New "Marble" Female Basking

[Redfoot NERD]

A couple days ago she discovered the basking spot!

One of the distinct characteristics of female diamondback terrapins is their broad head and jaws. Even tho' she's just 4" SCL.. take a look at this face and head -

She just sat there while I took these pics.. and then turned around so the lighting would be right for each pose -

She's really going to love it when I hook-up the "heat" light.

Whatta girl.....

NERD

 

[Tom]

Nice pics of a really nice turtle Terry. Love the stretched out pose.

 

[Az tortoise compound]

She is beautiful Terry! How long have you had her?

 

[Kristina]

She has absolutely lovely skin. I can't wait to see the babies she produces

 

[terryo]

Something I love about these guys...they look like they are smiling all the time.

 

[hali]

such a cute face

 

[Marty333]

i first i thought she was fake she is so pretty

 

[Kenny]

... must ...resist ...urge to start collecting water turtles

very cool turtle

 

[Torty Mom]

What a beauty and I just love her face! CUTE!!!

 

[cdmay]

Gorgeous turtle!
As beautiful as they are, you would be shocked at how aggressive and snappy they are when you find them in the wild.
Eric Holt and I caught several adults last fall as part of a study he is doing. While he was measuring and photographing them one female walked about four feet toward me just to bite my shoe. You could see that she did this--absolutely--on purpose as when she got close to my shoe she opened her mouth for the rest of the distance to my foot. I had never seen a turtle be so deliberate in its attempt to bite me before.
All of the others were equally bitey. We measured them and then they were released right where they were found.
Fantastic turtles.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Carl did they look anything like this male? -

 

[terryo]

They are really beautiful NERD, nothing like the Northern's we have here. I think the wild Northern's are just as aggressive, as we've seen the big one's chase ducks right out of the pond where it turns into the bay. Yours are so striking they look almost fake.
These are two Northern's we had to re-home a few months ago. Nice, but not as pretty as yours.

 

[onarock]

Show Off!!!

 

[cdmay]

Carl did they look anything like this male? -

Nope. The ones we got were from an intergrade population in the upper Florida Keys. They are much darker with bluish gray skin. This fat little male had been stealing fish from some birds that were being fed on a dock.
They really do have blue colored skin too.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

There was still that dark carapace with the yellow 'border' Carl!

TerryO those look like Northerns.. nice!

This is another view of the ( different ) young Concentric female that came with that male.. on a trade last spring -

I hated it that I didn't have the where-with-all to keep her [ at least ].. had to give them up. I hope they went to a good home.

NERD