Cool Critters: The western painted turtle is one cool reptile, especially in winter

As we humans warm ourselves with space heaters, coats and gloves, western painted turtles are at the bottom of our region’s ice-covered ponds, streams and creeks. Sometimes they can be seen through clear ice, as if they’re trapped. What’s going on, however, is life in cold blood.

Remarkably, these turtles are able to survive cold weather for up to five months without coming up for air. In a reptilian version of hibernation known as brumation, they spend winters breathing underwater through their butts.

The colloquial term for this survival technique is “butt-breathing.” Scientifically, it’s called cloacal respiration.

“Painted turtles draw small amounts of oxygen from the water through specialized blood vessels located in their cloaca, which is their rear orifice,” explained herpetologist Charles Peterson of Idaho State University. “This adaptation enables them to survive in oxygen-scarce environments under frozen water for long periods.”

Four painted turtle subspecies live in North America, with the western variety being the most colorful and common. Named for their bright red, yellow and brown markings, they can reach the size of dinner plates, with females up to 10 inches long and the males closer to 7 inches.

Commonly found in Washington state, “most occurrences are at the lower elevations of Eastern Washington, the Columbia Gorge and the Puget Trough,” according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Not only do painted turtles butt-breathe during cold weather, but they run near empty, surviving on stored energy, an infrequent heartbeat, a drastically lowered metabolism and little movement, Peterson said. “What’s really special about these turtles is that they can do all this for months at a time,” he added.

That’s right. While many cold-blooded critters brumate, including a number of snake and frog species, “what is exceptional in the painted turtle is the length of time it can continue in this state,” writes turtle physiologist Donald C. Jackson in an article published in the Journal of Physiology.

After spending consecutive months in dark, cold water, no wonder painted turtles are often seen sunning themselves on partially submerged logs and rocks in the spring. With the exception of an occasional bob of the head, they’ll perch stock-still with their scaly columnar legs splayed. Aah, sunshine.

“They’re basking in the sun to elevate their body temperature and get their metabolism back up,” said Peterson. The warm sunlight also strengthens and dries out their shells, he explained, preventing growth of bacteria, fungi and algae.

Courtship and mating typically occur in shallow water from April through June. After copulation, the female crawls ashore to dig a small nest in the ground and lay eggs. If you see a painted turtle plodding across a trail or road, it’s likely a female looking for a good place to dig a nest in soft soil.

Eggs take about 80 days to hatch, usually in late summer, Peterson said. Baby hatchlings, the size of a quarter, are tiny versions of their parents, featuring a deep olive shell and yellow and orange markings. They remain in their nest until the following spring, when they instinctively start inching their way toward water. It’s a perilous journey, however, due to human disturbances and predators such as racoons, skunks and birds of prey.

For now, prospective parents await springtime’s warmth at the bottom of some creek bed, unhurried. While the males are anywhere from 3-6 years old, the females are a bit more mature at 6-10 years old. Longer daylight hours and warming temperatures will alert them when it’s time to emerge.

But it’s only early February, so they’ll have to wait. And wait.

Which, as we know, the western painted turtle does very well.