Here is an Alabama red-bellied turtle hiding in its shell

Today I want to write about a colourful little species of turtle, the Alabama red-bellied turtle.

Here are five interesting facts about them:

1. Also known as Alabama red-bellied cooters, these cool turtles grow up to 34 cm long.  Females are slightly larger than males.
2. They spend most of their days sunning themselves on logs and mainly eat aquatic plants.
3. Alabama red-bellied turtles are the state reptile of the state of Alabama.
4. In May-July, females lay 3-9 eggs in sandy soil.  The babies are about 4 cm long when they hatch.
5. Alabama red-bellied turtles are only found in a couple of small areas of the states of Alabama and Mississippi.  They are considered endangered mainly due to the eggs being eaten by feral pigs and fish crows.  They also get run over a lot, but a fence was built along a busy highway near their breeding areas and this has helped their numbers.

I hope that you found these facts interesting and learned something new.

Are there any other interesting facts that you would like to share about Alabama red-bellied turtles?