Here's the story of this turtle. This turtle had been in my family's possession
for more than 10 years, perhaps 15. I cared for it first, then my family did
when I left town. Since the beginning, we had no idea how to care for turtles
like specified in this website. So, until about a month ago, it had been living
in shallow 1" water. It was fed various veggies, cooked rice, and sometimes
shrimp.
A month ago, I took the turtle with me. Now, it's sharing a tank with my
other smaller turtles. It immediately swam just fine despite years of not
swimming at all. At first, it ate pellets. But now it eats only veggies.
I know I'm not setting a good example by putting 3 turtles in a small tank,
but I'm not asking for a discussion about this issue. I made a decision and
I'm ready for the consequences.
I realized that the turtle needs a good shed. It doesn't have enough
calcium and vitamins intake. It has lots of retained scutes. Also, I think
it has lost its natural stripes.
Now, what I need is your help in identifying the kind of turtle it is and its
gender. The shape of its beak is not that of RES, I think. You can see
it in the front view photo. I'm in doubt about the gender because it has a
rather big tail, but short front nails. Perhaps the lack of calcium is stunting
the nail growth. However, it could be that it's actually a female.
Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward for responses.
(Please click the photos for bigger ones)
