Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this guy on the side of the road and have not been able to identify him. He is about 8" long, with an unhinged plastron. His back feet are webbed, and all four are have significanly large claws. The markings on the carapace are not very pronounced and he is overall very dark. The back of the carapace has a sawtoothe pattern and the plastral scutes have quite a bit of gold on them.
I have several photos of him, here is the first photo which shows the top view of the carapace...

Can't see the photo (requires logins to yahoo or something), but more information such as the location might help as well.

Sorry about the photos, but I think I have it fixed. I found this guy in Pryor, Oklahoma, in NE Oklahoma.
Also, since I found him on the side of the road, sure to have faced death, where should I release him? Obviously I will not keep him, but I am reticent to just release him in the forest or anywhere else until I know what his is most comfortable environment.
Thanks for any help.

Maybe here is the photo link...ARGHHH!!!
Link

Obviously I am having problems getting my pictures to load. If you want to try to help me, I would be more than willing to send you an email with the pics attached. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Brett Simms
bs_1975@yahoo.com

Ok folks, here is the last shot at this. I finally got the link to work...please help me figure out what this is!
Brett
Link

Can you get a close up shot of the head?

Honestly, this guy is VERY reclusive and everytime I get near him he sucks back up into his shell. I have seen his head a couple times and there are no significant markings on it. It is a fairly wide head, is dark and looks to maybe have had a light stripe behind his eyes, but it also is very faint.
After looking at pics and reading a little more, I thought it might be the red-eared slider. The articles I have found say it gets very dark as it ages, and this guy definitely looks old. THe body build looks like the RES also.
I got some pics and posted them to the link.
Thanks
Link

Definately a slider of some sort. You can very likely just return to where you found it and set it down. If it goes to cross the road, set it on the other side. If it heads down away from the road, let it be. While they don't do it often (nesting or searching for a mate) they will leave water far behind on occasion and wander a long ways.

Thanks for all your help.
Brett

still can't see photos

email them to me?
emily@aspelite.com

-rob

It's a slider turtle, Trachemys Scripta... Could be a redear or a Yellow-Belly... you can let him go in any pond, lake or stream.

Red-ear or Yellow Belly, just an old melanistic male.