This Is The Most Unique North American Turtles

One of the most unique North American turtles, the diamondback terrapin is in need of conservation. Terrapins, although not federally protected, are still protected in many states, which means keeping them is either illegal or allowed only with a permit. Check your state and local wildlife laws if you plan to acquire a terrapin. Captive-bred specimens are always the way to go.
Diamondback terrapins are one of the most physically variable turtles, having different shell patterns, skin colors, markings and shapes, even among specimens within the same subspecies. Another trait that distinguishes them is their large hindfeet, which gives them greater mobility in strong tidal currents and undertows.
Diamondback terrapins are medium-sized turtles that have a grayish, nearly black carapace. Their plastron is usually a yellowish or greenish gray. With white skin that's patterned in black and gray, these turtles have markings that are as unique as human fingerprints.
An adult terrapin needs at least a 60-gallon tank with a large basking area. Basking sites can be built using slate rock, river rock, etc., and should have a heat lamp to keep temperatures in the mid 80s Fahrenheit. They also require a UVB light and a day-night cycle that approximates the current season. The water temperature should be approximately 78 degrees.

Wild diamondback terrapins are found in brackish habitats, and providing captive terrapins with saltwater is important. Add one-fourth cup of salt per 20 gallons of water; commercial kits are also available at tropical fish stores. Good filtration is essential to maintaining their health.
In nature, diamondback terrapins are predominantly carnivorous, eating a wide range of salt marsh mollusks and crustaceans, as well as insects and fish. In captivity, however, these turtles usually accept commercial turtle food, insects and fish. For variety, offer smelt or cooked shrimp (not too often), but avoid freshwater crayfish. Adult terrapins should be fed daily, while juveniles need to be fed several times a day. Good sources of calcium for terrapins are coral (as substrate), calcium blocks and cuttlebone (such as that sold for birds). Diamondback terrapins tend to be messy eaters, necessitating more water changes or feeding them in a separate location.

Desert Tortoises Have Lived In The Deserts Of California

Desert tortoises have lived in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah since the Pleistocene. In the early years of the 20th century, they still thrived within the Southwest’s arid landscapes: As many as 1,000 tortoises per square mile once inhabited the Mojave. But by the end of the century, this population of the desert tortoise was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Livestock grazing and urban development, along with the ever-increasing use of off-road vehicles, continue to degrade the tortoise’s vanishing habitat, while Army translocation projects threaten to devastate the Mojave population.

Thanks to a lawsuit filed by the Center and Desert Survivors, in 2008 Fort Irwin officials suspended a disastrous desert tortoise translocation project that killed hundreds of the animals as part of “mitigation” for expanding the military base into tortoise habitat. The Army and Bureau of Land Management proposed a new translocation project in 2009 — but after tens of thousands of letters from Center supporters, the Bureau halted the project.

We’ve been working for the Mojave desert tortoise since 1997. Challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s grazing practices on arid public lands, we’ve helped protect millions of acres of fragile tortoise habitat. We’ve actively sought to limit off-road vehicle use throughout the desert tortoise’s range, including appealing the opening of two illegal off-road vehicle routes in Kern County, California. In 2000, we made significant gains for the desert tortoise when, as a result of our legal efforts, the Bureau permanently cancelled all livestock grazing on 276,125 acres of the Granite Mountains Grazing Allotment. In 2002, we and allies won another landmark settlement in which 1.9 million acres of the California Desert Conservation Area were protected against livestock grazing and 18,000 acres of tortoise habitat were closed to off-road vehicle access. More recently, we called on the U.S. inspector general to investigate the role of political meddling in the tortoise’s badly revised draft recovery plan and went to court to prevent a California mine expansion from affecting 178 acres of tortoise habitat.

In 2011, a study showed that desert tortoises in California and the Southwest are two different species instead of one. Scientists discovered that desert tortoises living north and west of the Colorado River (the Mojave population now called Agassiz's desert tortoises, or Gopherus agassizii) are officially a different species from tortoises in Arizona and Mexico (previously called "the Sonoran population of desert tortoises" and newly dubbed Morafka's desert tortoises, or Gopherus morafkai). The new study means that each desert tortoise species is even rarer than previously thought.

