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About Yexalen
Expertise
I am experienced with the care, lighting, heating, breeding, sexing, species identification, and general keeping of mostly aquatic turtles. I also have experience with tortoises and land turtles and can certainly research any question that I do not know the answer. I can not answer medical related questions as I am not veterinarian certified. I prefer not to answer questions on animals that you or somebody else has taken out of their natural environment unless the animal was in danger, ill, or injured.
Experience
I have owned six aquatic turtles and have been researching turtles for several years. I have been on several question and answer sites under this category. I also have started up a web site focused on reptile care with a portion of it for turtles.
Education/Credentials
I have been around turtles sense a very young age and always found them fascinating and because of that it has lead me to researching day after day, reading book after book, and finding endless amounts of web sites with information.
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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Exotic Pets > Turtles > Species?!?
Expert: Yexalen
Date: 7/13/2008
Subject: Species?!?
Question
QUESTION: Well recently my uncle gave me a turtle or a tortoise, i'm really not sure, and i was hoping you could help. The turtle/tortoise has like faded yellow spots on its carapace and no where else on its body, the carapace length is just about 6-7 inches long. It has a rather short tail and doesn't eat greens, like lettuce from what i have observed. It also has a somewhat pointed mouth like a hawk. The carapace is also domed. For right now I am keeping it in my backyard because when i tried putting it into a tank, it was like it couldn't swim and kept scratching at the glass. With that info i was hoping that you could please help me identify the type of turtle I have.
ANSWER: Hello, do you happen to have a picture that you can attach? It is difficult to identify an animal with such vague descriptions.
Let me know
Yexalen
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hey, I accidentally gave you the wrong urls so here they are... sorry, and thank you for your help
http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/MyPictuuures/turtleee/IMG_1235.jpg
http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/MyPictuuures/turtleee/IMG_1236.jpg
http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k359/MyPictuuures/turtleee/IMG_1238.jpg
ANSWER: Those pictures helped a lot thank you.
It looks like either a Blandings Turtle or a Spotted Turtle. I am leaning more towards Blandings Turtle though. Except the Blanding's turtle does not have the sharp nose that your turtle has. Nor does the Spotted turtle. So I admit I am a little stuck. Also the Spotted Turtle has coloring and spots on its skin as well as shell.
Here is a picture of a Blanding's Turtle
http://www.pinicola.ca/bland1c.jpg
Here is a photo of a Spotted Turtle
http://www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/guide_images/Spotted%20tutle%202.jpg
Because those turtles are similar but not the same I am still leaning toward the fact it is not an aquatic turtle maybe a tortoise...
Perhaps a type of box turtle
Like the Eastern Box Turtle has been known to have that shell coloring but the body looks nothing of the sort. Although many of them have very different patterns, colorations and such
Shown here:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/images/reptiles/terrapene_carolinatriu...
And almost completely different but the same exact species here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Eastern_Box_Turtle.jpg
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Do you know where your uncle got it? Did he purchase it? If so from where? Did he find it? Where did he find it, country, state, area etc.
That will help a lot. Especially if he found it. It can narrow down the possibilites into native lands.
Let me know what you think
Yexalen
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Uhm, im pretty sure that my uncle found it in his area, which is in California, San Fernando Valley, specifically Burbank. And actually i found a big surprise this morning, because it had escaped from its house, and when i found it in my backyard again, I had discovered that it had dug a hole and laid about 3 eggs, they were white and pretty big.. about 1 1/2 inch diameter, i am not very sure because i did not pick them up. I hope that will help you in identifying my turtles species. Thank You for your help.
Answer
Hi,
Well I narrowed it down by the location it was found in.
I am really thinking she is a Eastern Box Turtle
However Eastern Box Turtles are not found wild in California.
But they are very popular in the pet trade and if somebody let is loose in California it is possible.
Take a look at this link and the pictures on the site
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/midorcas/research/Contribute/box%20turtle/box...
The shell coloring and patterns differ quite a bit. You have some darker then others some with coloring on their skin others with no coloring on their skin.
Congrats on the eggs, keep them there and whatever you do do NOT turn them over. it will drown anything trying to grow inside the egg.
Let me know if you think its an Eastern Box Turtle
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