Western Painted Turtle

Due to technical difficulties yesterday, this week’s featured mug was pushed back a day but WE ARE SO BACK. Today we’re showcasing the STUNNING Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta belii). These divas belong to the much admired Emydidae family, which is the legendary house of TURTLES (sometimes referred to as terrapins, shouts out to the Grateful Dead). You can quickly identify these divas because of their bright and absolutely iconic body markings. Yellow eyeliner? Forget it, how about yellow BODY LINER.

The Western Painted Turtles are native here in Portland, Oregon and boy howdy are we lucky to have them as most of them live east of Oregon, but they’ve made a home for themselves along the Columbia River Basin and the Willamette Valley. You can find these divas basking in the sun when it is warm because they are ECTOTHERMS, meaning that their internal body temperate is directly tied to environmental conditions. These gorgeous terrapins know how to command a space and exude confidence with their colorful markings, even if they may be slow to show up to a performance.

Unfortunately, due to their relatively slow speeds and laid-back lifestyles, their habitats are threatened by non-native species such as red-eared sliders and invasive species like the American bullfrog. Additionally, these divas can be crushed on roads as the females can sometimes see roads as good nesting locations – so if you ever see one attempting to cross, please pick it up, move it only in the direction it was traveling, and leave it on the other side of the road. Wash your hands afterwards too just to be safe, otherwise leave these divas be.