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AFGHAN ARABIA WILD
WILDLIFE OF AFGHANISTAN WILDLIFE OF SAUDI ARABIA NORTHWEST WILDLIFE ONLINE
Saudi Arabian Wildlife Afghanistan Wildlife
The Painted Turtle on the left displays the red and black beauty that gave it its name. In the middle is the unmistakable red ear of the Red Eared Slider. And on the right is the speckled and exceedingly rare Western Pond Turtle. This particular specimen was brought to the Northwest Trek Park after being found wandering around a convenience store parking lot.
But unless you have extraordinary equipment, time, and patience you are far more likely to see our three most common representatives: the Slider, Painted, and the endangered Western Pond turtle. These three chelonians are collectively grouped in the family Emydidae, a very diverse, worldwide gang of shelled reptiles that includes the box turtles as well. Sliders and Painted turtles are by far the most common of the lot, sort of like the garter snakes of the turtle world and subspecies of them are found throughout the US. The Western Pond turtle is a much rarer commodity. The Peterson Field guide even opines that it is probably extinct in western Washington. I have seen proof (see photo) that this is not the case, but the turtle is exceedingly rare.
Red Eared Sliders and Painted turtles are often mistaken for one another
and not surprisingly. Languidly
sunning themselve on a log or exposed rock they both appear identical –
nondescript, shiny black turtles.
And unless you understand how to approach a basking turtle that’s about all
you’ll see, too. Water loving
turtles are amazingly alert creatures with excellent hearing and in my
experience pretty good eyesight to boot.
At the slightest disturbance they plunge into the safety of their aquatic
home. Try getting to within twenty
feet of these guys without the utmost stealth and you will fail.
But if you do have the opportunity in whatever environment
for a close observation the differences are soon apparent.
The Red Eared Slider has, of course, the distinctive red marking on the
side of its head. The adults are
dark colored and have more uniform dark shell but the young are the cute little
green fellows that were common in pet shops some years ago.
(Thanks to the salmonella scare pet shops are only allowed to sell
specimens larger than six inches in carapace length.)
These guys run about 8 to ten inches in length out here in the west, but
on the east coast I have seen huge specimens with a carapace length approaching
two feet or more.
Painted turtles are aptly named, and perhaps even more appropriately than
their red eared brethren. The shell
is a lovely mosaic of red orange lines that swirl about the dark top of the
reptile’s carapace while the bottom of the shell truly resembles and artistic
creation of Halloween colors.
Painted turtles are generally smaller than the sliders and run close to the
eight inch mark. The shell of the Western Pond Turtle is not as darkly
colored as its cousins, but the most notable difference is the speckled
appearance of the animal’s head and neck as opposed to the yellow stripes seen
in the painted and sliders.
Painted and Red Eared Sliders make fine pets – with several caveats.
Forget about the Western Pond Turtle, though.
It is illegal to keep this endangered animal.
In the rare chance that you do somehow find one of these guys please
notify the Fish and Game Department.
Diet wise all three of our chelonians are similar and happily munch down
on snails, worms, tadpoles and just about anything small or slow enough for
their beaked jaws to capture. But
be sure to provide some lettuce or other green vegetation especially as your pet
gets older. They like their
veggies. There are several good
commercial diets available that provide the necessary nutrients, but there is
nothing like the real thing to keep your pet’s life interesting and to highlight
your enjoyment, too.
With care feeding is generally not a problem.
What comes out the other end, however, is a problem.
Turtles are messy eaters utterly devoid of dining etiquette and merrily
rip their meals to pieces. Now that
might be something you can live with but once dinner has passed through the
testudinae digestive system the resultant mess can easily foul even a large
aquarium. Some guides even
recommend feeding your pet in a completely different enclosure than its
permanent quarters. Not a bad idea.
Then there is the issue of sunlight.
Turtles need sunlight and lots of it.
Commercially available ultra violet lights work as a substitute, but
there is nothing like old sol to keep your pet healthy.
Temperature is another matter that must be taken into account.
75 to 85 degrees is about optimal; if you have an indoor pet that issue
tend is solved with a with a small heater or heat lamp during cold weather.
Take care in warm weather, though, that you do not cook your reptile with
too much heat. But what do you do
with your shelled friend in an outdoor pond when the cool Northwest rains begin?
If bringing the animal inside to a warm environment is not an option the
next best thing is to provide a natural environment for the turtle to overwinter
in turtle style. In the wild these
guys burrow into the mud and hunker down for the winter.
So if you have a natural pond the problem is solved.
Most manmade ponds, however, have a liner and that is hardly the best
substrate for a turtle burrow. A
solution is to put a temporary substrate in the pond by lowering a flat pan or
some kind of pot into the bottom.
This will give your pet at least something to dig into and hold onto during the
long cold winter. The sources I
have consulted recommend that you only allow a healthy, somewhat mature turtle
hibernate. Bring the little guy
inside.
On the subject of hibernation it may come as a surprise that while your turtle
is hunkered down for the winter that it is also breathing – through its skin.
You will note that a turtle’s skin, especially those areas nearest the
shell is not scaled like a snake or lizard; it actually looks and feels like
skin. Like an amphibian your turtle
can actually breathe to some extent through this permeable skin.
This ability plus a much lowered metabolism are what gets the turtle
through the winter despite being underwater.
They’d obviously drown otherwise.
With care your shelled buddies will be around a long time.
Thirty to forty years is about the norm.
Now that’s a pet you can really get to know.
HOOAH
Jack
AFGHAN ARABIA WILD
WILDLIFE OF AFGHANISTAN WILDLIFE OF SAUDI ARABIA NORTHWEST WILDLIFE ONLINE
Saudi Arabian Wildlife Afghanistan Wildlife
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