Bright, colorful reptiles increasing in eastern Idaho

Plop, plop, plop, plop and plop — all five of the large Western painted turtles sunning themselves on a log in a pond off the South Fork of the Teton River disappeared into the pondweed covered water. One by one these reptiles popped their heads out of the water to assess the damage of the large machine that disturbed them as they enjoyed the sun.

I continued to watch as most of them made their way back to the log and attempted to crawl back on top. Some succeeded on their first attempt while others fell over backward or slid off several times before they reached their goal to sun themselves again.

This basking in the sun is critical for these turtles as they are like all coldblooded reptiles, they are unable to control the temperatures of their bodies. They use the sun to warm themselves as they stretch out on logs, rocks and anywhere they can collect the sunny rays by spreading their legs, head and neck and even their toes. This sunbathing also produces vitamins to protect them from fungus that might be in the stale water they live in.

Once disturbed from the sunbathing activity the turtles can stay underwater for a long period of time as they have the ability to slow their heartbeat when their body needs less oxygen. But most of the time they will quietly swim to the surface exposing only their head or just their eyes and nose.

Breeding takes place from May through July with the female raising one or two broods each summer with the site for the nests critical to the gender ratio of the local population. After breeding the female will migrate to a traditional nesting area, usually a sandy area that has been used sometimes for decades. There she will lay from five to a dozen leathery eggs.

Getting to and from the pond to the nesting area is often dangerous for the females as they often have to cross roads. Recently I came across two turtles that had been killed by cars near the Teton Lakes Golf course near Rexburg. Both were females on their way to lay eggs east of the road from the pond that fills the borrow-pit on the west.

The site of the nest is what determines the gender of the turtles. If the nest is positioned where the sun can keep the eggs near 86 degrees about 75 percent of the hatchlings will be female, but if the temperature is closer to 82, then about 75 percent will be male. After laying her eggs, the female will make her way back to the pond where she may prepare for another clutch of eggs. The young will hatch after a ten week incubation period.

It will take from two to five years for a male and four to six years for the females to mature and start their reproductive activities.

When the heat heads south for the winter, the turtles needs to find a suitable winter home and this turns out to be a magical phenomenon. Acting almost like antifreeze, their blood changes to allow them to survive from freezing as they hibernate in the mud on the bottom of a pond. Early warm periods during the winter followed by cold periods can cause the turtles to come out of hibernation and then freeze. Winter is believed to be the greatest danger to adult other than roads.

Nationwide the four species of Painted turtles are declining but in Idaho and the Upper Snake River Valley, they appear to be increasing. Ponds along the Snake River, the Teton River, Market Lake and Mud Lake host populations that can be viewed and enjoyed for those of us looking for the sunbathers.