Identify this turtle!

sensation

New Member
Hey guys, I need help identifying this turtle. Its a rescue. I'm pretty sure its a Painted turtle but I would like to know the sub species. If anyone has a care sheet I would appreciate it. I live in North Carolina and it never gets too cold here and after a little research, I think I can build an outside pond. Thanks guys.
 

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Post a pic of the bottom (plastron) of the turtle. I'll tell you now, it's not a Painted turtle. It is a type of slider. Either a Red-eared slider or a Yellowbelly slider. Look on the side of the turtles neck region when it's head is fully extended. If it's a Red-ear, you'll obviously see a red stripe mixed in with the yellow ones. A Yellowbelly will have no spots on the plastron, just a solid yellow belly. Sliders can sometimes be difficult to identify the different sub-species, cause there are so many of them. It boils down to, first; Look in a good book, I highly recommend the Peterson North American Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern/mid western edition. Excellent book. Then by using the process of elimination, count out the species that do not naturally occur with in your range (The range maps in the back of the book are useful for narrowing down/eliminating unidentified species). The species listed as occuring in your range each have in this book, a set of ways to narrow down what it might be with species that look very similar to one another.
 
That looks to be a Red Eared Slider Turtle. if you see a red marking on the side of the head it is a Red Eared Slider Turtle.

attached is a picture of one of my RES turtles: its when she was a baby but you can see the "red ear"
 
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Hes gonna need at least a 75 gallon tank when full grown, a basking spot in the high 80's low 90's , uvb and a real good filter.
 
I live in North Carolina and it never gets too cold here and after a little research, I think I can build an outside pond. Thanks guys.

I live about 50 miles from you and I keep several species of turtle outdoors year round. Its not the cold but the hot parts of the year you need to worry about. Make sure to position the pond so it doesn't get too hot.
 
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