There are up to 9 species of turtles in Nevada that are found in small pockets scattered about the land. Two turtles are native to the state, these are the endangered Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise, which is Nevada’s state reptile, and the Western Pond turtle.
Nevada is a reptile paradise. There are 52 different species of snakes, lizards, and turtles found in the state. You’re more likely to run across snakes and lizards than you are turtles.
The other 7 species were probably pets that escaped their enclosures or were released when owners could no longer care for them.
We’ll take a look at each species below, providing some facts as well as descriptions about their appearance, habitats, and diet. Here are the 9 species of turtles in Nevada.
Table of Contents
Turtles in Nevada
1. Western Pond Turtle
- Experience Level: Intermediate to Expert
- Family: Emydidae
- Scientific Name: Actinemys Marmorata
- Other Names: Pacific Pond turtle, Northwestern Pond Turtle
- Adult Size: Between 4 and 9 inches
- Life Span: Between 30 and 50 years
- Average Price Range: Around $500 (very rare as they are difficult to breed, and illegal to own in many states)
- Conservation Status: Vulnerable
The Western Pond turtle is a native species in Nevada, although sightings are becoming quite rare. There are surveys underway to get an accurate count of the population.
The Western Pond turtle has a smooth olive, dark brown, or black carapace. The carapace is the name for the upper portion of a turtle’s shell. The plastron is what the bottom part is called.
The carapace can have a pattern of speckles that radiates out from the center. These markings are brighter and more prominent in juveniles and fade as the turtle ages. The plastron is yellow with brown blotches that tend to grow with age.
The turtle’s skin and scales are brown to black with yellow or off white spots. The chins of Western Pond turtles are usually pale white or yellowish, but all these colorations darken the older the turtle is.
These turtles are semi-aquatic and can spend long periods out of the water. They enjoy permanent bodies of water such as rivers and lakes but will take to temporary homes such as streams and ponds that dry up in summer. Nevada summers can be hot and dry.
They are omnivores that feed on fish and other aquatic animals and plants when they are in the water, and insects, such as crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and worms on dry land.
Tortoises in Nevada
2. Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise
- Experience level: Beginner
- Family: Testudinidae
- Scientific Name: Gopherus agassizii
- Common Name: Mojave Desert Tortoise
- Average Adult Size: 9-15 inches
- Life Span: 50 – 80 years
- Average Price Range: Illegal to purchase a desert tortoise–Must be adopted
- Conservation Status: Vulnerable
Agassiz’s Desert tortoise is not only the sole tortoise found in Nevada, but it is the official state reptile. This vulnerable desert tortoise is considered a keystone species and is protected in Nevada. You cannot take, possess, sell, or harm these animals without a special permit.
A keystone species is an animal that many other organisms rely on because of its habits. Desert tortoises dig many burrows throughout their lives. When they abandon them in their wanderings, hundreds of other species use these burrows for protection and homes.
Desert tortoises are also important seed spreaders. When the tortoise eats fruits or berries, the seeds usually pass through the digestive tract unharmed. When the reptile poops, the seeds come out and grow in new areas.
You can recognize Agassiz’s Desert tortoise by the large, domed shell that’s dusty brown, to dark green. They have long necks, rounded legs that end in flat feet, and thick claws. Their front legs have thick, hard scales that help them to dig.
This tortoise lives in grasslands and deserts with soft soil they can burrow into. They spend much of their time in these holes to get away from the scorching sun, hibernate, and to protect themselves from predators and wildfires.
They are herbivores that feed on native grasses, cacti, wildflowers, fruits, and berries.
Non-Native Turtles in Nevada
3. Yellow Mud Turtle
- Experience level: Intermediate
- Family: Kinosternidae
- Scientific Name: Kinosternon flavescens
- Common Name: Mud Turtle, Yellow Mud Turtle
- Average Adult Size: 5 – 7 inches
- Life Span: 40 years
- Average Price Range: Approximately $80 to $300
- Conservation Status: Conservation Status: Federally listed as least concern, but threatened or endangered in most states.
Yellow Mud turtles are a small species that have oval shaped shells. They are generally a single color from olive to light brown. The domed shell has a flat top and the scutes (individual plates on the turtle’s shell) are usually outlined in darker brown.
