Species

River cooter

Pseudemys concinna

A big basking turtle of Georgia's rivers, grazing water plants in the current.

Photo ncb1221 (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Adaptation

At a glance

Size: Shell usually 23 to 33 cm long
Habitat: Rivers and large streams with a current; also lakes and reservoirs
Diet: Mostly water plants and algae; some snails and insects
In Georgia: Common in rivers statewide
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Dark, flattened shell with a light C-shaped mark on the second scute of each side; yellow stripes on head and neck
Told apart from: Coastal plain cooter, whose underside is plain yellow rather than marked with dark lines along the seams
Told apart from: Pond slider, which has a yellow blotch or red stripe behind the eye
Where to look: Basking on logs and rocks in rivers, often in groups

Behaviour

River cooters are strong swimmers that live where water moves. They spend long hours basking and dive at the first sign of a person. Nearly all their food is plants, which makes them the grazers of Georgia's rivers.

Why they matter

By grazing water plants and algae, cooters keep them in balance, and their droppings return nutrients to the river. Their eggs and hatchlings feed many predators along the bank.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — Dug in sandy soil near water
Eggs — Usually 12 to 20
Incubation — About 80 to 100 days
Hatchlings — Some overwinter in the nest
Maturity — At about 8 to 12 years
Lifespan — Several decades

Living around people

Help a cooter across a road in the direction it was heading, held by the sides of the shell.
Anglers can help by retrieving discarded fishing line, which entangles basking turtles.

Misconceptions

Turtles basking in a line are sick or stranded. Basking warms them and dries their shells; it is healthy behaviour.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Inactive on cold days	Basking on warm days	Active and basking	Courtship	Females nesting	Females nesting	Nesting ends	Hatching begins	Hatchlings emerge or stay in the nest over winter	Feeding and basking	Slowing down	Mostly inactive

Where it lives

Recorded in 26 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

British Columbiaintroduced

If you found one

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