Map Turtles (Graptemys)

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Native to the North Americas, Map turtles are commonly kept as pets and can easily be identified by the dragon like spines on their back as well as the markings on their shell and skin that very much resembles the lines of a contour map, which is how they received their name. Map turtles have also been called sawbacks because of the saw like ridge in the centre of the top carapace.

 

These turtles are semi aquatic, and need to have a dry area provided to the for basking, however they like to spend most of their time in the water swimming about. Map turtles are mainly carnivorous with strong bills they use to crack the shells of snails and crayfish in the wild, live fish should be added for them to eat occasionally, as they will love to chase them around.

 

These turtles make great pets because unlike sliders they remain much smaller with females growing only to be 12 inches and males averaging at about 5 inches. Special considerations must be made for these turtles though because they are very timid and quiet. Often a map turtle kept in a high traffic area becomes sick from stress, which causes them to not eat, and suffer shell damage from constantly diving off of their basking area and crashing into aquarium walls and surrounding decorations, injuries can become infected and ultimately cause death. To ensure your turtle is happy make sure you provide lots of hiding places where the turtle can feel safe. They are also quite sensitive to water conditions and special care needs to be taken to ensure the water is clean. Frequent water and filter cartridge changes are a must. Map turtles are also avid swimmers and love diving in the water, suggested water depth for a 4 inch map turtle is between 10 and 30 inches. With proper care a map turtle can make a life long friend with a life span of 30 plus years.

 

There are 12 species of map turtles these are:

  • Barbour’s Map Turtle, Graptemys barbouri

  • Cagle’s Map Turtle, Graptemys caglei

  • Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti

  • Yellow Blotched Sawback or Yellow Blotched Map Turtle, Graptemys flavimaculata

  • Northern Map Turtle, Graptemys geographica

  • Pascagoula Map Turtle, Graptemys gibbonsi

  • Black-knobbed Map Turtle, Graptemys nigrinoda

  • Ringed Map Turtle, Graptemys oculifera

  • Ouachita Map Turtle, Graptemys ouachitensis

  • False Map Turtle, Graptemys pseudogeographica

  • Alabama Map Turtle, Graptemys pulchra

  • Texas Map Turtle, Graptemys versa