The plastron is yellowish-brown and has a similar looking outline along the scutes. The skin on these turtles can be olive, while the bottom neck and chin are a pale yellow. These colors can be hard to see because as the name suggests, these turtles like to bury themselves in the mud during hot and cold spells.
Mud turtles, like musk turtles, can release a foul smelling substance from two glands near their back legs. They set off this nasal assault when they feel threatened or are attacked by predators.
These turtles prefer wetlands, rivers, marshes, ponds, temporary pools, and drainage ditches with a lot of vegetation, and soft, muddy, or sandy bottoms. They can dig into the mud up to 10 inches deep to hide from the scorching summers, and to hibernate through the winter.
Yellow Mud turtles are omnivores that eat fish, snails, carrion, tadpoles, worms, insects, and aquatic vegetation.
4. Ornate Box Turtle
- Experience Level: Intermediate to Expert
- Family: Emydidae
- Scientific Name: Terrapine ornata
- Other Names: Box Tortoise, Western Box Turtle
- Adult Size: 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12.5 cm)
- Life Span: 30 to 40 years
- Average Price Range: $150 to $450
- Conservation Status: Near threatened
The Ornate Box turtle is a terrestrial turtle much like the Desert tortoise. Unlike Agassizi’s Tortoise, this box turtle can swim, though they usually avoid the water and stick to prairies and grasslands.
Ornate Box turtles have high domed, dark brown, olive, or black shells with yellow, orange, or reddish streaks and spots of color on each scute. They have a hinged plastron that allows them to close themselves up like a box.
The skin and scales on these turtles are dark brown to black and have yellow or orange spots and blotches. Males tend to have red eyes, while females’ eyes are yellow or brown, but this isn’t a definitive way to tell the sex, as females do rarely have red eyes.
Male box turtles have longer tails, and a concave plastron, while females have a flat plastron.
The Ornate Box turtle is mostly a land-dwelling turtle but will enter shallow areas to drink, hydrate the skin, and cool off.
These turtles are omnivores that will eat insects, worms, carrion, fish, grasses, fungi, berries, and fruits.
5. Sonora Mud Turtle
- Experience level: Beginner – Intermediate
- Family: Kinosternidae
- Scientific Name: Kinosternon sonoriense
- Common Name: Sonora Mud Turtle, Mud Turtle
- Average Adult Size: 5 to 7 inches
- Life Span: 40 years
- Average Price Range: Approximately $200 and up
- Conservation Status: Endangered
Sonora Mud turtles are a very endangered turtle, with very few populations in California, Arizona, and Mexico. A few have been found in Nevada, but it’s unsure if they migrated on their own, or were introduced.
These Mud turtles have domed, dark colored carapaces that may have up to 3 keels, or ridges running along the back. Their plastron is yellowish and hinged, meaning they can close themselves inside their shell for protection.
These turtles can be found in ponds, lakes, streams, or temporary waters. They need areas with soft, muddy, or sandy bottoms in order to burrow and protect their eggs when the water dries out.
Sonora Mud turtles are omnivores that feed on aquatic insects and organisms while they are in the water and switch to insects, and plants while they are on dry land.
6. Western Painted Turtle
- Experience Level: Beginner
- Family: Emydidae
- Scientific Name: Chrysemys Picta Belli
- Other Names: N/A
- Adult Size: Between 4 and 10 inches
- Life Span: Between 30 and 50 years
- Average Price Range: Between $30 and $150
- Conservation Status: Least concern
Western Painted turtles are large aquatic turtles that need permanent sources of water. They can come out of the water for short periods, but they need an aquatic habitat in order to feed. Their tongues are fused to the bottom of their mouth and don’t aid in swallowing, they use water to do that.
These turtles have smooth, dark colored shells with bright orange or red outer edges. They have a fixed plastron that is orange or reddish with a large pattern along the midline. This pattern can have various colors of black, brown, white, or grey.
The skin on these turtles is dark with plenty of yellow, orange, or red stripes.
Painted turtles like places where they can bask in the sun such as logs, sandbars, banks, and rocky outcroppings.
These vibrant turtles are mostly herbivorous as adults, but juveniles feed on mostly protein sources such as tadpoles, leeches, aquatic insects, and crayfish.