The Common Snapping Turtle Information

The common snapping turtle has a large head with a strong beak instead of teeth. The edges of the jaws have sharp edges to rip apart food. The squamosal meets the postorbital bone in the skull, but doesn't meet the parietal. The maxilla bone and quadratojugal also don't meet. The stapes is enclosed by the quadrate bone. This turtle does not have a secondary palate in the roof of the mouth. The vertebrae help create the carapace and then extend into opisthocoelous caudal vertebrae of the long tail. This long tail is armored by the dermal scales. The carapace has laterally reduced pleurals, 11 peripleurals, and long rib-like processes on the nuchal. The plastron is reduced and joined to the carapace by ligaments. The shell is covered by dermal scutes that create a horny armor on the turtle shell. This is caused by the cornification of the epidermis. The pelvis does not completely meet until the later adult stage is reached. There is a wide separation in the pubic and ischiadic symphyses. Due to the common snapping turtle being aquatic most of the time, its feet are webbed and have four or five claws on each foot.

The Common Snapping Turtle

 The mates from April to July, with the females laying 20-50 eggs. The female will travel to her favorite nesting site, even if it means crossing roads. The turtles come out on land to court, making them more visible in the spring. The baby turtles hatch in late summer and instinctively know to head for water. The temperature makes a difference as to how many of each gender are hatched.

The Snapping Turtle likes to walk along the bottom of the pond scavenging for food. They eat lots of vegetation such as the plants growing in the pond, but they also eat fish, snakes, crustateans, and carrion. The turtle gulps its food using the incredible suction created by its buccal cavity. He extends his neck to create the negative pressure necessary to pull his prey into the mouth and down the throat. Some turtles actually spit their prey back out, shredding it with their beak before they swallow it.

The Snapping Turtle is considered a Cryptodira because their neck is pulled directly back into their shell. The head of a snapping turtle is too big to pull all the way into the shell so they have developed a new defensve behavior in snapping at their enemies. Their hard keratinous beak on their jaw is attached to adductor muscles that are positioned at an angle with the trochlear to create an immense force. The force is so great it can take off someone's finger if they get to close. The snapping turtle needs this speciallized muscle attachement since they do not have any temporal openings in their skull through which muscles may be attached to the jaw.

The body of the snapping turtle is covered with a carapace and plastron. The carapace is the upper shell which is a brown or black color. The belly of the turtle is protected by the much smaller, yellowish plastron. They have webbed feet with claws but short digits for walking through the mud and swimming. The legs and tail look armored due to the scales covering them since they cannot be pulled into the shell for protection. The snapping turtle can grow to shell lengths of 18 inches, but most are only 10-12 inches.

Common Musk Turtles Are Capable Swimmers

The common musk turtle is also called “stinkpot” because of its ability to expel a rather repulsive musky scent from glands on its plastron when disturbed. Common musk turtles can turn their necks and reach surprisingly far behind them, often pinching the fingers that were holding them. However, most common musk turtles settle down in captivity and will stop emitting the foul smell. Because of their small size, they can make good pets.

Common musk turtles are capable swimmers and do well in aquariums that contain deep water, however they must be provided with structure, such as submerged logs, where they can rest with their heads extending out of the water. They do not need to bask all that frequently, as evidenced by the thick growths of algae that often cover the shells of wild-caught individuals. They should be provided with the opportunity to bask, however.

Aquariums should contain submerged logs and stones, as well as plastic plants. Make sure that none of the artificial crevices you provide will unintentionally trap a turtle underwater.

Common musk turtles are generally carnivorous. In the wild they often crawl along the pond or stream bottom in search of aquatic insects, worms, and especially small snails. Dead fish and other carrion are scavenged when available. Musk turtles do not prey on live, healthy fish, although they may capture one in an aquarium setting.

Water should be kept clean and filtered.

