Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i caught 6 turtles at a local canal right down the street. im for sure keeping them, but i want to know what kind of turtles they are so i can figure out what the primarly eat. im sure one of them is a red ear slider, but the rest, i think they are western pond turtles.

The first and the fourth pictures are Red-eared sliders. Not sure about the middle 2. They could be Pacific pond turtles. Could you post better pictures of them including plastron shots?
Are you in California?

Dan

yes i live in vacaville callifornia. ill post some bottums in a second. here are some more picutres like the hand


o and you said the first one is a redear slider, heres another picture:

heres ur plastron shots
turtle from photo 2

turtle from photo 3 (similar to photo2)

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top from turtle2 (dirt resemblence, no real pattern)

top from turtle3 (too scared and figity, just got part with head, leapord spots pattern inc. shell)

It's difficult to ID that first turtle, even with the additional photo. The middle animals are definitely Western Pond turtles, and the last is definitely a Red-eared Slider. Western Pond turtles are protected in California, and law enforcement will make an example of you if you're caught with them. They should be release precisely where they were captured immediately. I can't say this more clearly...California doesn't mess around! Wildlife enforcement agencies monitor these sites carefully! Since you've posted this information, they're looking into you right now!! They'll consider this public admission of poaching in their State as an insult, and they'll take it out on you...regardless of if you knew or not.

Please don't take this as an insult. This is a friendly warning. Most people are unaware of wildlife laws.

no i didnt know, as there are large supplies in this creek. ive looked at range maps and they seem to be common in california, according to californiaherps.com
http://www.californiaherps.com/turtles/pages/a.m.marmorata.html
i will release them after i recieve a little more information, is there a website on the laws and protection of these turtles?

Here's a good site about the Western Pond turtle (Pacific Pond turtle) in California, and includes its status as a "species of special concern".

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/cgi-bin/more_info.asp?idKey=ssc_tespp&specy=reptiles&query=Clemmys%20marmorata

It appears as if no wildlife can legally be taken from the wild unless there is a special provision in the law or allowed by permit.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fgc&group=01001-02000&file=2000-2019

Here's the California Fish and Game Code...good luck with that.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/calawquery?codesection=fgc&codebody=&hits=20

You can probably find the information you need from a 10 minute telephone call to (916) 653-4875. Good luck.

thanks for your helpful reply!i never even knew you cant catch anything! so basicly, you cant even catch an ant, its illegal? you have GOT to tell me , everyone has broken that law! is there any other laws specificly on this turtle?

I COULD BE MISTAKEN, but the law seems to leave out invertebrates in general. That's why it reads mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles. Although, I'm sure that some inverts are protected too. Many species of crayfish are protected...you'd be suprised.

I actually found it nearly impossible to find any laws specifically relating to Western Ponds, or even species of special concern. You could spend all day looking that stuff up. If I were you, I'd really give them a buzz on that phone number. They could tell you quickly and may even be able to set you up with a rescue organization that could help you adopt some Western Ponds. The California Turtle and Tortoise Society is an excellent resource and is VERY active in rescue and adoption. From what I've heard, they have a very common sense approach.

In the meantime, if you want a bale of turtles...go out and collect all of the Red-eared sliders that you can possibly find in California. They need to be removed...they don't belong there! While you're at it, grab all of the Snapping turtles and Bullfrogs too!

P.s. I commend your reaction to the knowledge that these turtles are protected. People have posted things like this before, and when they're warned they react with things like, "Ah, go fly a kite. I'm gonna keep whatever I want."

Take care.

thankyou! you are very helpful, you must live in california? is there a phone # i can contact for the turtle and tortise society? i have another phone number to a suisun animal society, whihc is only like 15-20 minuts from where i am! i have there phone number, but the thing is, i dont want them to take tem from me saying they are gonna give them a good home in their care, then plop them back into some creak. the canals around here, even the ones i found are treated VARY badly, you can see trash eveery foot you look, with large amounts of rust in the waters from abandond shopping carts, there are like 10 just under the bridge to the canal! until i figure out whom im going to contact, what would you recommend me feeding them? i tried goldfish, but they all died, and im not sure if they ate the turtle pellets i put in the pool for them, but i find lots of feeces in the bottom of the pole every day, cleaning it every opportunity. if seen them mate many times between each other, and reading what a website says, supposably, mating occurs on shore and has been rarely seen. i see them mate underwater almost every 12 hours :S. thanks for your help guys, keep the feedback comming.

o btw a couple replys from this one, the one who says they are extremely endangered, please do not give information like that if you are at least 90% sure

No, I'm not from Cali. I have just read and studied about these and other turtles since I was first able to pick up a book. I absolutely LOVE the Western Pond turtle, and others like it. It's a passion of mine.

I would go ahead and still release these turtles immediately! No matter how dirty the water is, it cannot compare to how dirty the water in captive conditions gets...even under the best of circumstances and filtration. Keeping them in the wild, at least the populations have a fighting chance. Keeping them removed, the population is at risk. The biggest risk to captive, wild caught, adult turtles is stress. Stress will kill a turtle as fast or faster than dirty water (in my humble opinion). Please release them.

They are not "endangered", according to the normal definition of the term. They are a species of special concern in CA. Basically, there are factors that are leading them in the direction of being endangered. In Oregon, they are endangered. The Federal government has yet to classify them. It's all sematics. Basically, they are considered to be in trouble. Consequently, there are laws against possessing them, capturing them, or even destroying their habitat. These classifications can be debated. The main thing for you to keep in mind is...you could get in trouble for having them.

You could spend a while searching this wonderful site below. I believe that there is some contact information. Hopefully, you'll get a knowledgeable person at the other end. Beware though, sometimes rescue organizations will take turtles in that should be released.
California Turtle and Tortoise Club
http://www.tortoise.org/

as ive said just a few minutes ago, im releasing them tonight and marking them so i can encounter them again! i practicly go there every day

the first and last are red ears

the two in the middle...

I wanna say European ponds, they got spots like them
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Buslady of SoCal
Breeder of Ornate Wood Turtles
Rhinoclemmys Pulcherrima Manni
Mom: Jessie; Dad: Donatello
Kids: Steve,Leo,Bender and Dax.
(sorry, my kids ain't fer sale)

i hate that i cant edit my last post.

if your here in CA, those would be Western Ponds...you can not keep those, they are protected. I'd keep the RES if you are willing to care for them, and return the Ponds.
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Buslady of SoCal
Breeder of Ornate Wood Turtles
Rhinoclemmys Pulcherrima Manni
Mom: Jessie; Dad: Donatello
Kids: Steve,Leo,Bender and Dax.
(sorry, my kids ain't fer sale)

i did release them. not the res. thanks