Scientific Name:  Deirochelys reticularia

Identification: The carapace has a brown to grey base color with a distinctive reticulate pattern (think ‘irregular chain link fence’) and a wide color band on the carapace rim. The plastron tends toward plain yellow. There's a single broad yellow stripe down the front of the fore-legs. Between rear leg & tail is vertical striping. They are famous for having very long necks (by U.S.A. standards; they don’t reach true ‘snake neck’ proportions but they do carry the nickname ‘American snake neck’).

Range: The Florida subspecies is confined to roughly the lower 2/3’rds of Florida.

Diet: Romaine lettuce, Anacharis, Water Hyacinth & other safe edible aquatic plants should be offered often to encourage low-protein intake (daily romaine lettuce is fine). Choose a good brand name commercial food (i.e.: Mazuri, ReptoMin, etc…) & augment with live food offerings (crayfish, earth worm, cricket, etc…).

One of the two North American snake necks, (Blanding's being the other), Chicken turtles use their long necks and specialized throats and mouths to suck in or snap up food. Chicken turtles bask often but are the first back in the water when approached. Chicken turtles are tolerant of ephemeral aquatic habitats and readily travel onto land to burrow into the soil and escape dry conditions. They've been found at depths of a few centimeters to more than 2 m.

They are known to be timid and if caught they generally will bite very easily.