Baby turtle update

[Snake lover 3-25]

how do you come up with this stuff!!!!!!???????

[stonyloam]

Hay Shanley!! Nice little gal. I believe you have a midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata). I had one for years. They are pretty omnivorous, they will eat vegetables like lettuce, duckweed, and flesh like worms, night crawlers, fish and about anything they can get. Mine was in a tank with enough water that I could just toss in a bunch of minnows or guppies and it would catch them itself. With a large tank you could set up an under gravel filtration system that would work pretty well to keep things clean and the fish alive (not that it matters to the turtle). Needs a dry spot and a basking light. Remember this is a native species, and it will try to hibernate during the winter, so you should take that into consideration. I like turtles too. Have fun.

[enigma200316]

Hay Shanley!! Nice little gal. I believe you have a midland painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata). I had one for years. They are pretty omnivorous, they will eat vegetables like lettuce, duckweed, and flesh like worms, night crawlers, fish and about anything they can get. Mine was in a tank with enough water that I could just toss in a bunch of minnows or guppies and it would catch them itself. With a large tank you could set up an under gravel filtration system that would work pretty well to keep things clean and the fish alive (not that it matters to the turtle). Needs a dry spot and a basking light. Remember this is a native species, and it will try to hibernate during the winter, so you should take that into consideration. I like turtles too. Have fun.

I agree with Terry that its a painted turtle deff.,but I think it may be Eastern pianted picta picta, however we know its one of the 2.....

[enigma200316]

oh yeah the way to tell is, the eastern is the only painted turtle to have aligned scutes and the other 3 have alternating, also the midland usually has a darker showdy mark in the middle of the plastron or the underneath
part of the shell.....but of the 4 species the midland and the eastern look almost exactly alike.........

[stonyloam]

It was a little hard to tell from the photo, but I am sure mine was a midland, and we have mostly midlands in western NY. Need a good photo of the plastron (bottom shell) and carapace (top) to tell for sure.
C. p. picta (eastern) plastron unmarked, 2 front seams across carapace continuous.
C. p. marginata (midland) plastron with narrow, dusky figure down center, carapace seams staggered.

I do tend to be a little anal on my ID’s. Two more pix please for the ID showdown.

Justin: You beat me to the description, must have posted while I was typing. Got to learn to type faster.

[enigma200316]

It was a little hard to tell from the photo, but I am sure mine was a midland, and we have mostly midlands in western NY. Need a good photo of the plastron (bottom shell) and carapace (top) to tell for sure.
C. p. picta (eastern) plastron unmarked, 2 front seams across carapace continuous.
C. p. marginata (midland) plastron with narrow, dusky figure down center, carapace seams staggered.

I do tend to be a little anal on my ID’s. Two more pix please for the ID showdown.

Justin: You beat me to the description, must have posted while I was typing. Got to learn to type faster.

its all good Terry, the more people to try and Id the better...hahaha...

and yes I would love to see a few more pics please.......

[stonyloam]

OK I downloaded Shanley's photo and enhanced it a little to see the shell. It is still not really clear but it appears that the seam intersects the first plate at the midpoint, and the yellow spot on the side of the head indicate midland. Sure is a nice little gal, may have to go out and find one again.



More photos would still be good.