3 days ago I got a baby eastern painted turtle at a reptile expo when I brought him home I tried to feed him and he ate one pellet and I have not seen him eat since I have been giving him pellets throughout the day and he has took no interest I have also tried feeding him in a separate container but have had no luck could it also be possible that he is eating when I’m gone

Hey, I have read online that this brand has pretty good reviews and because I just found those pellets on a discount I was wandering if they would be a good base diet for my adult map turtle.

3 days ago I got a baby eastern painted turtle at a reptile expo when I brought him home I tried to feed him and he ate one pellet and I have not seen him eat since I have been giving him pellets throughout the day and he has took no interest I have also tried feeding him in a separate container but have had no luck could it also be possible that he is eating when I’m gone

Hello, so I was out fishing in my neighborhood’s retention pond and foul hooked a very large softshell turtle that I can’t seem to identify.

Unfortunately, my phone was on my tacklebox about 100ft away. I decided to give the line enough slack to make a break for my tacklebox, but as soon as I did, the turtle bit the plastic lure in half, snapping the line, and took off. I know fishermen are infamous for their tall tales and exaggerations, but good lord I swear everything I’m saying here is as accurate as possible.

The thing is, I’m a lifelong Floridian and fisherman, and I’ve never seen a softshell turtle that looked like this one. Of the 3 softshell species in the state, I’m most familiar with the Florida Softshell, but I’ve seen the other two species before. This one looked closest to a Florida Softshell, but it was darker than any one I’ve ever seen, and the head and face looked totally different.

Its shell was approximately 2ft long, very dark (nearly black) with white/light coloring around its mouth and under its neck.

However, its head was quite a bit wider than the Florida Softshell’s (closer to a Mata Mata Turtle’s head, but not flat), its eyes were farther apart, and it specifically did not have that characteristic pointed nose. This one’s nose was wide and fairly flat, closer to a pig’s. Its mouth was also much bigger than a Florida Softshell’s, wider from side to side, and could open wider than I’ve ever seen a softshell open its mouth before.

Any ideas what this thing could be? I’m wondering if it’s some exotic pet that was released into the water.