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Montana Turtles: Identification Guide With Pictures

Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.

On this page
  1. All 4 turtles
  2. When they are active
  3. About this list
  4. Sources

This page lists 4 turtles: all from Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide's Montana Field Guide: Reptiles. 1 is nonnative.

All 4 turtles

From A to Z.

North American Snapping Turtle
Photo: Cephas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

North American Snapping Turtle

Chelydra serpentina

Size
Upper shell usually 8 to 14 inches, occasionally to nearly 20; usually 10 to 35 lb, occasionally to 75 lb in the wild.
How to recognize it
  • Large head, long tail
  • Saw-toothed scales on the long tail
  • Small, cross-shaped lower shell
Where in Montana
In Montana, native populations are found from Carter County, west to Carbon and Stillwater Counties, and northeasterly to Phillips County (MTNHP 2022). Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide
Conservation
Species of Concern; State Rank S3; BLM: SENSITIVE; FWP SWAP: SGCN
What the sources say

Habitat: Habitats used in Montana are probably similar to other areas in their range, but local studies are lacking and there is little qualitative information available. (Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide)

Full North American Snapping Turtle guide

Painted Turtle
Photo: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Painted Turtle

Chrysemys picta

Size
Small: adult shell usually 4 to 7 inches, up to about 10 inches; females are larger than males.
How to recognize it
  • Smooth, fairly flat shell with no keel and a smooth (not saw-toothed) rear edge
  • Red markings on the marginal shell plates
  • Yellow spot behind each eye and yellow stripes on the chin
Conservation
State Rank S5
59 records by month.
What the sources say

Habitat: An animal of aquatic environments, the Painted Turtle prefers slow-moving shallow waterways (streams, marshes, ponds, lakes, and creeks) with soft mud bottoms and aquatic vegetation. (Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide)

Full Painted Turtle guide

No confirmed photo of Pond Slider

Pond Slider

Trachemys scripta

Nonnative

Conservation
State Rank SNA
Spiny Softshell
Photo: Peter Paplanus · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Spiny Softshell

Apalone spinifera

Conservation
Species of Concern; State Rank S3; BLM: SENSITIVE; FWP SWAP: SGCN

When turtles are active in Montana

Records of turtles in Montana peak in May to July. They show when people record turtles, not how many there are (about month bars).

62 records of turtles in Montana by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records).

About this list

The species list comes from Montana Field Guide: Reptiles (order Testudines) (Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide, Internet Archive captures 2025-05-06 to 2026-09-02, one per family page (each listed below)).

Venom labels come only from official sources and link to them; "Not stated" never means harmless. How labels work.

"Nonnative" and "Invasive" follow the wording of the source list. See invasive species in Montana.

Sources

  1. Contact Us. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. archived copy, captured October 19, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
  2. Montana Field Guide: Reptiles and Amphibians (family species lists). Montana Natural Heritage Program (Montana State Library) with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks: Montana Field Guide. archived copy, captured May 6, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
  3. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.