Adult males have brown eyes, a brown or dark grey beak and chin; adult females have orange eyes, a yellow/orange coloured beak and chin.
Diet
Young spotted turtles are mostly carnivorous, eating insects, such as crickets, worms, snails, slugs, spiders and fish. As spotted turtles age, they will consume some vegetation, such as anachris and other water plants, but adults' diets will primarily consists of protein-rich foods: insects, fish, snails and crustaceans. All food that is consumed is done so underwater, as Spotted Turtles, like other aquatic species, cannot swallow food out of water. Spotted Turtles will hunt on land, however, they bring their catch back into the water for consumption.
Notes
The spots on Spotted Turtles vary greatly throughout their range. They can have up to a hundred spots, while some have no spots at all. Spotted Turtles shed their scutes in small pieces occasionally resulting in completely smooth shelled specimens. These are very intelligent turtles and have been tested like the Wood Turtles in mazes and have been proven to have the brain capacity of a mouse. These turtles are only active in the cooler spring months.
