Cute...and CRAZY!

[cdmay]

Look at this face...

I know... adorable, right?

The big eyes, the cute little hands...
Even his (or her) plastron and underside are cool looking...

But underneath all of this disarming innocence lies a nutty little predator. This is a two month old Claudius angustatus, or narrow bridged musk turtle, 'vampire' musk turtle, and so on.
I've kept all kinds of aquatic turtles over the years but this particular species is the pinnacle of coolness--- mixed with crazy aggressiveness.
This is how they usually present themselves,

This particular little creature was hatched back in March by a good friend of mine who insisted on giving it to me (I did say GOOD friend) because of past deeds and our mutual turtle nerdness.
Hope I do right by him and raise this beastie well...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

He's all head and eyes.
That one actually IS cute.
And I've never said that before

 

[Moozillion]

WOW!!!!
Why is it called a "vampire" musk turtle??

 

[cdmay]

WOW!!!!
Why is it called a "vampire" musk turtle??

The little cusps on either side of the upper jaw.
Becomes more pronounced as they grow.
Kind of look like fangs.

 

[wellington]

WOW!!!!
Why is it called a "vampire" musk turtle??

Look at that mouth. It wants your blood

 

[Moozillion]

The little cusps on either side of the upper jaw.
Becomes more pronounced as they grow.
Kind of look like fangs.

Now I see!!!!!
OMG!!!! CUTEST.THING.EVER!!!!

 

[Rachael403]

Awee!! so cute! Its a chunky little thing.

 

[cdmay]

Seriously considering naming it Bat Boy

 

[Anthony P]

I love the orange irises in this species almost as much as the "fangs." They really are great. Hopefully there won't be as many imports around soon. I'm sure everyone likes the cheaper prices we've seen lately, but at what cost to the wild population?

 

[GingerLove]

Cutest turtle EVER. And I'm not one to say that about turtles.

 

[cdmay]

I love the orange irises in this species almost as much as the "fangs." They really are great. Hopefully there won't be as many imports around soon. I'm sure everyone likes the cheaper prices we've seen lately, but at what cost to the wild population?

Good question Anthony P.
According to Legler and Vogt in Turtles of Mexico, Claudius are heavily hunted for food in parts of Mexico each year and yet these populations seems to remain constant. They also indicate that Claudius is highly successful and not endangered in most parts of its range.
Like the situation with Pelusios nanus, Claudius prices remained high despite their 'commonness' in the wild due to---hype within the pet trade.
As has been the case with reptile dealers for decades, hype (and BS) control the prices of turtles.

 

[Pearly]

Very cute! And interesting! Thank you for sharing

 

[Alicia Hoogstra]

OMG!! He's the CUTEST!!!

 

[Anthony P]

Good question Anthony P.
According to Legler and Vogt in Turtles of Mexico, Claudius are heavily hunted for food in parts of Mexico each year and yet these populations seems to remain constant. They also indicate that Claudius is highly successful and not endangered in most parts of its range.
Like the situation with Pelusios nanus, Claudius prices remained high despite their 'commonness' in the wild due to---hype within the pet trade.
As has been the case with reptile dealers for decades, hype (and BS) control the prices of turtles.

Great points with the comparison to nanus. Here is a video where Tom Crutchfield tells me about his time in Belize. He specifically talks bout how these guys are everywhere when it rains...