A cold-blooded reptile, the painted turtle regulates its temperature through its environment, notably by basking.
All ages bask for warmth, often alongside other species of turtle.
Sometimes more than 50 individuals are seen on one log together.
Turtles bask on a variety of objects, often logs, but have even been seen basking on top of common loons that were covering eggs.

The turtle starts its day at sunrise, emerging from the water to bask for several hours.
Warmed for activity, it returns to the water to forage.
After becoming chilled, the turtle re-emerges for one to two more cycles of basking and feeding.
At night, the turtle drops to the bottom of its water body or perches on an underwater object and sleeps.

To be active, the turtle must maintain an internal body temperature between 17–23 °C (63–73 °F).
When fighting infection, it manipulates its temperature up to 5 °C (8 °F) higher than normal.
A cold-blooded reptile, the painted turtle regulates its temperature through its environment, notably by basking. All ages bask for warmth, often alongside other species of turtle. Sometimes more than 50 individuals are seen on one log together. Turtles bask on a variety of objects, often logs, but have even been seen basking on top of common loons that were covering eggs.
The turtle starts its day at sunrise, emerging from the water to bask for several hours. Warmed for activity, it returns to the water to forage. After becoming chilled, the turtle re-emerges for one to two more cycles of basking and feeding. At night, the turtle drops to the bottom of its water body or perches on an underwater object and sleeps.
To be active, the turtle must maintain an internal body temperature between 17–23 °C (63–73 °F). When fighting infection, it manipulates its temperature up to 5 °C (8 °F) higher than normal.
Painted turtle