Need help identifying tortoise species...

[Samuel16]

Hi!
Although I am not a tortoise enthusiast,I hope you guys can help me out...
Pictures are of my relative's tortoise ,He told me it is a rare breed and wishes to find it a new home but I'm not sure which breed this tortoise belongs to, therefore I hope you guys can enlighten me, Thanks in advance!

 

[Yvonne G]

That's not a tortoise...it's a red ear slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a water turtle. This turtle is big enough it needs to be set up outside in a pond. Much too big for an aquarium in the house. And as for being rare...red ear sliders (RES) are very common, and almost as common as feral cats.

Just so you know, water turtles cannot swallow food unless they are submerged in water.

 

[Samuel16]

Oh..Thank you very much for sharing!
But after I googled the name of the species,I noticed the turtle my relative has had Curved edges and a more yellowish shell unlike the usual green ones...Is this normal? Appreciate you reply!

 

[Yvonne G]

Your turtle's shell is slightly deformed because of lack of sunshine and poor diet. As to the color, they come in variations of shades.

I might be wrong on my I.D. of the turtle, though...as I'm not really a water turtle person. Does the turtle have a red stripe behind the eyes?

 

[TortyTom]

Yup! Not a tortoise. Almost looks like some kind of Terrapin? But I know next to nothing about water turtles.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I don't think it's a red eared slider, but I do think it 'may' be a Chrysemys scripta. But I haven't had aquatics for a long time. It also might be a cooter. Need a plastron shot I'm thinkin. The rosy color on it's head is confusing to me...

 

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Maybe a possible hypo red eared slider. Ive seen people post a couple with that coloring and skin look. Someone just adopted a group of of 5 with that look( not the shell curve though, thats probably lack of proper care. Anyway after awhile we just decided on that its a possible hypo colored res but not 100% on that. Its unique.

 

[diamondbp]

It's no doubt a red eared slider

 

[Anthony P]

Agreed. Without a doubt Trachemys scripta elegans.

This is most likely an adult female, and as previously stated, it is suffering from deformities most likely due to a lack of Vitamin D3, which can also lead to a lighter color in RES. Sliders will often darken up when given proper outdoor sunshine.

Those sold as hypos are "usually" lighter than this, although there is an occasional seller that likes to act like the turtle they have is something more than what it is.