In cool weather, they leave the water to bask in the sun at favorite basking sites. During hot weather, they float in the cool water. The turtles spend most of their lives in the water, but need well-drained silty soil to lay their eggs. The female will travel over 400 meters to find suitable nesting sites in upland areas away from the water. In late spring, one to 13 eggs are laid in a shallow hole which is then covered with dirt.
Nests are highly susceptible to predators as well as to trampling by cattle or people.
The western pond turtle is the only native turtle that lives in California. It ranges from Washington to Baja California. Once a common site along most low elevation ponds and streams, the western pond turtle is quietly disappearing from the California landscape. Over 90 percent of the freshwater ponds, marshes and year-round streams where the turtles once lived have been drained, diverted or developed. Where the turtles can still be found, many populations no longer produce offspring, the result of disturbed nesting grounds and the predation of you turtles by non-native bullfrogs and black bass.