Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am from Houston and work at a wildlife shelter where we received the, lets say, "mystery turtle." I get out and do a fair amount of herping. I have seen most turtles in the area, but this one sure has me confused. It has those striped forelimbs and face much like most of the basking turtles, but the skin is black and white. No joke. Just plain black and white. The turtle has a notched upper lip. The carapace almost looks like a map turtles. It has the notches straight down the back on the scutes. The edges of the shell are almost saw like as well as the scutes are uneven. The shell is oblong as well, not so much rounded as most red ear's. It is a male and has ~7 inch carapace length. It came in a as red ear at the shelter from the people who found it, then someone else put down cooter on its form before I got there. I could beleive cooter and I did at first, but here's the kicker. Red ears. I has one red blotch that is small and circular, and another that is more like an RES's red ear which goes down the neck. From everything I read, the one thing to look for to tell cooters and sliders apart is the "red ear." It really is a stunning turtle. I took pictures but my friend apparently didn't email them to me. So the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. I am at this point leaning towards an intergrade, but if someone could put me on the right path I would be quite appreciative. Thanks.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

Hey, I am from Houston too! I think I know what you are tlaking about. When I was a youngin' my friend and I used to catch those some times, and we called them "oddballs" I am pretty sure that the oddball turtles are either melanistic red ears, or a very old red ear, they lose color as they age. What wildlife shelter do you work at? I work right next to TWRC I take stuff there some times.

I work, or rather I suppose, volunteer at TWRC. I have seen old RES. This turtle is not that old, as far as I can tell. It is not all black like most of the old males. This guy is black and bright white on his skin and his red is still extremely red (but split into two blotches, unlike many of the RES I have seen with just one long blotch). The shell is what puzzles me as well. The keels and highly serrated back edges just don't seem characteristic for the RES I usually see that are this same size.
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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

Wow, it does sound like a map/RES hybrid from what you describe. Can't wait to see the pics.

This shell is definitely not typical from the turtles in the area and the different projections and keels dont see to fit. Maybe it is just because it was a captive RES that was let go and then refound by someone else so the the scutes were never worn down. It might just be an RES that is a lot different than the ones I have seen and the color is really weird as well.

This shows the black and white skin color.

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Andy Maddox
AIM: thekingofproduct
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

"A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika. Nothin' proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya. Said it was blue when ya blood was red. That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head"- Rage Against the Machine

it is a red ear, not an 'oddball'

I have seen hundreds of redears and this variant with the highly serrated carapace rear and dark shell markings is not typical but not uncommon in the pet trade. It is definitely a redear. There are a number of regional variants that are not accorded subspecies rank , such as the beatifully marked Brownsville slider from southern Texas.