MY TURTLE

I've got a Red-eared turtle. (Crysemys scripta elegans). Also known as terrapin. It originally came from mid and southern America. I have had him for a long time, since 1984. He was as big as he is now, approx. 20cm (7.8 inch). I think he was at least 10 years old then. He is very curious. If you get close to his aquarium, he follows you. If you look at him, he makes eye-contact.

The name
His name is Flipper. There was in the early years a TV series with that name. Only this was a dolphin. In those days there was not much on TV, so this was a popular series. Maybe someone has named him after the dolphin. That's a long time ago. I think he is about 40 years old. He could be older.

Gender
I think it's a male, because the females get bigger. Now it is true that they adapt to their environment. The males have long nails. They vibrate with the nails to the head of the female to impress them. The same thing happens when you put your finger to the glass.

Appearance
The first thing that stands out are the red stripes on his face. That explains the name. The head is dark green with light green stripes. The upper shield is dark green to dark grey and the lower shield is light yellow with a pattern. Ones in a while he loses parts of his shield. Also his skin is molting from time to time. You can see the skin hanging half loose and floating in the water.

His front paws are flat with long nails. He's an excellent climber. I put a piece of lava-rock in his aquarium. It was not big and you should think he isn'n able to climb it. Well, he does! The rear paws are like flippers he swims with them. They are also good for walking and climbing.

The tail is long and there is an opening on the bottom side. The cloaca. There's where the stool comes out and when mating the genitals. By the slightest moment of danger, he puts his tail along side his body. He can't pull in his tail. He can completely hide his head in his shield.

Food
When I was a child I caught a fish for him. I thought it would be a nice friend for him. But he had other thoughts. He ate him! Fish is on the menu of the turtle. But he likes more things:
He likes pieces of meat and of course flies. He also eats Corn Flakes, sorts of chips, beans etc.

His own food are dried shrimps. (Gammarus) and mixed pressed food (ReptoMin).
(See pictures, click to enlarge.)

Yet he is picky. We bought other food for him but he didn't like it. You should think: "Food is food, who cares." But he won't eat it. In mixed food are several different insects, fish and shrimps. He picks up what he likes and the rest he leaves behind. They are just like people. 8)
In summer he eats more than in winter. In winter he sometimes stops eating. He sleeps often but no hibernation.

Company
Later I bought another turtle for company but that didn'n work out. They are normally not cannibalistic, but I think Flipper has bitten the little one. That bite was fatale for it, it died. By the next one I put a glass separation between them. After a few years the little one had grown a bit but not as big as Flipper was when I got him. So Flipper must have been much older when I got him.

Also by turtles you notice a difference in character. The little one (I called him Stoffel) was less active than Flipper. Also he was more aggressive than Flipper. If you picked him up for cleaning, he would start to sis and snap around him. I gave him away later, it was too much work. In that time I started to get problems with my health.

On dry land
He likes the dry lands, especially when the Sun is shining. In early years I let him walk over the floor. If it's necessary they can walk fast! If the weather was good I let him walk outside. He was looking around and then searching for a hiding place. I let him stretch his legs for a moment and put him back again.