Reptiles of The Maritimes

The three maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are home to 11 reptile species, counting the three sea turtle species in the Atlantic coastal waters. The only maritime home of the Blanding's turtle is Nova Scotia. There are no reptiles in Newfoundland & Labrador.

• Smooth greensnake
• Red-bellied snake
• Common garter snake
• Ringneck snake
• Snapping turtle
• Painted turtle - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia only
• Blanding`s turtle - Nova Scotia only
• Wood turtle - New Brunswick, Nova Scotia only
• Leatherback sea turtle - Atlantic coastal waters
• Loggerhead sea turtle - Atlantic coastal waters
• Kemp`s Ridley sea turtle - Atlantic coasta waters

Snapping Turtle photo courtesy of CARCNET

Creature Feature

Leatherback Sea Turtle Dermochelys coriacea

These are the largest turtles in the world. Weights of 700 kg and lengths of 2 metres have been recorded. Their front flippers are nearly 3 metres long.

Little is known of their ecology, due to the difficulty of keeping them in captivity. When captured, they flail around with their flippers. If enclosed in a tank, they batter against the sides and thrash around continually.

-shell is covered with smooth, oily, leathery skin and not scales

-can regulate their body temperature to a certain degree, allowing them to range farther north than other marine turtles

-have long, backward facing spines in the the mouth and throat which help them swallow slippery jellyfish

-weak jaws are adapted to soft-bodied prey

-migrate north following jellyfish, which are their main prey

-powerful swimmers, and can easily pull a six metre sailboat for several kilometres

-hunted for their oils for cosmetics, and their eggs for protein

-documented cases of letting shipwreck survivors hang onto their shells, sometimes for hours

-hatchlings are born with scales on the skin and shell, which disappear in the first two months

-visit Canadian offshore waters summer and fall

-very endangered, due to tourist resort development on their nesting beaches

See the Canadian Sea Turtle Network website for more information