The Bog Turtle's Story Is Filled With Irony And Contradictions

The bog turtle's (Clemmys muhlenbergii) story is filled with irony and contradictions. It is Pennsylvania's smallest turtle. Even though it does not require large areas of habitat to survive, its populations have suffered from more problems associated with habitat loss than any other turtle in the Commonwealth. Bog turtles are cute, petite, and very attractive, which makes them an easy animal for people to like and want to protect. However, those same attributes also make this species very desirable in the black market pet trade. It lives in wetlands primarily in the southeastern counties of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, those areas also have the highest human population densities in the Commonwealth.

They are small, semi-aquatic turtles typically reaching a maximum shell length of around four inches at adulthood. Their shells are usually mahogany or black. A bog turtle's most identifiable characteristic is the prominent yellow or orange splotch on each side of the head behind the eye. A lack of yellow or light spots on the carapace (upper shell) helps to distinguish this species from the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), which may also be found inhabiting wetlands where bog turtles live. Bog turtles are long-lived. They reach reproductive age between five and eight years and may live 20 to 30 years, often spending their entire lives in the wetlands where they were born.

Bog turtles prefer to live in spring seeps and open, marshy meadows, which are usually found in flat or gently rolling landscapes of the valleys of southeastern Pennsylvania. Yet, these same areas are also prime locations in which to build homes and housing developments to support the urban and suburban sprawl that centers around the cities of eastern Pennsylvania. Some well-meaning people want to protect this species so much that they actually unknowingly endanger the turtles by removing them from the wild when they are seen crossing roads.

Typically, the turtle is dropped off at a pet store or nature center with little or no information pertaining to where it was picked up. In many cases, these "saved" turtles cannot be released back into the wild because their wetland of origin is unknown. Disease and genetic issues often preclude releasing these individuals in areas other than their native wetland. Bog turtles are listed both as a Pennsylvania endangered species and threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, and therefore they are protected by special regulations. Consequently, some land developers are concerned that their proposed projects may be affected by its presence.

Meanwhile, others see the bog turtle as a barometer for the quality and health of wetlands and watersheds in their communities. This little turtle, which exemplifies so many different things to so many different people, remains one of the most endangered and controversial species in the Commonwealth today.

Captive Care Of Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise

Introduntion

Bell ’s hingeback tortoise, Kinixys bellina, is one of the most common tortoise species seen in the pet trade. Unfortunately, the vast majority of specimens offered for sale are imported, wild-caught animals that have proven difficult to establish in captivity. It is a moderately large African tortoise, with adults measuring up to 22 cm and weighing up to 2 kg. Adult males specimens have a much longer tail than females. The preferred habitat of Bell ’s hingeback is savanna and grassland. As these areas may exhibit strong seasonal changes in precipitation and temperatures, the activity of the tortoises may be restricted to particular times of the year. In South Africa , for example, Bell ’s hingeback may become inactive during the cool winter months of May through September. Such seasonal patterns are likely important for successful captive breeding of the species.

Selecting a Specimen

A healthy hingeback should feel heavy and solid, roughly the same as an equivalent volume of water. A tortoise that feels light or hollow is likely dehydrated and malnourished. Hingebacks may be very shy so patience and gentle handling is necessary to allow inspection of the head and limbs. The eyes should be open and clear, or should open within several seconds of initial handling. Eyes that are swollen or sealed shut may indicate dehydration or conjunctivitis. The nostrils should also be clear. Any nasal discharge should raise suspicion of a possible respiratory infection. The skin should be thoroughly inspected for ticks, mites, swellings or lacerations. The shell may have a variety of injuries, some of which may be old and healed, and others that may be active areas of infection. If possible the mouth of the tortoise should be opened and the tongue and palate should be evaluated for signs of infection. If the tortoise passes feces during examination, evaluate the stool for blood, mucous, worms, or diarrhea. Finally, if circumstances permit, offer the tortoise some preferred food items (see below) to assess its appetite.

Permanent Housing

Once established on a good diet, and free of parasites, Bell ’s hingebacks may be set up in a more natural environment. If kept in groups, sufficient area and multiple hid boxes must be provided for individual tortoises to retreat from each other. Bark mulch may provide a visually appealing substrate, and the tortoises seem to enjoy burrowing. It must be changed weekly. Take care that feeding stations are designed to prevent accidental ingestion of mulch.

