Eastern Painted Turtle

Description:

Lack of red stripe down the back indicated that this was an Eastern and not a Southern.

Habitat:

Found crawling out of a very small hole in the ground after a heavy rain. It was hot out and unbearably humid. The hole was found about fifty yards from the lake.

Notes:

I see several Painted Turtles at the Hidden Lake, with two or three sharing the same basking spots. This was the first one I've found outside of the water.