Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm in western Oregon. Someone found this turtle in a semi-residential area in the road and brought it to me. It is really big, compared to my box turtles, very strong, and appears to be extremely healthy. I had a local veterinary student who is into reptiles and such come and look at it and she couldn't ID it for me, but she says it's not native.

It is about 6" in diameter, with a more prominent flair at the egdes of its shell over its back legs compared to my box turtles. It is also a fair amount flatter than my box turtles. Perhaps its toes are shorter and its feet webbier, but I've looked thru lots and lots of pictures or aquatic turtles and it doesn't really look like any of them. It has no stripes on it's neck, head, or face--rather it has a uniform, small, mottled skin pattern.

Is it a water turtle or something else? Someone told me that water turtles are illegal to keep in Oregon? Help!

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/483

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Absolutely wonderful! The photo only gives me a small window, and it is possible that this could be a European Pond turtle, but based on your location, that is probably a WESTERN POND TURTLE! They are Actinemys marmorata. They are supposed to be VERY rare in Oregon. Please contact your closest wildlife official. They will probably want to glean some information from you and the person who found the turtle. This turtle could be very valuable for research purposes! Due to size and the flatness of it's plastron, it is most likely a female. It may have just laid a nest or be gravid right now! Please contact an official ASAP. They are highly illegal to keep as pets in your state. They are also illegal to sell in any state where they occur.

I'm very jealous that you were able to see this wild creature, as I have been admiring Western Pond turtles since I was a boy. You've found a treasure, thanks for posting!

Here's a link to pictures, remember that turtles can be very variable in coloration. Also, there are two subspecies of this turtle. The Northern form (Actinemys marmorata marmorata), and the Southern form (Actinemys marmorata pallida). You probably have the marmorata.
http://www.chelonia.org/actinemys_gallery.htm

I found a bunch of links on a simple yahoo search for the Western Pond turtle. Most are not very good. This one is old, but a decent read. They're renamed the turtle recently, from Clemmys to Actinemys.
http://www.tortoise.org/archives/pacpond.html

Thats a western pond, I ditto kensopher's comments. Please contact a wildlife agency. That is not a common turtle in oregon, and that particular one could be a key producer in keeping a population going. There also a protected turtle in oregon.

not a very good photo but i must agree it looks like a european pond tortoise, emys orbicularis. I have 10 of them at home. try a different photo with more lighting if you can.