They actually are quite different - and have different traits I like.
My favorite would be the spotted turtles. They are probably one of the most friendly, always swimming up when we are visible, swimming over to us, and like to be hand fed. And, I feel an extremely, uniquely beautiful turtle. They stay small, but do thrive in a shallower environment. I built the upper pond specifically for them. Here's a picture I took of one of our pairs while in a temporary enclosure while bulding the new pond...
Terrapins would have been our favorites, hands down. THE friendliest, personable turtle!! But they just cannot adapt to fresh water, and I would not have got them if we knew what we now know about them. So many places assure you they can become adapted to fresh water. But I have now learned they cannot. Most of ours we raised from hatchlings, but still a constant vigil for skin fungus and shell rot. I am looking a building a smaller, brackish pond for them, since Brenda loves them so much, or we will have to find them a good home where someone is willing and able to set up a brackish environment.
I do really enjoy the large pond and great swimmers. The Suwanne Cooters are an impressive turtle, and get used to people - swimming up to the glass for food whenever someone approaches. Without the overgrown algae they normally get in the wild, they are really quite pretty. I Think one of the best pond turtles for a larger pond. They are probably the least aggressive turtle toward other turtles or fish. It's something to see a 16" turtle basking, and seeing you coming - will dive into the water and swim over for food - and they are great swimmers. I raised this gal from a hatchling in 1984. She's covered in koi eggs here from the spawn a few days ago.
With the windows in the pond it brings a whole other view of their world. From that perspective, it is really interesting watching the musk turtles, like little bulldogs, patrolling the bottom of the pond, bounding about looking for food. Although good swimmers, they definitely prefer to walk along the bottom rather than swim. They are, however, a timid turtle, and none of mine have ever become used to us enough to swim over for food.
Painted turtles are also very friendly turtles. One of ours loves to have it's back scratched. It swims up to the glass and lets you scratch its back while pressed against the glass, or holding it! When you stop, and push it away, it immediately swims right back over to the glass, looking up at you until you start again. The other painted turtles won't do that. If you scratch their backs, they will try to swim away, but do come back close enough to watch for food.
I do, though really enjoy watching the turtles in as natural a setting as possible, trying to see how they act and interact when given the options to choose what they want to do on their own. The maps, and pacific ponds are perhaps the most shy turtles, and never seem to get comfortable enough to swim up to you in a larger pond like this where I believe they feel and act much more like wild turtles. Just walking out the door, causes them to splash back into the water for 'safety'. Sitting real still, they venture back to their basking spots, but a sudden movement, and their diving for the bottom. That's great to watch too!
So, don't know if that answered your question, but that's what happened when you get me going about the turtles!!!!
Thank you very. That kind of information is invaluable.