7. Red Eared Slider
- Experience level: Beginner
- Family: Emydidae
- Scientific Name: Trachemys scripta elegans
- Common Name: Pond slider, Red-eared terrapin, Water slider
- Average Adult Size: 6 – 8 inches
- Life Span: 20 to 40 years
- Average Price Range: approximately $30 to $100
- Conservation Status: Least concern
Red Eared Sliders are one of the most invasive species in the United States and around the world. They are endemic to the Southeastern U.S. but have been found on nearly every other continent.
They are very popular pets and are a popular food source in other countries, but when they are released or get free, they can quickly establish themselves in nearly any water type.
Red Eared Sliders prefer slow-moving waters such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. They are aggressive toward other species of turtles and have even bullied big Snapping turtles.
This medium sized turtle has an olive to dark brown carapace with bright markings that fade over time. They have a yellow to tan plastron with various black or brown smudges.
The limbs and extremities are dark green with yellow or white stripes similar to Painted turtles, but they have a pair of red ovals or wide stripes behind their eyes. It makes them look like they have red ears.
Another trait that helps these turtles establish themselves nearly anywhere is their ability to eat nearly anything edible. They are supreme omnivores and will eat plants, insects, carrion, fish, frogs, tadpoles, and whatever else they can get in their mouths.
8. Common Snapping Turtle
- Experience level: Intermediate to Expert
- Family: Chelydrida
- Scientific Name: Chelydra Serpentina
- Other Names: Snapping Turtle, Snapper, Eastern Snapping Turtle
- Average Adult Size: 8 to 20 inches
- Life Span: 30 – 50 years
- Average Price Range: Approximately $40 to $120
- Conservation Status: Least concern
Common Snapping turtles were last officially spotted in Nevada in 1986. They may or may not still be there living in the state. They are reclusive and rarely leave the water, even to bask, so it’s difficult to tell if they still are found in Nevada.
When females are ready to lay eggs they will travel long distances to find suitable nesting sites, but males tend to stay in the same waters all their lives.
Snapping turtles have solid colored shells that don’t offer much protection to their legs and long tails. They have long necks that they use to strike out and catch prey and bumpy, wart-like projections on their skin.
In the water, you may not even know Snapping turtles are there, but on land, they can turn aggressive quickly when approached. As their name suggests, they can snap and bite hard enough to cut through skin, so don’t try to get close if you see them on land.
Snapping turtles prefer permanent, deep bodies of water where they bury themselves in the mud and wait for fish or other animals to get close. Their shell is often covered in algae because they spend so much time sitting at the bottom.
Common Snapping turtles are mostly carnivorous and will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, including fish, frogs, and smaller turtles. They will occasionally feed on algae and plant matter.
9. Texas Spiny Softshell Turtle
- Experience level: Intermediate to Expert
- Family: Trionychidae
- Scientific Name: Apalone spinifera emoryi
- Common Name: Spiny Softshell Turtle
- Average Adult Size: 5 to 9 inches for males – 10 to 17 inches for females
- Life Span: 40 – 60 years
- Average Price Range: Approximately $50 – 280
- Conservation Status: Least Concern
Texas Spiny Softshell turtles need permanent waters as they are a very aquatic species. Females may travel long distances to find proper nesting grounds and new habitats, but they mostly stay in the water. They are fond of basking for long periods, but will quickly return to the water when disturbed.
Like all Softshell turtles, this species is flattened and has a leathery, rubbery shell. Spiny Softshell turtles have fleshy tubercles along the front edge of their shells, and a sandpapery texture on the rest of the carapace.
These turtles are olive, sandy, grey, or dark brown colored. Males are much smaller than females and tend to have dark spots or circles on the shell. The spots on females fade as they age. Both turtles get darker, the older they grow.
Texas Spiny Softshell turtles are mostly carnivorous, feeding on crayfish, fish, snails, tadpoles, amphibians, and aquatic insects. They can bury themselves in the sand and ambush their prey, or actively hunt for food.
Wrapping Up
We just went over all the turtles you may find in Nevada. Including 2 native species, the Desert tortoise and the Western Pond turtle, and 7 non-native turtles. Most likely these turtles were released into the wild or they escaped their pens.
If you have a turtle you can no longer care for, take them to a reptile adoption agency, your local vet, or find someone who wants to adopt it. Releasing pet turtles can harm the environment, native species, and harm the turtle.
We hope you enjoyed this list of turtles in Nevada. If you did, please leave a comment, or discuss turtles with other herp enthusiasts.
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