Need Help Identifying Box Turtle

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JessicaAnne3

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I am now acquiring this box turtle who as been passed from a few families who are not interested in being turtle owners anymore. I have owned a Three-toed box turtle for about 12 years now and have agreed to take this turtle and give her a home since I am familiar with the care of box turtles. I have been trying to identify her. She looks like a Three-toed, but has four toes in the back. I've heard from another person that she possibly looks like a Gulf Coast box turtle. If anyone can recognize what she is, I would appreciate the input!
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dmmj

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It looks like a mexican box turtle to me.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Jessica, and welcome to the Forum!

Is this turtle bigger than your three-toe turtle? If so, its probably a gulf coast. However, some three-toe box turtles have 4 toes on the back feet.
 

JessicaAnne3

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She is actually a little bit smaller than my Three-toed due to the fact that she was never given any calcium supplement or a UV light her whole life so she seemed to have been stunted in her growth. When I first saw her, I thought she was a Three-toed due to her coloring and similarities to my own until I saw she had 4 back claws. But like you said, I did read somewhere that they can sometimes have 4 toes like any other turtle, so I'm at a loss.
 

Yvonne G

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In that case she's probably a three toed box turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis). Even with poor husbandry and feeding a gulf coast would be bigger.
 

JessicaAnne3

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I can post more pictures of her from different angles Saturday night if that may also help with identification. This was just a quick one I got the other day. If she is a Three-toed, that would be awesome. I've always really liked the one I've got and this one seems to have that same personality.
 

shellysmom

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Bless her heart. Whatever she is, she's super cute, and I'm glad she's in good hands now.
 

theTurtleRoom

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Three-toed box turtles can have 4 toes, just like Easterns can sometimes have 3 toes. The number of toes is not really the best identifying feature. However, from the bland, brown carapace, with the tiny dorsal keel still showing, and the lack of color on the face, this turtle appears to be Terrapene carolina triunguis, the Three-Toed Box Turtle.
 

kimber_lee_314

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I"m going with three toed female as well. She has pretty eyes! :)
 

JessicaAnne3

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Here are some more pictures. Her shell length is about 4". The more I look at her, the more she looks like a three-toed to me. And don't mind her nails and lack of a tail. She really didn't have owners that knew what they were doing her whole life when it came to the upkeep of her before I got her. She is estimated to be in her mid 30's.
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dmmj

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It could use a beak trim for sure
 

shellysmom

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Holy cow, she is all sorts of misshapen from malnutrition and probably a little MBD. Does she have any trouble walking? Is her appetite good? Bless her heart, I'm glad you have her now so she can get the proper diet, supplements, and lighting. If you have the $, it might be good to take her for a checkup if there's a good reptile vet in your area, so s/he can assess the damage, address any urgent findings, and trim the beak. Good luck with this sweetheart.
 

JessicaAnne3

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I have a really great vet in the area that I take my turtle to and will be taking this new one to her as soon as I get her moved to my house (we are in the middle of moving right now so she is at a friend's house for the time being to reduce stress instead of dragging her along for the moving process). She will be getting a beak trim and seeing what we can do about cutting her nails since they are so curved. She definitely can walk. Her nails seem to give her no trouble, but I would like to get them trimmed anyway. I would hate for them to curl so much that they would curve into her foot. Her appetite has been so so. When she was being transferred to try to find her a home, she was being fed the turtle pellets, which she clearly doesn't like. I suggested tomato because of the color and I gave her a few grasshoppers and crickets from my turtle's food collection. I'll be seeing her again today, so hopefully she ate something. I suspect she may have some MBD due to her deformities in places, but she seems to be quite the happy turtle despite it all. I saw her years ago when she was with a different family and I had my turtle and her together for the day and they got along great. So after we move, I'll be getting a nice wooden enclosure for them so they both have plenty of room to roam together.
 
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