General Care Discussion :: Looking for ID Help/Input

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 2:49 pm   Looking for ID Help/Input

Hello Everyone!

I've done a bit of browsing on these forums and found some really great tips, but I think it is about time I asked for specific information about our little turtle, who happens to be named "Turtle".

First off, I need some help Identifying Turtle and will be posting photos and a video below. I know he/she is not a RES, but I hope I could still find some assistance on this forum.

The only thing I know is that he/she is from Florida, is a year old, and most definitely a cooter. I've read countless threads and websites about markings and whatnot, but cannot really determine what kind of cooter he/she is. I THINK it's a Peninsula Cooter based on the shell/markings, but I could very well be wrong.

Also, is there any way to tell at this point if he/she is a he or a she? I know I've read about the Hiney Hole of a male being closer to the tip than a female, and a males foreclaws being longer, but I truly have no clue what I would base it on.

I am also curious as to how healthy Turtle looks. If anyone notices anything off about his/her shell, size, color, or anything alarming, please let me know. As I said, he/she is a year old (have had him/her the entire year) and probably about 5inches in shell length.

Right now Turtle is in an unfortunately small home(20 gallon wide filled 9" with water) that I feel he/she has outgrown overnight, but I will be upgrading Turtle to a fabulous new 75 gallon home in the very near future. I have the tank, just have to build the stand and ATBA over the next week.

Please let me know if there is any other angle/picture I should take for more info. Thanks in advance for all of your help and advice!

Video: https://youtu.be/IaekvKw7X-w

Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/jGqaM
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:23 am   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

Hi, welcome to the site! I would guess that you are right... a male peninsula cooter (though river cooter or a coastal plain cooter are close matches). Your turtle looks good, though I would review his diet. How long have you had him?
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 3:28 pm   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

Thanks, glad to be here!

Him being a he is probably the most exciting news, I wasn't sure how we were going to deal with the potential size of a female Cooter. :lol: We have had him for about a year and he was about the size of a silver dollar when we got him, so we assume he wasn't very old to start with.

His diet has been largely of sticks and pellets, regrettably due to ease, but he does get zucchinni and cucumber once in a while and loves them. Is there anything that you noticed/that stuck out leading to the mention? Just curious if there is something I should be looking for. :D

Do you have any suggestions for what a good balanced diet for him would be, and how often/much we should feed him certain items? As it stands, we feed him a portion about the size of his head, once a day in the morning. I think I read about that being the proper serving size and figure he's best fed in the morning so he can metabolize, but I could be completely wrong here.

Also, do you have any suggestions for a good material that he can bask on in his ATBA and to climb up the ramp to it? I am going to construct it out of acrylic with an acrylic ramp as well, but I read that heating their plastron is a good thing so I figure it would be best to put something like a ceramic or slate tile on it. As far as the ramp goes, is it okay to use grip tape on the ramp part for traction, like the ramp he has now, or will that be too rough for his plastron?

Thanks again for any help/info! :D
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:18 am   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

He's mainly grown a little too fast. Most terrapins would have smoother shells, has he ever shed? Cut down on the pellets (1/4 to 1/3 head size amount daily) and use more veggies. Red leaf/green leaf lettuce is a good everyday veggie to use. I prefer to use it in the morning, then the pellets at night. Feel free to add the occasional treat. There are some elaborate ATBAs out there, It seems the plexiglass bottom w/wooden framing type is the most popular. If you don't need a true ATBA, I'd to either cork bark or a PVC/tile platform and just build a barrier to prevent escape. Hanging the basking and UVB lamps off the wall (some use shelving or plant hangers) might give you best adjustability. Make sure everything is plugged into a GFCI outlet.
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 5:50 am   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

Ugh, I'm hoping his growth rate won't cause him problems down the line. Color me confused though, are terrapins and cooters the same types of turtles? I had no clue! As far as shedding goes, I honestly have no clue.. what would be the best way for me to tell? I haven't visually seen anything come off him that I can recall, but I can't be too sure. I'll take a few pictures of his shell after he's completely basked to dry out.

We bought him some fresh Red Leaf Lettuce yesterday. If green leaf is just as good, they sell a mix of the two that would be perfect. Also, do you know if there is a difference between Red Leaf and Red "Butter" lettuce, if only a difference for turtles?

