Eastern River Cooter
Pseudemys concinna
True to their name, they prefer flowing water over stagnant ponds. You will typically find them in rivers and large streams with moderate currents, rocky bottoms, and plenty of fallen logs for basking.
These freshwater turtles are widespread throughout the Southeastern United States, ranging from Virginia down to central Florida and stretching westward as far as eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
While hatchlings are omnivorous and will chase down bugs and worms, adults are almost strictly herbivorous. They act as “lawnmowers” of the river, grazing on aquatic plants like eelgrass, pondweed, and algae.
River Cooters are hardy survivors that can live for 40 years or more in the wild, often outliving many of the predators that hunted them when they were hatchlings.
- Stacking Up: When basking spots are scarce, they are famous for creating “stacks” of two or three turtles on top of one another to get closer to the sun.
- Butt-Breathers: Like many aquatic turtles, they can absorb oxygen from the water through their cloaca (rear end), allowing them to stay submerged for long periods during winter hibernation.
- Dinner Etiquette: Because they lack the ability to produce saliva to swallow food on dry land, they must drag any food they find back into the water to eat it.
