Turtle in the pool, what kind?

[PoolGate]

This is a new one on me. I rarely ever see turtles in the wild but got this guy in the pool today. Took him out and kids are trying to feed it cabbage. I told them NO MORE PETS!!!

 

[RonsPlc]

looks like a box turtle to me, but what do I know.

 

[Arizonarob]

I’m pretty sure it’s a spotted turtle.

 

[HiddenRiver]

This is a new one on me. I rarely ever see turtles in the wild but got this guy in the pool today. Took him out and kids are trying to feed it cabbage. I told them NO MORE PETS!!!

Darn! I can’t see the photos!! We just found a baby snapping turtle in our pool. I was glad it was still alive. All the frogs find instant death when they get into our pool. [emoji30]

 

[bmoreswim]

I can't see the pics either but a 6" shell is a box turtle in this area. A 10-14" shell is a snapping turtle and be careful. I've seen both, just saw the box turtle a few weeks ago - see him every couple of years. Only saw the snapper one time.

 

[Thasista]

It’s a box turtle.

 

[Thasista]

I can't see the pics either but a 6" shell is a box turtle in this area. A 10-14" shell is a snapping turtle and be careful. I've seen both, just saw the box turtle a few weeks ago - see him every couple of years. Only saw the snapper one time.

Snappers can be large or small in fact we dispatched one that was huge 20” inches because it was killing our baby ducks. Nasty things.

 

[bmoreswim]

Snappers can be large or small in fact we dispatched one that was huge 20” inches because it was killing our baby ducks. Nasty things.

Yikes! I'm sure you see lots of visitors on 200 acres.

 

[jkayca]

First year I had my pool, I foundd a trio of baby snappers floating in my pool. There's a creek behind my property. I guess on their way there from hatching, they decided the pool was the better bet. It was not. I gathered them up and took them to the creek but they were very lethargic. I doubt they survived.

 

[HiddenRiver]

It’s a box turtle.

Interesting usually box turtles are found wandering around in the woods. But hey, I don’t blame him for wanting to take a swim. Glad he survived as they are getting pretty rare! My little snapper survived. Only about 2 inches across. I have a little man made pond that I quickly immersed him in. We have seen him several times over the past few weeks. Not sure what I will do when he gets bigger. [emoji15]

 

[tstex]

NOTE: CANNOT SEE PICS

if you have true snapping turtles, I would not let me children anywhere near them, nor pets that like to sniff things. they have razor sharp mouths and can snap a 3/4" pole like it was balsa wood [the bigger ones].

Box turtles are pretty much terrestrial and have shells that are very hump-backed [like a small tortoise but diff coloring and markings] while aqueous based turtles have more slender shell structures...most box turtles would sink after a bit..and yes, have not seen as many of them like I used to around our 100 acre weekend place...

 

[Thasista]

This^^^

 

[PoolGate]

I am fairly certain it is a box turtle. Interestingly I noted that my pics do not come up on mobile browsers (even for me) but come up fine for computer based browsers. Not sure why!

It is this basically (stock photo) accept the body was all black. Shell is near identical. Box turtle for sure not a snapper.

 

[tstex]

PG - that's definitely not a snapper..snappers have a pre-historic like "knotty" tail...this guy is definitely terrestrial..he's a good one to have...thanks for sharing

PS - I could not see pics either PC or other...the box turtles we have here are a lot less colorful.

 

[Arizonarob]

What’s weird is when you first posted the pics I could see them no problem, but now I can’t. I’m pretty much always on the mobile version.

 

[George in Georgia]

PG - that's definitely not a snapper..snappers have a pre-historic like "knotty" tail...this guy is definitely terrestrial..he's a good one to have...thanks for sharing

PS - I could not see pics either PC or other...the box turtles we have here are a lot less colorful.

Snappers are unable to retract their head, legs and tail completely in the shell. Be careful with the bigger ones! They can chomp a small branch in half; your finger would be no problem! See this link: DEEP: Common Snapping Turtle Fact Sheet There is also a soft-shell turtle which I gather is a nasty customer but apparently good eating, as is the snapper. Here's a link: Florida softshell turtle - Wikipedia
Here's a device called Frog Log which furnishes a "ramp" for frogs or turtles to get out of your pool. We have one and saw a turtle use it; I suppose the turtle wandered back to a nearby pond. Here's a link: https://froglog.us/

 

[tstex]

George, did we have a little too much coffee this am ?

The larger snapping turtles can snap a broom handle...it's a good thing they cannot move fast on land

 

[HiddenRiver]

I have heard snapping turtles can also break fingers. This we think is the mom of the little guy we found in our pool—

 

[Thasista]

That looks like a snapper to me. They can do some serious damage