Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This photo shows how dramatically better my Southern Painted's color is. I posted a while ago about how poor it was when I first got him, but after mixing in crickets and worms into his diet, his color really started to stand out.

This week his carapace has brightened even more as he started shedding his scutes. You can see the red, yellow, and green swirling around his shells and his stripe, my God, his stripe is great! In the pic, you can see the difference in what it looked like compared to now as the scute near his head has not shed yet.

Just thought I'd share my excitement.

^5!!

(that's a high 5)
lol

Good news & that's a really nice looking little turtle you have there.
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PHRatz

Thank you! He does make his parents proud... Hey, PRatz, out of curiousity, how many turtles in all do you have?

>>Thank you! He does make his parents proud... Hey, PRatz, out of curiousity, how many turtles in all do you have?

You're welcome, he is good looking!
Ok let me think.. I have the western painted on purpose. I bought him as a hatchling in 1994 he's CB & came from a reptile show. He was meant to be the only turtle here then...
the rest just happened over time :-x.

I have 7 other turtles & the tortoise.
That's 1 yellow mud turtle, 6 ornate box turtles, and 1 nearly 70lb sulcata tortoise- all basically rescues.

What about you? Do you have any other turtles or other pets?
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PHRatz

I have the painted, which shares a tank with my spotted, which I got three or four weeks ago at a reptile show. As far as other pets, we wish we could have dogs, but we're in an apartment and it wouldn't be fair to them. That's also the reason I don't have any box turtles--no space. But I can't wait to get a yard one day so I can keep some Easterns.

We also have a freshwater tank with live plants and tetras and a 110 saltwater with about a dozen inhabitants.

Ooooh spotteds!! So beautiful!!
I've actually only seen them in pictures.

I didn't want box turtles, didn't plan to have any because they are native here, I don't want to take wild turtles and force them into captivity...but it started with one we found who'd been dog chewed. There used to be big dogs living next door & we used to have a fence that box turtles could walk through. We found her one Sunday evening sitting next to my car bleeding on our driveway & it looked like she had come from the direction of those big dogs.
I couldn't let her suffer so I picked her up, bandaged her then took her to the vet the next morning. Two years later she was fully healed but then spoiled rotten so here she is. LOL

The rest just happened, the last box I took in was horribly dog chewed as well. All are doing fine now so last fall we built a pen for them, they are about to go outside to live full time.
The tortoise was a sad case too, someone dumped her in the country then shot her with a gun so.. suckers that we are, we took her in too. We live on an acre so we do have room for them, but now we can never move!

I started with a western painted hatchling because I wanted him never planning to ever get another turtle but, here we are.
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PHRatz