It may seem like a way to help, but people really shouldn't paint the shells of live turtles, the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game warned on Tuesday.
The agency's Facebook post featured a photo of a swimming snapping turtle in Campton's Perch Pond with its shell painted bright orange.
While the department said that shell painting is often done with good intentions, like making the turtle more visible to traffic when crossing roads, it often does more harm than good.
Officials wrote that "turtle's shells are living tissue and paint toxins can not only get into into their bloodstream, it can also reduce their ability to absorb sunlight and can make them more visible to predators."
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
There are seven kinds of turtle native to New Hampshire, according to the Department of Fish and Game.
