All Turtles Message Board

sixrulers · Guest Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 1

My mother-in-law gave us a turtle. I have worked at petco and know some turtles. but this one is not one i have seen. She said it was a wter turtle, and she has no idea how old it is. It is pretty big, it skin is a white color and it\'s nose is pointed, the shell is greenish. does anyone know what kind of turtle it is? and how i should take care of it or if i take care of it like a slider or other water turtles?

lulumac1 · Level 3 Joined: 26 Aug 2002 Posts: 228

Does it have webbed feet? If so it is an aquatic turtle. Are you sure it isn\'t a type of slider, not necessarily a res. Do you know what a musk turtle looks like? They have a more pronounced nose, but I\'m not sure about the color of the skin. Here are some pictures you can look at to help you determine. Also check out the turtle species in this site. I think if its aquatic you can care for them the same way. The only difference I beleive might be the food, and the water temp.

http://turtle_tails.tripod.com/turtle/turtlepage.htm
http://www.wildlifemanagement.info/reptile_and_amphibian_identification.htm
_________________
Proud owner of 2 RES--George and Ringo

Wu-Gwei · Level 3 Joined: 18 Oct 2002 Posts: 194

You need some more specific descriptions... exact length, patterns on the shell, patterns on the neck...

If it has webbed feet, it\'s a water turtle. Most water turtles are omnivores... feeding it pellets and some veggies will be fine until you identify it.

White skin, eh! Hmmm. Lot\'s of turtles have a light skin colour.

Cheers,
JJ

BellaTortuga · Level 1 Joined: 13 Dec 2002 Posts: 7

I have a musk turtle. The head is arrow-shaped, black with a yellow V stripe.
Musks have small plastrons that leave a lot of leg and behind showing, even when pulled in.
I haven\'t seem any pictures of musk turtles with very pale skin, but my experience is limited.

herpetoculturist · Level 1 Joined: 26 Dec 2002 Posts: 12

not much to description, is its shell smooth an flat and kind flexible, if so it is easily to say its a softshell.

softshells are one of the fastest freshwater turtles,theyre shell can range from pastey white an pasty green. they grow rather large ( challenging even the snapper.) like the snapper it has a very long neck and bites can be severe. they are omnivorous but more on the carnivorous side. they eat many things, including, fish, worms, bugs, carrion, ducklings and anything they can get theyre powerful beaks around. one of my favorite chelonians, (i have 2).
But like in the past replies, they could be musk or stink pots as theyre commonly called, post more description like shell texture, color, feet shape (webbed or not)
love to help.
adam