Painted Turtles
These are 2 different painted turtles that arrived at Willowbrook on separate occasions. People found them in the middle of the road and believed they were orphans. However, they actually hatched from their eggs last year! Painted turtles do not immediately leave their nests when they hatch in late summer. Rather, they overwinter in their nests and seek out water in the spring. These turtles were found to be healthy and released into a forest preserve shortly after their arrivals to Willowbrook.
These photos show a young painted turtle’s plastron (underside of the shell.) It is more brightly colored than the carapace. Also note the dark stripe down the plastron. This is where its yolk sac was located and where the turtle was attached to its egg!
And his carapace (back of shell.) Note how it is dark colored and camouflages the turtle against predators. The turtles are shown next to a quarter for size comparison.
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