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Common Name: Common Map Turtle
Size: Males can reach 4-5 inches in size. Females can get a lot larger and obtain about 8-10 inches in size.
pH: Fairly tolerant of pH ranges, but prefer clean, clear water.
Minimum Recommended Tank Size: A female would need a 125 gallon tank or larger. A male could live in a 55 gallon with no problem. You would want to add an additional 50-75 gallons per female and 25-35 gallons per male. In the wild, these turtles utilize fallen trees for basking spots. I have seen numerous adults piled onto optimal basking habitat. They seem to be fairly tolerant of each other’s presence on the basking spot. A simple enclosure would be basking spot w/ ¾ of the tank filled with water.
Native Location: Central US and a few locations in PA, MD and NJ.
Temperature: A basking spot of 90F should be provided. The ambient air temperature should be around 80F. The water temperature for this species should be about 70-80F.
Diet: These are typically very carnivorous. A diet of worms, fish, commercial pellets, and various other “meaty” foods can be offered. Females have enlarged heads for clams and snails.
Breeding: Fairly Easy.
Gender Differences: The males have a really big tail and are quite small compared to females. Females have a tail that is rather small compared to that of a male.
Aggression: Not very aggressive. They are excellent baskers and will sometimes push each other off to get a good spot to bask. Normally they don’t bite at each other, but there are several occasions where they can (ie breeding).
Notes: A UVB bulb should be provided for these turtles. They do bask and will need the UVB in their diet to synthesize D3.
Male:
Female (note size difference):
