what kind of turtle is this?

this is murtle. he is my friends "basement turtle". my friend rents a house and the landlord has had this turtle in the basement since the 1970's. he just roams the basement, the landlord comes and feeds him, my friend takes him outside sometimes to play, and he is a VERY friendly turtle. you cant be in the basement without murtle coming to say hi and crawl on you. the thing that gets me the most is, he has a duck bill!!! what kind of turtle has that? im not even sure if he is native to pa or not. also, is there a way to tell how old he is? the vet says he is one old turtle!!! although he has been in the basement for 40 years, he is much older than that she said! my friend and i are curious as to how old he is and what species.

sorry for the horrible phone pics, ill bring my camera next weekend and get better ones

myrtle is an eastern box turtle. I could go outside and catch his cousin as they are all over the place where I live.

myrtle's "duck bill" is not quite right. If you google photos of eastern box turtles you can see what it looks like. I don't know what he's being fed, but usually food wears down the beak. A veterinarian can clip it and fix it for him.

In some ways- poor myrtle- hope he/she has some lighting etc. Box turtles really aren't much different than chameleons as far as their needs go- humidity (there are native to the east coast states where things are green and they are always found fairly close to soggy ground- that is their native habitat, although they do crawl away from it to bask or hibernate or hunt, but not too far- usually less than 100 yards away will be habitat like this, they enjoy sunlight and UVB is normally considered a requirement as is a heat lamp (they often bask on the side of the roads here) and in the wild they eat mostly insects, worms, that kind of thing, supplemented with berries and a bit of veggies, occasionally mushrooms which they are fond of.

A cool dark dry basement- not so much their habitat. Speaks volumes about how hardy that turtle is rather than care of the owner... So are there turtle craps all over the basement?

fluxlizard said:

myrtle is an eastern box turtle. I could go outside and catch his cousin as they are all over the place where I live.

myrtle's "duck bill" is not quite right. If you google photos of eastern box turtles you can see what it looks like. I don't know what he's being fed, but usually food wears down the beak. A veterinarian can clip it and fix it for him.

In some ways- poor myrtle- hope he/she has some lighting etc. Box turtles really aren't much different than chameleons as far as their needs go- humidity (there are native to the east coast states where things are green and they are always found fairly close to soggy ground- that is their native habitat, although they do crawl away from it to bask or hibernate or hunt, but not too far- usually less than 100 yards away will be habitat like this, they enjoy sunlight and UVB is normally considered a requirement (they often bask on the side of the roads here) and in the wild they eat mostly insects, worms, that kind of thing, supplemented with berries and a bit of veggies, occasionally mushrooms which they are fond of. A cool dark dry basement- not so much their habitat. Speaks volumes about how hardy that turtle is rather than care of the owner... So are their turtle craps all over the basement?

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okay thank you! ive never kept a turtle before, but now that i know this, maybe my friend, his landlord, and i can pitch in to get murtle to the vet to get his "beak" clipped..and his nails need clipped as well. we can also set up a basking area and such for him too...its not our turtle, but he is an awesome turtle tho. and no, surprisingly, murtle only poops in the corners of the basement or behind the appliances..never in the middle of the floor

edit: is it normal for a turtle to be soo friendly?

Yes- not too uncommon for them to be really friendly. Turtles are cool huh?


My sulcata have a pasture 40 something feet long in the summer and when I open the gate, they all come over even if they are on the far end.

In addition to a basking station, you might want to see about giving myrtle a humidity station too- don't know how well that would work in a basement, but a shallow storage box with a large access ramp or something with some damp earth (something like people use for egg laying chameleons would work well as a substrate- a peat/sand mix that is kept slightly damp) that myrtle can get into and dig around in might be used and appreciated. If a hidebox is situated over part of it that will raise the air humidity in the box...

fluxlizard said:

Yes- not too uncommon for them to be really friendly. Turtles are cool huh?


My sulcata have a pasture 40 something feet long in the summer and when I open the gate, they all come over even if they are on the far end.

In addition to a basking station, you might want to see about giving myrtle a humidity station too- don't know how well that would work in a basement, but a shallow storage box with a large access ramp or something with some damp earth (something like people use for egg laying chameleons would work well as a substrate- a peat/sand mix that is kept slightly damp) that myrtle can get into and dig around in might be used and appreciated. If a hidebox is situated over part of it that will raise the air humidity in the box...

