Life Cycle

This is a visual representation of how small these turtles are as juveniles.


The western pond turtle is a small reptile that can reach up to 8 inches long and can weigh up to 2.4 pounds.  These turtles are native to west coast North America, ranging from Northern Baja California to Washington’s Puget Sound.  This species lives in peaceful aquatic environments, such as slow moving streams, lakes, marshes, and ponds. Terrestrial environments are also of vital importance to them. Dry rocks, sand, and logs are used for nesting, keeping warm over the coldest winter months, and keeping cool during the hottest summer months. 

Here is a turtle forging through the grass, the picture is taken by the USFWS Pacific Region.

Western pond turtles spend a great deal of their time forging for insects, plants, and aquatic invertebrates. What is interesting is that they cannot stray too far from water as they can only swallow food under water. Therefore, they will never range far away from a water source. These turtles also spend a majority of their time basking, but because they are cold blooded, they must change their behavior throughout the year to optimize their body temperatures. During most of the year they are diurnal but during the dry summer months they are nocturnal.



This is a picture of Western Pond Turtles basking.

Sexual maturity is reached for females between the years of 10-15. Breeding occurs in the spring and nesting occurs between May and June. The turtle will find an area within 100 meters of the water where soil is finely packed and drained and where there is scant vegetation cover. There, a female will lay her eggs with an average clutch of 6 eggs. After an incubation period that ranges from 80 to 130 days, the turtles will hatch. They will only be about an inch in length. The western pond turtle has the potential to live up to 70 years but most will live up to 50 years.

This is a picture of a Western Pond Turtle who just hatched!