Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm not sure what kind of a turtle I have. I know that locally in the lakes region he's called a snake turtle because he usually sits underwater and all you see is his head, which is shaped like a snake's. He is a bottom feeder, always digging in the rocks with his nose. He loves dried shrimp, but won't eat live feeder fish, only the heads that the others won't eat. His face is dark, shaped like a musk turtle, but with lots of yellow. His upper shell is dark brownish, very distinct plates, and domed. It isn't smooth. He was the size of a dime when we rescued him nearby a river channel. he was round then but now he is oval. He's almost 3 years old. His neck can reach almost to his tail. His tail has gotten really thick near the shell, which is why I think it's a male. He has never sprayed, stunk, or hissed even if I accidentally scare him. He is in a tank with two other turtles, one also from NH (a painted maybe) and a red earred slider. He's not aggressive with them. I used to think he was a box turtle, but I think he may be a cross.

Sounds like a Common Musk Turtle "Stinkpot", Sternotherus odoratus. Here is a link for a pic of a juvenile so you can compare and confirm.

http://critterguy.museum.msu.edu/_components/_slides/commonmuskturtle(juvenile)_01_thumb.jpg

-JG

Here's a link to some of the turtles native to your area. Some of these do not occur in New Hampshire. If you see one that looks familiar, you can plug its name into a google image search. Be careful, many of the native turtles of NH are protected from possession.
http://www.chelonia.org/greenlandgreatlakes.htm

There are four turtles in NH that are protected. I know he's none of these. I'm pretty sure he is at least part musk turtle. it's just that his stripes on his face are thick (more like a slider's) and his shell is more patterned. He's only about four inches long now and he's almost 3 years old. He has a yellow circle around the barbels under his chin. I guess I know more of what he isn't than what he is. But, he's healthy, happy, and he's not aggressive to me or my other turtles. Thanks for the links, they helped a lot

Thanks for the links. I double checked the NH fish and game site for protected species again (I checked when we first found him) just to make sure he wasn't illegal or hadn't bcome so since finding him. I am certain that he isn't any of the four on the list. One problem in the area I am from is that there are a lot of small man made ponds that people dump turtles from pet stores into. They dump them in the river channel in the middle of town too. I didn't know that different turtles could breed so I got curious about his differences.

We could walk you through loading a pic on the site if you have access to a digital camera. You have me very curious.

Will do. Just keep forgetting to borrow my daughter's camera.