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Orange Legs & Head: Box Turtle??

aquakej Jul 16, 2007 10:29 AM

From Lawrence (North-East), Kansas, USA:

My mom found a turtle in her yard, and wants to relocate it to a safer place. She brought it by, but I cannot figure out what kind it is. I've looked all over the internet, and can't find anything that matches. She is keeping him in a box today, with a little pan of water and some lettuce. I want to figure out what it is before we release it, so we'll put him back in a good place. I can't even figure out if it's a water turtle or a land turtle. :\ I'm leaning towards some kind of box turtle, but only because of the shape. I can't match it with any box turtle pics I see on the internet. Perhaps it will ring a bell with you: It has a rather domed shell, but not as high as you see on the Ornate Box Turtle. The shell is plain and unmarked (which I can't match with any box turtle) and is green-gray in color. The head has a few bright orange spots, and the chin is almost completely bright orange. The eyes are red. The front arms are covered in bright orange spots. The tail is medium in length (around 1 in on a 6-7 in. turtle) It has VERY long claws. The feet don't look particularly webbed, but they aren't "elephantine", like on a tortoise.

Does any of this ring a bell? He's about 6-8 inches in size. Oh, and he kind of stinks. I don't think it's a musk turtle, but maybe it stinks like he's been in a pond. He just doesn't strike me as "water turtle"...but then again he isn't broadcasting "land turtle" either. Does any of this ring a bell? The closest thing I've found is what is called a Mexican Box Turtle. I went though the list of "turtles in kansas", and none of them matched.

Any ideas?? Thanks!

Replies (2)

matt82402 Jul 16, 2007 01:06 PM

Look up pics of Three-toed box turtles...with the coloring it sounds like a male three-toed
Matt

aquakej Jul 16, 2007 01:34 PM

Matt-

You're exactly right! He does have three toes on the back. This coloration is a bit unusual, being so orange/red instead of yellow, but this has got to be what he is. Thanks for the tip!

Katie

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