What kind of turtle?

[TurtleGuy]

I got a new box turtle but i'm not quite sure what type it is. Based on my research i think he is a Ornate Box Turtle but i also read that mature males have green heads and purple tongues.. :confused: here are some pictures... plz help.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/JasperL/Closeup3.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/JasperL/Closeup2.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/JasperL/Closeup.jpg

[flamepony12]

He looks like a tortoise, not a box turtle.. I could be wrong, but aren't turtles water dwellers, and tortoises, land?

[IRescue452]

Might be an ornate, they stay 4-6 inches across the shell, so if he's that size it would be my best guess. Any chance of him matching the chinese box turtle description? http://www.centralpets.com/animals/reptiles/turtles/tur2619.html

Box turtles are sometimes classified as tortoises also.

[TurtleGuy]

thanks. i looked at the Chinese box turtle and i dont think that he is one becaue of the shell design. i know that hes a box turtle because he can close his shell up but like you said IRescue452 he might be classified as a tortoise

[K9soul]

I'd definitely say ornate box turtle. I grew up in Southern Missouri where we had both three-toed box turtles and ornate. Saw a lot of them in the wild. I never particularly noticed "green" heads (or what color their tongues were). They had brown markings on the pastern/bottom side of their shells though.

More about ornates here: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/cornata.html

http://www.gpnc.org/ornate.htm

Yours looks like a female to me... They have a lot of special needs. I'd read up on them extensively.

[TurtleGuy]

Thanks. Your websites helped a lot. I know that he is a boy because of his bright red eyes. The eye color didn't really come out in the pictures. Other pictures of male ornates though show a more colorful head and shell. Mine seems a bit dull...

[king2005]

if you want to learn more about him & proper care, go to turtletimes.com (http://turtletimes.com) Many people have Boxies, I for one don't, I'm in the snapper forums :)