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thats a good idea! maybe one of those litter boxes with the lids? gotta be careful though because my friend will be getting a cat in the next week or so. a kitten to start and it wont be allowed in the basement, but really dont want it going in murtles box :/ how do you tell the gender? if murtle is a girl, does it need a laying box? lol obviously he has been fine for the past 40 years..but just wondering.

Gender can be told by
eye color (boys red girls brown- but maybe in a basement if not cycling boy eyes might go dull in color- sometimes eye color in males is seasonally effected- males eyes fire up in the spring)
tail length is shorter in females much longer in males.
shell in males underneath belly is shaped so it fits nicely on top of female shell- curved inward to fit and not slip off when breeding. female shell is flat - room for eggs.

The kitty litter pan is a great idea - or dog litter pan which is larger. Hide box doesn't need to be as large as bottom pan- I'd let part of it go uncovered so the whole thing isn't always dark. Might be more inviting when not sleeping that way...

Myrtle probably not cycling without hibernation so probably no egg laying box needed...

fluxlizard said:

Gender can be told by
eye color (boys red girls brown- but maybe in a basement if not cycling boy eyes might go dull in color- sometimes eye color in males is seasonally effected- males eyes fire up in the spring)
tail length is shorter in females much longer in males.
shell in males underneath belly is shaped so it fits nicely on top of female shell- curved inward to fit and not slip off when breeding. female shell is flat - room for eggs.

The kitty litter pan is a great idea - or dog litter pan which is larger. Hide box doesn't need to be as large as bottom pan- I'd let part of it go uncovered so the whole thing isn't always dark. Might be more inviting when not sleeping that way...

Myrtle probably not cycling without hibernation so probably no egg laying box needed...

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from what you said, murtle is deff a male, his eyes are bright reddish orange. and he does hibernate, the basement isnt heated so it is naturally affected by the outside climate. my friend told me he normally finds a corner and curls up till spring :/ lol ive never been interested in turtles before, but murtle is just soo darn cute and friendly! i cant resist :3 i actually had a dream about turtles lastnight -.-

I strongly suggest joining TurtleForum.com. If that turtle is native to your area, please encourage your friend to release the turtle to it's native habitat. You can use cuttle bones or terracotta pot pieces that they will chew on to break down their beak and get it back to it's normal size.

I thought turtles lived in water & tortoises lived on land? Is that not the difference between the 2?

ChameleonRave said:

I strongly suggest joining TurtleForum.com. If that turtle is native to your area, please encourage your friend to release the turtle to it's native habitat. You can use cuttle bones or terracotta pot pieces that they will chew on to break down their beak and get it back to it's normal size.

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i would tell him to let it go, but its not his, its his landlords. and that turtle has lived in the basement for 40 years...im not sure how he would do in the wild. i will deff give him a cuttlebone though, id feel better if he fixed his beak naturally.

lysinlight87 said:

I thought turtles lived in water & tortoises lived on land? Is that not the difference between the 2?

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from what i understand, a tortoise and a water turtle are considered turtles, but a water turtle cannot be considered a tortoise. if that makes any sense whatsoever

lysinlight87 said:

I thought turtles lived in water & tortoises lived on land? Is that not the difference between the 2?

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There are several types of turtles. Box Turtles resemble a tortoise, but they do require more water than a tortoise. They can somewhat swim, but more crawl into shallow water. They have hinges that close up when they are frightened. Turtles are aquatic, such as your maps, sliders, cooters, musks, muds, etc. They do need a basking spot though to completely get out of the water and dry off. Semi-Aquatic Turtles are like the box turtles, they are able to survive farther away from water and don't need to live in it. Tortoises, are dry land animals, they will often wade into water but that is about it.

amanda509 said:

from what i understand, a tortoise and a water turtle are considered turtles, but a water turtle cannot be considered a tortoise. if that makes any sense whatsoever

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Tortoise and turtle are two very different animals. They are similar, but their requirements are completely different from a turtle. Oh the TF mod in me is coming out.

amanda509 said:

i would tell him to let it go, but its not his, its his landlords. and that turtle has lived in the basement for 40 years...im not sure how he would do in the wild. i will deff give him a cuttlebone though, id feel better if he fixed his beak naturally.

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Basement? Is there proper lighting, that frightens me. I was reading a TF thread and there was a person that was keeping a turtle in their bathroom. Expecting it to live... I hope it's in a proper care and doesn't have severe MBD. That has disaster written all over it..

