# what turtle have i got



## lauren amy (Sep 4, 2011)

Hello can anyone help me identify my turtle?
Iwas told it was a musk turtle, have brought myself a book on reptiles
and now im not so sure


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2011)

lauren amy said:


> Hello can anyone help me identify my turtle?
> Iwas told it was a musk turtle, have brought myself a book on reptiles
> and now im not so sure


he does look like a musk turtle, what makes you think he isn`t one ? couple more photo`s would be nice if you have them too as the one you have posted is slightly blurry , his underbelly certainly suggests that he could be one


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## Plebob (Apr 11, 2011)

He certainly looks like our musk turtle from that angle but i'm no expert - how big is he and how old? Could you take a photo from the top?


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## Marley boy (Sep 6, 2010)

i have two musk turtles and it looks like he could be one

that reminds me i have a question to ask about turtles but i will make my own thread


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2011)

marley boy , in reference to your question , the turtle photographed above is a boy lol hope this helps you too lauren


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## Pelusios (Oct 3, 2009)

adult male common musk turtle - _Sternotherus Oderatus_


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## Relsoh (Oct 24, 2011)

Hey, figured this thread was as good as any to ask. I have two, YBS (or that's what the last owned told me). I'm not 100% convinced because they said that the shop owner had told them (they're not always right). They are currently called Big and Baby, due to the fact that they're too young to tell gender. So, the first question is, are they Yellow-bellied Sliders, or something else? The second question is, why has Big grown to double the size of Baby? I know eating more can make a turtle grow faster but they're both eating about the same amount. I was told they were about 6 weeks when I got them in April, making them roughly 6 months old now. Baby has grown just over half an inch and Big has grown just over an inch since April. Her are some photo's, they're not great because they wriggle lol.


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## joee (Feb 18, 2011)

no there not YBS they are red bellied cooters :thumbup:


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## hope (May 25, 2011)

they are ybs  if they were red cooters then they would have a red on there shell .


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## Relsoh (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I had a look at some pictures of RBC and if it weren't for the lack of red on the carapace I would believe that that was the breed. The only problem is that I have also read that YBS don't have red on their plastron.
I know YBS are a common breed of pet turtle but are Cooters common in the UK? I may just have to go with them being YBS and leave it at that lol.


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## Pelusios (Oct 3, 2009)

hope said:


> they are ybs  if they were red cooters then they would have a red on there shell .


No, they are Florida red bellied cooters, Pseudemys nelsoni - they exhibit all the classic markings of this species. Red bellies come in varying shades from yellow to orangey-red... not all have red markings!

They do not have the head markings (wide vertical yellow 'S' shape behind eye) or plastron markings (plain yellow with two black dots on the anterior scutes) of YBS.

Relsoh, yes, cooters are common in the UK. If you look at the turtle's 'beak' you will see that they both have a tiny 'v' shaped notch. This is a classic identifier of a red-bellied cooter. No other cooter or slider species has a notched beak.


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## Relsoh (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks Pelusios. Hope sent me a personal message just after saying that it was a red belly cooter, so that's three people saying the same thing. I knew they didn't have the markings of YBS hence me asking in the first place but I didn't have a clue what else they could be. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.


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## Relsoh (Oct 24, 2011)

I spoke to someone else about them and showed him some pictures and he thinks they're Eastern River Cooters. So it's fairly decided by most that they are Cooters. Thanks everyone.


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