How do we know these turtles are females? Diamondback terrapin females are much larger than the males and also have shorter, thinner tails.
We’re scanning these terrapins to help The Wetlands Institute see if they’ve been tagged before.
Diamondback terrapins are a very special local reptile: they are the only turtle in the world specifically adapted for life in the salt marsh. They are also a keystone species in Cape May County marshes, as one of the foods they eat are periwinkles. If left unchecked, periwinkles could reduce the spartina marsh grasses that are a staple of the salt marsh.
Although turtles are our favorite reptile, I also became fond of other reptiles when I was a zookeeper. I grew to also appreciate snakes and lizards! While we were in Stone Harbor this past Saturday for Live Turtle Encounters, I helped a woman identify a snake in her yard (from a picture she had taken) as a garter snake.
We hope you’ll appreciate or at least respect reptiles, and thanks for reading and celebrating our return to our Blog on Reptile Awareness Day!
