Please help me identify this yard tortoise/turtle!

[J. Everett]

Hi! We just moved to Georgia and found this turtle/tortoise in our backyard. It is approx 10-12 inches. It takes its daily walks in the early afternoon and hasn't left the yard in weeks. We placed this clay saucer out and the rain filled it with water. We found it swimming in there today. We'd love your help identifying it so we can be sure it has what it needs to be happy and healthy and is safely handled. Thanks!

 

[zovick]

Hi! We just moved to Georgia and found this turtle/tortoise in our backyard. It is approx 10-12 inches. It takes its daily walks in the early afternoon and hasn't left the yard in weeks. We placed this clay saucer out and the rain filled it with water. We found it swimming in there today. We'd love your help identifying it so we can be sure it has what it needs to be happy and healthy and is safely handled. Thanks!

It looks like a female River Cooter. They are an aquatic turtle and usually live in slow moving bodies of water or ponds. She probably left the water to find a suitable place to lay her eggs. She'll probably go back to where she originated eventually. If you don't live near (say within a few hundred yards or so) any such water, it's possible someone may have picked her up and moved her from her home range and she doesn't know how to return there.

They can't eat and swallow unless they are under water, just FYI.

 

[J. Everett]

It looks like a female River Cooter. They are an aquatic turtle and usually live in slow moving bodies of water or ponds. She probably left the water to find a suitable place to lay her eggs. She'll probably go back to where she originated eventually. If you don't live near (say within a few hundred yards or so) any such water, it's possible someone may have picked her up and moved her from her home range and she doesn't know how to return there.

They can't eat and swallow unless they are under water, just FYI.

Thanks so much for your response, we really appreciate the insight. The turtle has made a nest under a pile of leaves in our yard and has been hiding there for most of the past 3 days. Do you like it could be laying eggs? It came out for an hour yesterday and swam in the clay saucer again but not for long. I'm worried that it isn't getting enough sun or food.

 

[zovick]

Thanks so much for your response, we really appreciate the insight. The turtle has made a nest under a pile of leaves in our yard and has been hiding there for most of the past 3 days. Do you like it could be laying eggs? It came out for an hour yesterday and swam in the clay saucer again but not for long. I'm worried that it isn't getting enough sun or food.

Turtles can live quite a while without eating, but it would be better off in a deep water environment. Do you live near a river or a pond? If so, I would recommend taking it there and releasing it into the water.

Another FYI for you: the great state of GA does not allow the keeping of any turtles, tortoises, or other reptiles native to this state as pets.

 

[TammyJ]

What's the update here on the turtle? Any news?