8 Types of Turtles Found in Vermont! (ID Guide)
“What kinds of turtles can you find in Vermont?”
I was amazed at the number of turtle species there are in Vermont!
8 kinds of turtles in Vermont:
#1. Common Snapping Turtle
- Chelydra serpentina
Identifying Characteristics:
- Weighs 10 to 35 lbs. and is 8 to 18 1/2 inches long.
- The snapping turtle has a long tail, chunky head, and large webbed feet.
- The carapace (upper shell) coloring is black, brown, or olive with no distinct pattern.
Snapping Turtles are widespread throughout Vermont.
Look for them living in marshes, lakes, ponds, rivers, and slow streams. They prefer areas with plenty of aquatic vegetation to hide in, and insects, fish, frogs, and birds to eat.
Snapping Turtle Rangemap:
Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society
Snapping Turtles are best known for their powerful jaws. While there aren’t any recorded incidents of one of their bites causing amputation to a person, it can cause infections serious enough to require an amputation. In fact, their jaws are so strong that snapping turtles commonly eat other turtles!

These turtles are usually docile but will become very aggressive if removed from the water. One of the best ways to calm an aggressive individual is to place it back into the water, where it can feel safe. I know I have personally picked them up with a large snow shovel to get them off the road and back to safety!
#2. Painted Turtle
- Chrysemys picta
Identifying Characteristics:
- 2.5 to 10 inches long.
- The carapace is low to the ground and generally dark brown or black.
- As the name suggests, they have distinctive yellow, green, and red striping on the carapace, head, and limbs.
The Painted Turtle is one of the most recognizable turtles in Vermont because of its beautiful coloring! Look for the bright reds and yellow-greens on its shell, limbs, and head.
Painted Turtles live near water with minimal movement, such as ponds, marshes, small lakes, and slow-moving streams with sandy bottoms. They are attracted to areas with plenty of aquatic plants, which is their primary food source.
Painted Turtle Rangemap:
It is almost impossible to accurately assess the population of Painted Turtles in Vermont. Many people keep them as pets and then release them into the wild, causing an ever-expanding range and unstable reproduction rates. These released turtles can also put pressure on natural populations.
In the wild, Painted Turtles can hold their breath for up to 30 hours in temperate water!

They also have the ability to remain dormant in near-freezing water for up to 4 months. This ability is essential when temperatures often go below freezing.
#3. Northern Map Turtle
- Graptemys geographica
Identifying Characteristics:
- Females are 7 to 10.5 inches long. Males are 3.5 to 6.25 inches long.
- Thin yellowish lines form a web on the carapace, similar to a contour elevation map. This is how map turtles get their name.
- Coloring is usually dark brown or dark green with lighter green stripes on the neck.
These turtles live near rivers and lakes in Vermont. They prefer large bodies of water with debris for basking and spend winters dormant, completely submerged.
Northern Map Turtle Rangemap:
Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society
Northern Map Turtles are primarily carnivores, with most of their diet made up of mollusks like snails and clams. It also eats insects, crayfish, and occasionally plant matter if animal prey is scarce.
You may have a hard time spotting the Northern Map Turtle in the wild! Even though they are active during the day, they are very shy. A basking group of Map Turtles will slide quickly and quietly into the water to hide at the slightest disturbance, leaving no trace that they were there.

Interestingly, Northern Map Turtles can absorb oxygen through their skin while dormant!
During the cold winter months, this species hibernates with other turtles underwater and remains slightly active. They don’t surface at all to breathe but instead absorb enough oxygen to survive. This process is called cutaneous respiration.
#4. Spiny Softshell Turtle
- Apalone spinifera
Identifying Characteristics:
- Females are 7 to 21.25 inches long; males are 5 to 12.25 inches long.
- The carapace is flexible with a rough sandpaper texture, with a single row of spines or cones along the middle of the back. There is also a row of pointed tooth-like appendages on the edge of the carapace.
- Coloring is olive, gray, or brown with black spots on some individuals.
Look for these turtles in western Vermont in lakes, rivers, and streams with sandy or muddy bottoms and little or no vegetation. I often see them sunning themselves on the banks while kayaking down slow-moving rivers.
Spiny Softshell Turtle Rangemap:
Spiny Softshell Turtles will eat anything in the water they can swallow, including insects, crayfish, and even small fish! To catch a meal, this species buries itself in mud or sand with only its head uncovered and grabs its food as it swims by.
Spiny Softshell Turtles can “breathe” underwater by absorbing oxygen through the skin of their throats. This is a useful adaptation because they spend very little time out of the water, even sunning themselves in shallows or floating on the surface.
Along with the ability to absorb oxygen through its skin, the Spiny Softshell Turtle has some other unique adaptations that make it perfectly suited for its environment. Its leathery shell is extremely flat, and it has webbed feet and long claws, which allow it to swim quickly away from predators and bury itself in the muddy bottom.