Alternatively, and preferentially, outdoor enclosures may be used if climate permits. They must be designed appropriately as Bell ’s hingebacks can be excellent climbers and burrowers. When kept outdoors, this author has observed that Bell ’s hingebacks are most active at dawn and dusk, retreating to shady areas during most of the day. The only mid-day activity observed has been during and after rain showers.

Preventive Healthcare and Diseases

Bell ’s hingebacks are often heavily parasitized. As such, thorough evaluation of feces by a veterinarian is essential. A deparasitizing program should be established, and hingebacks often need prolonged and repeated treatments to completely eradicate parasites. For very ill animals, more extensive testing and treatment may be recommended. Animals that have stopped eating, have nasal discharge, weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, or swollen eyes or limbs should be brought to the veterinarian.

Asian Box Turtle

This Asian box turtle has a highly domed, somewhat elongate carapace and a strongly hinged plastron. The carapace is dark brown, and most specimens bear a yellow vertebral stripe or spot on each vertebral scute. The growth rings (annuli) are usually quite distinct and the central areolae may be yellowish (the carapace of the young turtles is actually quite rough). The plastron is black rimmed with yellow. The head is grayish on top, and the face is pinkish tan to peach. A broad butter-yellow to bright greenish yellow stripe extends from each eye to the neck.

These turtles are very alert, and even after many years of captivity they will return quickly to the dry ground and seek shelter beneath overhanging grasses and other ground cover if disturbed.

At the advent of cold weather or during periods of drought, they burrow deeply enough to completely conceal themselves. Once burrowed in, they usually fail to respond to gentle lawn sprinklings or a brief shower, but will emerge and forage if the ground becomes saturated.These beautiful box turtles eagerly accept worms and insects, but will also eat an occasional prekilled pinky mouse, trout chow, puppy chow, some berries, other fruits, squash and a little dark lettuce. They will eat both in and out of the water.

American box turtles should ideally be kept outdoors. Any turtle would appreciate the fresh outdoors better than being cooped up indoors. You could have a small pond for your pet. Make sure it gets both sunlight and protection from extreme sunlight as well as some water and greenery to play around in. Take note too, that you should ensure your turtle’s safety against possible animal predators or pets that may harm it.

You may not be able to afford an outdoor enclosure. In this case the most sensible box turtle care tip for housing is to keep an indoor enclosure and occasionally take your pet outdoors.

You should not keep your turtle in an aquarium. Aside from the danger of overheating due to the glass sides, your pet may become agitated with all the activity that it sees outside. Your indoor housing should be a plastic or wood case. A four-inch square box that is two inches high would do well. Provide a shallow wading dish with a little water and a hiding pot or box. For the substrate, you can use a commercial product or use potting soil. Substrates though need to be constantly monitored, cleaned and changed.

Alligator Snapping Turtle Paradise

The prehistoric-looking alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America and among the largest in the world. With its spiked shell, beaklike jaws, and thick, scaled tail, this species is often referred to as the "dinosaur of the turtle world."

Found almost exclusively in the rivers, canals, and lakes of the southeastern United States, alligator snappers can live to be 50 to 100 years old. Males average 26 inches (66 centimeters) in shell length and weigh about 175 pounds (80 kilograms), although they have been known to exceed 220 pounds (100 kilograms). The much smaller females top out at around 50 pounds (23 kilograms).

Alligator snappers spend most of their lives in water, the exception being when females trudge about 160 feet (50 meters) inland to nest. They can stay submerged for 40 to 50 minutes before surfacing for air.

The alligator snapper employs a unique natural lure in its hunting technique. Its tongue sports a bright-red, worm-shaped piece of flesh that, when displayed by a motionless turtle on a river bottom, draws curious fish or frogs close enough to be snatched.

Adult snappers have no natural predators other than humans, who capture them for their meat and shells, and to sell in the exotic animal trade. A severe reduction in population due to unregulated harvesting and habitat loss has led states to protect them throughout most of their range, and they are listed as a threatened species.