Eastern Mud Turtle

Though they are considered 'common', I don't see these small (3-5 inches in length) turtles very often. Spotted this Eastern Mud Turtle at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens this morning. I watched as it crawled out of the water and up onto the muddy bank, grabbed a 'delicious' something, then wasted no time heading back into the water. These turtles are omnivores eating insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. Because of their small size, they themselves have many predators. Sadly for the Mud Turtle alligators, snakes, opossums, raccoons, crows, gars and even blue crabs find them tasty.