Please Do Not Paint Turtles, West Michigan Wildlife Center Pleads

Michigan's state reptile is well known and well beloved: the painted turtle. Growing up, I spent countless hours playing around a swamp that was full of these lovely creatures, and they're an important part of Michigan's image. Now, despite their name, these turtles are not literally painted: paint and turtles shouldn't be mixed.

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However, that's not what happened in a recent post on Facebook from the West Michigan Wildlife Center that turned a Northern Map Turtle into a, well, painted turtle. Literally, because someone painted the turtle blue. Below is a photo of a normal Northern Map Turtle, but you'll see shortly that the turtle the wildlife center saved looks quite different.

Courtney Celley/USFWS/Public Domain

The "Painted" Northern Map Turtle

Yesterday, the West Michigan Wildlife Center posted a photo of a turtle that was "found wandering in downtown Grand Rapids" whose shell was painted blue. The shell would look nice if it weren't, you know, attached to a living reptile and seemingly abandoned in the middle of the city.

West Michigan Wildlife Center via Facebook

Not only is it ethically wrong to paint a turtle, but the wildlife center also shares how it can be incredibly harmful to the turtle. According to the post, painting the shell (which is "living tissue" and not just a hard shell) can interfere with the turtle's ability to regulate body temperature and support normal metabolism, and it can also be potentially toxic for the turtle.

West Michigan Wildlife Center via Facebook

Thankfully, the West Michigan Wildlife Center managed to get most of the paint removed from the shell. Ultimately, whether the animal is a pet or wildlife, it's best to admire it as it is.