ID turtle please

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Cherbear

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I bought this turtle a few weeks back as a southern painted turtle, and I never really questioned it because he has a stripe down his back. Well, I had two hatchlings at home already and noticed that besides the stripe that he looked kind of different than my other southerns. The more I look at him the more I think that he kind of looks like a western painted. Could he be mixed between the two?

 

diamondbp

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That's actually a Midland painted from the southern part of their region where the dorsal stripes are slightly broader. I actually have a genuine southern/western mix because I own the parents.
I can see why whoever was selling it was wrongly label it a southern because the dorsal stripe is quite noticeable.ImageUploadedByTortForum1381348696.806182.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1381348712.166637.jpg
 
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Cherbear

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Hey, thanks for response. Your southern/western mix is really pretty.

Don't midlands have more of a reddish coloring to them. I know it's kind of hard to see in my picture, but he is really orange, more like yours. Maybe I'll try to take better pictures. He's so squirmy.



 

diamondbp

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The head is rather unique. The reason I am suggesting a midland over a mix is for a few reasons. The slightly elongated body is characteristic of midlands whereas southerns tend to be rounder in shape. Also the ratio of head size to body size is larger in midlands than in southerns. Most southern painted turtles have small heads in comparison to their body size. Also the plastron pattern in located at the bottom on the plastron whereas a western/southern mix would be similar to mine with a larger reduced pattern(compared to a true western) that reaches from the top to the bottom of the plastron.

With all that said it's still simply impossible to know for sure. It may indeed be a mix of western/southern, but odds are that it is a uniquely colored midland painted turtle. With the thousands upon thousands of painted turtle hatchlings produced each year there are bound to be some unique ones in the market. If we were to put our turtles side by side in person the differences would stand out greater than they do with pictures.

Regardless its still a beautiful unique young turtle.
 

Cherbear

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Thanks for your input, I really appretiate it! Well, it will be interesting to watch him grow and see what he turns out looking like. Maybe we'll be able to know for sure when he's an adult.
 

diamondbp

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Your welcome. This just confirms how much of a turtle nerd I can be lol
 

Cherbear

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Well, shows you how much I know. lol. I'll post pics of him again in a couple months or so when he's a little bigger.
 
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