What kind of turtle do I have?

Ztoothy

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
8DB0DF24-51AC-4A8E-A1A0-5E10CB7742DC.jpegimage.jpgI need help. This turtle was my uncle’s, but he passed away and now no one knows what kind of turtle this is. I know care varies depending on the kind of turtle, so I really need to know.What I know is that he needs some kind of salt in his water, and he has 11 scutes on his belly.
 
Last edited:

_Turtle024

New Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2020
Messages
23
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
View attachment 286610View attachment 286611I need help. This turtle was my uncle’s, but he passed away and now no one knows what kind of turtle this is. I know care varies depending on the kind of turtle, so I really need to know.What I know is that he needs some kind of salt in his water, and he has 11 scutes on his belly.
It looks like a wood turtle. I'm not 100% sure though.!!!!
 

Cathie G

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 9, 2018
Messages
14,904
Location (City and/or State)
Lancaster
I am never freaking right unless it's Sulcata! It looks like an African Roof turtle?
All I knew was it was a turtle of some kind. S/he can go home and close up for the night.
 

Tortoise MasterMan

Active Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2019
Messages
127
Location (City and/or State)
Utah
The coloring, shell shape (Though the shell is a bit darker if it is younger) , and face shape give away that it is a mud turtle.
 

Moozillion

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
10,744
Location (City and/or State)
Louisiana, USA
YAY!!! An Eastern Mud Turtle!! My first turtle, Jacques, was an Eastern Mud turtle!:):<3:
Mud turtles are aquatic, but are poor swimmers. You'll notice that the feet really aren't webbed much - unlike the sliders that have those huge paddle shaped feet! They are also not very streamlined: they're shaped more like potatoes- ADORABLE potatoes, but potatoes nonetheless!! :p
They NEED to be in water but not very deep. In the wild, they prowl around in the shallows- up to a foot or so- poking around in the mud and climbing branches and plants to get to the surface to breathe.
I keep my current mud turtle in a 40 gallon breeder aquarium, but the water is no deeper than 4 inches. They need branches and "furniture" that they can climb to reach the surface easily in order to breathe- THEY CAN DROWN if they can't reach the surface easily.:eek:
They need some sort of basking spot where they can climb COMPLETELY out of the water to dry off and warm up in order to digest their food.
I keep my water at 78 degrees F, and I use a MVB hanging over the basking platform to keep it around 95 degrees. A temperature gun ($30 or so from a hardware store) is VERY useful.
My turtle is on sand substrate, but I've kept them on larger gravel as well as porcelain floor tiles on the floor of the tank (to be sort of "bare bottomed" but sill give them better traction than trying to walk on glass).
They MUST be under water to eat.
Mine LOVE the Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets available i most pet stores. But the one I have now also loves live earthworms: the wigglier, the better!!!
Oh, and GOOD filtration!!! Water turtles EXCEL at pooping and fouling their water! Since my 40 gallon breeder only has 10 gallons of water in it (my current mud turtle lost a foot to a predator, so she is not just a poor swimmer, she is a NON-SWIMMER, so the water depth is just 3.5 inches) a Zoo Med Turtle Clean canister filter meant for 30 gallons is what I use. It seems to be doing well enough.
ENJOY!!! :):<3:
 

New Posts

Top