Its most unique feature is its nose, which is long and snout-like! It can poke its nostrils out of the water and stay completely submerged to protect itself from hungry predators!
#5. Eastern Musk Turtle
- Sternotherus odoratus
Identifying Characteristics:
- 2 to 4.5 inches long.
- The head features two light stripes set on very dark brown or black skin.
- The carapace can range from light olive to almost black, with irregular black markings.
The habitat for these turtles in eastern Vermont is slow-moving, sluggish streams and still bodies of water. It prefers areas with dark crevices where it can hide, and lots of plant matter to burrow in.
Eastern Musk Turtle Rangemap:
If you happen to disturb an Eastern Musk Turtle, it probably won’t take you long to identify it. As its name suggests, when threatened, they emit a foul, musky odor. This scent can be detected on land, in water, and even waft through the air to ward off predators.
In fact, in other areas, they are even known by another name – Stinkpot!
Another unique feature of the Eastern Musk Turtle is that it can climb trees! Individuals have been observed fairly high up in the branches. They climb to avoid predators and find a safe place to rest.
#6. Spotted Turtle
- Clemmys guttata
Identifying Characteristics:
- 3.5 to 4.5 inches long.
- The coloring of the carapace is olive to dark brown with light yellow spots.
- The head and neck have irregular yellow or orange spots and streaks.
Spotted Turtles prefer shallow marshes, bogs, and swamps. They are equally comfortable on land as it is in the water.
Spotted Turtle Rangemap:
Credit – United States Geological Survey
The population of these turtles in Vermont is declining rapidly due to habitat loss and human interference. Because of their unique shell patterns, Spotted Turtles are often removed from their habitat and sold as pets. As a result, they are listed as an endangered or protected species by many governing bodies.
In the wild, Spotted Turtles are aggressive hunters and will seek out live prey such as worms, slugs, millipedes, and spiders. They are also extremely smart! Studies using mazes have concluded that the Spotted Turtle has the same brain capacity as a mouse!
In the video below, you can see their unique pattern!

#7. Bog Turtle
- Glyptemys muhlenbergii
Identifying Characteristics:
- 3 to 3.5 inches long.
- The coloring of the carapace is brown to black with yellowish or red centers. Orange patches appear on either side of the head.
- The belly is often dark, sometimes with a few light spots.
The Bog Turtle is the smallest turtle in Vermont!
It prefers to live in swamps, muddy-bottomed streams, and sphagnum bogs. Groups of up to TWENTY Bog Turtles often share a small area.
Bog Turtle Rangemap:
The Bog Turtle is listed as Critically Endangered in Vermont. Its population is declining for several reasons, including a low reproduction rate, poaching for the pet trade, and automobile accidents.
There are currently quite a few groups trying to repopulate the species, and captively bred Bog Turtles have recently been released into the wild with transmitters. Hopefully, these efforts will result in an increased population of this interesting species!
Bog Turtles have lived in Vermont for many centuries and are considered one of the oldest turtle species in the area. Fossils that are indistinguishable from modern Bog Turtles have been found and dated back to 1.8 million years ago!
In the below video, you can see a pair of fully grown Bog Burtles being handled by a researcher – compared to most turtles, they look tiny!

#8. Wood Turtle
- Glyptemys insculpta
Identifying Characteristics:
- 5.5 to 8 inches long.
- The limbs of the Wood Turtle have prominent scales and are gray-brown in color with bright orange and yellow splotches.
- The carapace is very rough with concentric grooves and ridges.
Look for these turtles in Vermont on land. However, Wood Turtles do stay near the water and venture into it frequently. They also winter at the bottom of deep pools or rivers.
Wood Turtle Rangemap:
Credit: Virginia Herpetological Society
Wood Turtles have been studied frequently and undergone numerous scientific and common name changes. Other commonly-used names for the Wood Turtle are the Sculptured Tortoise, Red-legged Tortoise, and Redleg.
Fossil evidence suggests that the Wood Turtle was pushed south by glacier activity during the last ice age. Remains of Wood Turtles in southern states have been found dating back 11,000 years! Climate changes have allowed Wood Turtles to re-populate their original northern range.

Do you need additional help identifying turtles?
Try this field guide!
Which of these turtles have you seen in Vermont?
Leave a comment below!
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