Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are the only brackish water turtles in the United States. Terrapins spend most sunny days basking in the sun and eating snails and other shellfish. On sunny days in late April, gravid females leave the salt marshes and move to sandy beaches for nesting. Each female lays eight or nine eggs, which incubate for about two months. Hatchlings stay hidden in the beach wrack, eating invertebrates, before heading to the salt marsh. Each spring, volunteers survey salt marshes and beaches in and around Walton County for ornate terrapin nesting sites and search dune lakes for the characteristic white heads.
Figure 1. Top is an adult female and bottom is a hatchling. O’Connor, M. https://www.flseagrant.org/citizenscience/panhandle-terrapin-project/. 2024. Sea Grant. Panhandle Terrapin Project.
Terrapins are medium-sized turtles, about the size of a box turtle. Female terrapins are about 10 inches long and weigh about a pound. Males are smaller, only about five inches and weighing about half a pound.
Figure 2. White head of terrapin swimming near marsh grass. O’Connor, M. University of Florida Extension. 2021. https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/2021/12/22/searching-for-terrapins-in-the-florida-panhandle/. Searching for terrapins in the Florida Panhandle.
Terrapins need both salt marsh grass and sandy beaches in proximity. Females begin nesting in April, and tracks are visible in the sand. Terrapins are much smaller than gopher tortoises. Terrapin tracks are only about six inches wide.
If you see a terrapin, tracks, or the white head of a swimming turtle in brackish water, please contact Helen Petre by emailing petrehelen@gmail.com.
Author: Sowal Editor
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