Turtle ID?

[chadk]

What kind of box turtle is this? It was turned into a rescue and we need to know what kind... Thanks!

 

[MaddieLynn]

It looks to me like a male 3-toed box turtle with a very overgrown beak.

 

[chadk]

My thoughts exactly. It does have 4 toes, but they can do that sometimes... The markings are throwing me off a little though.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

It looks to me like a male 3-toed box turtle with a very overgrown beak.

... old too!

 

[chadk]

Now I'm leaning toward a gulf coast boxie.

---

Does this still look like a 3-toed?

 

[egyptiandan]

It is a male Gulf Coast box turtle, Terrapene carolina major.

Danny

 

[Tom]

Very cool. Nothing a little Dremel won't fix.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Chad every Gulf coast I've seen had carapace patterns similar to a Fl. box.

Personal breeder friend.. 3-toed hatchlings - [ I realize they change as they age ] -

Another source -

NERD

---

It is a male Gulf Coast box turtle, Terrapene carolina major.

Danny

Danny if that's a Gulf-coast it is ancient and melanistic...

NERD

 

[MaddieLynn]

I still say 3-toed - my female looks just like that, only she's, well, a female. She is also minus the overgrown beak and toenails, and for some reason your guy's carapace looks waaaay thicker than hers on the upside-down shot, but it could jsut be the angle or that the shell is curved on the edges.

 

[egyptiandan]

Depends on where he came from Terry as to the color. The Gulf coasts from Florida have Florida and Eastern box turtle mixed in them (thats why they are so colorful). As you go more towards Louisana you will find them getting duller and duller. Most Lousiana Gulf coasts have little to no pattern and tend to be just one color, which ranges from light blond to black. He does have some age to him, but probably no more than 40 years old.

Danny

 

[chadk]

OK, one last pic:

This one says 3-toed to me. The other 2 make me think gulf coast. But I'm hoping the experts and reach an consensus

 

[MaddieLynn]

I just noticed in the latest pic that he looks a lot flatter than my 3-toed... not sure if that's relovent or not. I also noticed that his skin looks darker.

I really don't know much about gulf coast boxies, so I'm not going to say I'm 100% sure it's a 3-toed. That's just what my first impression was. However, I will say that the few gulf coast boxies I've seen are patterned a lot like an ornate box.

 

[matt41gb]

Definitely not a three-toed. I vote old male gulf-coast boxie. I have some male three-toes that have a similar flatness to the carapce, but this one is too long for a three-toe.

-Matt

 

[earthyman71]

hmmm he resembles a cross between a 3 toed and an eastern to me.

 

[joezeppyd]

I vote gulf coast. How long is it? My gulf coast are much larger than my 3 toed

 

[terryo]

I'm saying a Gulf Coast, only for the fact that he doesn't look anything like my Three Toeds or any that I'm seen.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have felt this was a Gulf Coast box turtle right from the beginning, and I still feel that. Terrapene carolina major for sure! Last year I had three that looked exactly like him.

 

[earthyman71]

i think it's a gulf hybrid (possibly with eastern). 3 toeds and easterns aren't that long. the head looks eastern, the shell doesn't

 

[dolfanjack]

I vote gulf coast x three toed