ChameleonRave said:

Basement? Is there proper lighting, that frightens me. I was reading a TF thread and there was a person that was keeping a turtle in their bathroom. Expecting it to live... I hope it's in a proper care and doesn't have severe MBD. That has disaster written all over it..

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yes, basement. he has free roamed the basement since the 1970's. there is not proper lighting, but he is taken out for walks quite often to get some sun. as for heat, i was told he snuggles up to the furnace (i inspected the furnace to see if it was/could be burning him, but i could safely put my hand on the parts murtle would be able to touch). he is fed a diet of earthworms and fruit and veggies. his shell is shaped fine, no rot or chipping. the only things i have noticed wrong are his beak and long nails (but then again, im not a turtle expert). what are signs of mbd in turtles?

amanda509 said:

yes, basement. he has free roamed the basement since the 1970's. there is not proper lighting, but he is taken out for walks quite often to get some sun. as for heat, i was told he snuggles up to the furnace (i inspected the furnace to see if it was/could be burning him, but i could safely put my hand on the parts murtle would be able to touch). he is fed a diet of earthworms and fruit and veggies. his shell is shaped fine, no rot or chipping. the only things i have noticed wrong are his beak and long nails (but then again, im not a turtle expert). what are signs of mbd in turtles?

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It's mainly in their shell being deformed and having odd shaped legs. They shouldn't need their nails to be clipped unless they are growing inward towards the turtles arms. They normally have a chance to grind them down as they dig around in their setups. I would encourage the owner to get the animal a heat light and uvb lightings, they can have a reptisun 5.0.

ChameleonRave said:

It's mainly in their shell being deformed and having odd shaped legs. They shouldn't need their nails to be clipped unless they are growing inward towards the turtles arms. They normally have a chance to grind them down as they dig around in their setups. I would encourage the owner to get the animal a heat light and uvb lightings, they can have a reptisun 5.0.

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well, his shell looks correct, and his legs look fine, he has crisp looking joints, but he does have a hard time getting around because of his long nails, and a few of them are curving in towards his hands(?) he has nothing to dig around in (which im going to change) because the floor is cement and carpet. i have an extra repti-sun 5.0 coil bulb that doubles as a heat bulb, i was thinking of getting an extra dome lamp and setting it up somewhere in the basement, is this okay? he will be hibernating soon though, would it be a waste?

amanda509 said:

well, his shell looks correct, and his legs look fine, he has crisp looking joints, but he does have a hard time getting around because of his long nails, and a few of them are curving in towards his hands(?) he has nothing to dig around in (which im going to change) because the floor is cement and carpet. i have an extra repti-sun 5.0 coil bulb that doubles as a heat bulb, i was thinking of getting an extra dome lamp and setting it up somewhere in the basement, is this okay? he will be hibernating soon though, would it be a waste?

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They should not hibernate if they are in captive care. Coil bulbs are the same with chameleons, try to avoid them. Just use a 40 watt house bulb and try to get a uvb tube bulb for it. It's very nice that you are trying to save this animal.

ChameleonRave said:

They should not hibernate if they are in captive care. Coil bulbs are the same with chameleons, try to avoid them. Just use a 40 watt house bulb and try to get a uvb tube bulb for it. It's very nice that you are trying to save this animal.

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the basement isnt climate controlled, so its usually the same temp that it is outside, and he has hibernated every winter he has lived there (40+ years) so far. ill be ordering linus a new uvb light here soon so ill go ahead and order two. murtle has lived quite some time in these conditions, so he is quite hardy, im just trying to make things a little better for him maybe my friend and i can pick a corner in the basement and make it "murtles corner" with a uvb, heat, moist hide, cuttlebone, and stuff like that...

amanda509 said:

the basement isnt climate controlled, so its usually the same temp that it is outside, and he has hibernated every winter he has lived there (40+ years) so far. ill be ordering linus a new uvb light here soon so ill go ahead and order two. murtle has lived quite some time in these conditions, so he is quite hardy, im just trying to make things a little better for him maybe my friend and i can pick a corner in the basement and make it "murtles corner" with a uvb, heat, moist hide, cuttlebone, and stuff like that...

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How cold does it get in Pennsylvania? I know that during the winter it gets freezing cold, and a turtle being left in those conditions with no warmth and it being a captive kept animal. Not very good care in my opinion. Try to rescue this animal, maybe bring it to the zoo and donate him?