Turtle Diaries

Bucky the turtle continues to thrive. She's living in an aquarium in the backyard where she gets maybe 3 hours of sun a day for basking. She's never been exactly cowed by people, but she's definitely getting tamer. According to online info, hatchlings of her species are almost entirely carnivorous. As their growth slows they become gradually more omnivorous (e.g., eating more plant material in addition to insects, fish, and anything else that happens to fall in the water and die). Bucky is at least a couple of years old, but still seems to be in the carnivorous stage. She gobbles up worms and bits of raw meat. She's not very interested in bugs with hard shells, at least when she has softer meat to eat. So far she's shown no interest in fruit or vegetable matter, or even in fish food. The turtle we had when the kids were little was happy to eat fish food, so this may just be a matter of preference for Bucky. As long as she has juicy worms and bits of kielbasa, she turns up her nose at dry food.

( More turtle info and picture behind cut )

How do you know she's a Western Painted Turtle?

I knew she was a painted turtle because of the vivid orange and yellow markings. According to the Internets, the only painted turtle species in Minnesota is the Western Painted Turtle. It seems to be the prettiest of the 3 species, with the most elaborate markings on the plastron (lower shell):

How do you know it's a she?

Male painted turtles have extra long claws on their front feet. Apparently they are used as some sort of *ahem* turtle sex toy. Bucky's foreclaws are definitely not long enough for a mature male. It's possible that the claws don't elongate until puberty. But there are also some differences in the tail, and I think Bucky's looks more feminine. So I'm pretty sure Bucky's a she.

Male turtle forefoot Downloaded from Internet. Note super-long claws on middle toes.	Bucky's left forefoot The claws would be longer on a male, especially the two in the middle.

More about turtle sex

Mr. Sexy Downloaded from Internet. Despite lack of hygiene, this is one sexy male turtle: note the length of the foreclaws!	Pair of turtles Downloaded from Internet. Female in front. She is not only larger but has a high-domed carapace compared to the male.