We typically have to feed and leave in the morning, should I get a clip to hold the lettuce, or will it be okay for the lettuce to float around for 10 hours in the water until we get home? (I HIGHLY doubt it will last that long, he's a pig, but assuming worst case)

Turtle's new home will be smack dab in the middle of our living room, so we are going to go with the (hopefully) fancy full wood furniture if my newly found woodworking skills can manage it. His tank stand will be framed out of 2x4 beams and wrapped in plywood. I am going to cut down some 1x4 furring strips to make a frame for his ATBA and wrap that in plywood as well with a open (egg crate or other rack) top for the lights and a plexiglass/acrylic front that can be slid open for feeding and such. Everything on his ATBA will be stained and sealed to protect it from the water, do you know if there have been any problems with certain stains or sealers when it comes to being touchable by the turtle?

I was looking at the cork bark "background" tiles from ZooMed on Amazon, would he be able to get just as dry on those as he would on a stone tile? and, speaking of cork bark, is there any difference between the cork bark tiles and say, cork boards for pushpins?

That's a great point about the GFCI outlet, I will definitely put one in.

Also, here are some pictures of the SketchUp plans for his soon to be new home :D

Image
Image
Image

Thanks again for all of your help, I want to make sure we are giving him the best care possible.
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:01 pm   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

Yes, a cooter is a terrapin. There are some overlaps in terminology, especially in some other countries.

You can see if there is shedding going on, you won't be able to tell of past sheds though.

I think the butter is the same. If you turtle is not interested in the lettuce, then use the clip… otherwise you can just drop it in.

I'm not sure about the cork bark tiles but don't use boards. I'm usally recommending cork bark curls and flats.

Very cool diagrams. I would recheck the space under the cabinet for a canister filter. The FX6 is a popular choice and it's a beast… but won't fit under a standard stand.
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Post Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:55 pm   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

One last question on the lettuce, about how much should I be feeding him each day of it?

In regards to the stand, the original plans were a good 5 inches shorter so I bumped it up for a 27.75" clearance underneath with a large cannister in mind. My wife would kill me if I spent over $300 on a filter though lol. I actually have a Penn Plax Cascade 1500 right now that I picked up for $90 on sale from Amazon, it seems to be only 2" shorter than the FX6 but the FX6 definitely has more throughput. The 1500 keeps his 20 gallon tank crystal clear without any issue of course, I am hoping it can keep the 75 gallon just as clean. It is rated for 200gallon tanks with 350 gph.

Considering he is getting this larger new home, I was wondering about tank mates.. Do you have any suggestions for what fish would survive well with him and not pose him any harm or problems? I'd love some cool/fancy looking, low maintenance fish to spruce up his swimming quarters since there is going to be so much extra room now. My wife is worried about fish carrying parasites or other issues into the tank and affecting him if he should happen to eat them at any point. I don't dare show her some of the pictures from the Urgent care section, she'll never let me add anything to his tank and want to put him in a bubble :lol:.

Also, when it comes to putting things in the tank for decoration, is there anything specific I should avoid? Right now he has large river rocks we picked up from the dollar store and some fake plants that I purchased from amazon. He'as always foraging through his rocks and spends every night sleeping on/in his plants. Unfortunately they are going to be very sparse in the 75g, so I am definitely going to have to get more stuff.

Thanks again for everything Steve, I am going to take close pictures of his shell dry tomorrow and maybe you can help me determine if he is shedding/having any issues if I cannot readily tell.
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:48 am   Re: Looking for ID Help/Input

The lettuce amount is tricky because there is no right answer. Plus, their appetites will change over seasons. The main thing I look for is loose stools, then I would cut back. If you trace the shell on a piece of paper, the amount of lettuce I would use is about 1/2 to 2/3 of it.

I'm not a fish person, so you will have to search the forum for ideas. I would say get the cheap kind, since they will eventually be eaten.

For tank decorations, (pool filter) sand and drift wood look great in a tank. This is a recent post to gawk at - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=38146

Fake plants work well for some people... if he likes it then I would see no problem with its use.
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