muck at the bottom of a body of fresh water and relaxing until spring.
The winter activity of wild (and even pet) painted turtles and other turtle species often sparks a controversy over whether they “hibernate,” a word derived from the Latin “hiberna,” meaning “winter quarters.” Whether PTs hibernate depends on which definition you use.
Most scientists seem to prefer to consider hibernation to be a state of total inactivity (often referred to as a type of total “sleep”) during a time of much lower body temperature.
The metabolism of turtles in their winter quarters here slows down greatly, but research shows that they don’t go to “sleep” entirely and they’ll occasionally eat. Scientists call what turtles and other reptiles do in their winter quarters “brumation” (“brew-MAY-shun”), a word derived from the Latin “brûma,” meaning “winter solstice.” (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on September15, 2022.)