Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This turtle is available for adoption from a shelter. I applied to adopt him, and I want to know what kind he is so I can research caring for that specific species.

Thanks for your help!

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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.9.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

There's a lot of hybridization with these types of turtles now, and there are some very specific things to look for in identifying them. From your pictures, it's tough. I'm guessing a cooter of some sort. From the heavy jaw barring, I'd guess Florida cooter or Texas River Cooter. Texas River cooters are pretty colorful, and this specimens shell looks more washed. Florida cooters shells seem to become more washed with age. Again, hybrid is very possible.

The good news is, most cooters have relatively similar care requirements. They are a little more strict with water quality than sliders, and they grow larger for the most part. This one looks like a male, from the reflection of the tail in photo 1 and the length of the fingernails. The males stay smaller. Good luck if you decide to take him. You'll need either a VERY large indoor tank with a monstrous filter or an outdoor pond, also with a monstrous filter.

This turtle is a yellow belly slider, most likely male. At least we can see his somewhat needle-like front claws, although his don't seem to be as pronounced as some males' claws will be. A good tail shot would be helpful to make absolute sure this is a male. Males have a somewhat long, thick tail as compared to a females short, skinny one. Normally yellow belly sliders have a yellow post-ocular bar connecting the cheek stripe with the temple stripe but some, like this individual, do not. Sliders, especially males will often develop melanism as they age as already evident in the temple stripe of this turtle. Notice its dark appearance. The way you can distinguish this yellow belly from being a red-ear slider who is already gaining melanin is by looking at the dark spots on the plastron. Yellow Bellies will normally have the two small eyespots at the front of its plastron like this one does. Occasionally a few others. Red Eared sliders will exhibit these dark spots on all plastral scutes and they will be larger. You can get information on this turtle at this website

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-yellowbelly.htm

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the input! It's kinda confusing though! lol! I have pretty much decided on getting him, and now the shelter says they have another one that I can have along with him. This is the picture of the little one. The big questions here are:

Can they inhabit the same pond? Is the little one female, and will she be able to reproduce with the male (I don't want that!)?

Thanks for any input you can give!

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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.9.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

This other turtle that you would like to aquire is a young female Florida Redbelly Cooter (Pseudemys nelsoni). This particular turtles' markings are an aberrant form of this species, definitely not a norm. It might have been an unusual specimen from a clutch of eggs or a specimen from a breeder specifically trying to create aberrations.

But to your main question. These two turtles can be housed together in a very large aquarium or stock tank, or more preferably an outdoor pond depending on your location. These two species coexist naturally on the panhandle of florida. Your male Yellow Belly will reach a length of approx. 5-8 inches while the female Redbelly will reach approx. 8-12 inches. While these sizes may not seem too huge, the slider and cooter species certainly fill out to a large, hefty size in this parameters.

While I have not seen any Yellow Belly x Florida Redbelly crosses, there may be a possibility, but not likely. Captive conditions have proven to create some wild stuff on occasion.(Any input from someone who may have seen this particular cross is appreciated) But this does not mean your male Yellow Belly will not try in vain to mate with the Redbelly. The Redbelly still has a few more years till maturity. Also if you could post a rear end shot of the Yellow Belly to confirm its sex would help.

If I can make the previous email less confusing let me know.

Thanks!

No need for a shot of the tail on the Yellow Belly, I just realized that kensopher had noted a reflection in the glass and when I went back and looked at it, yep, there it was, a clear reflection of a males' tail. Haha. Good observation kensopher!

The confusion I'm experiencing is that Kenopher called the male a cooter and jgSAV, you are saying slider, and the female is a cooter?

Do I have this correct?

Anyway, I have a 130 gallon pond in an outdoor enclosure, and I will have to rig up something in the basement for winter time, but I have enough room/resources to do so.

Soooo....I'm gonna tell the shelter to go ahead and send them!! I'm excited! Hope I can give these two "kids" a better life than what they had before!

(Thanks for the info and help!)
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.9.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

Yes. Your male turtle is a Yellow Belly Slider (genus Trachemys). Your young female turtle is a Florida Redbelly which is a species of Cooter (genus Pseudemys).

I am sure the turtles sure do appreciate your making accomodations for them, there are so many unwanted pets in this world that either get dumped somewhere or meet an early end.

Thanks,

J

Thanks for clearing that up!
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.9.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband