She may be feeling insecure? Possibly trying to hide? That's how Softshells use it.

I purposley do not look at these craiglist ads for that reason. There are too many turtles in need of help.

Shell Rot can leave the turtle's bare shell bones showing. Does the area look white? http://www.redearslider.com/major_illnesses_injuries.html http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm My Belize Slider had shell rot without me noticing. I was VERY lucky that she healed herself, but lost par...

Spray the whole area down with water. Wash them away. Safe for pond, and not for ants!

I made my own, here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek5TOCqTOuI

Either: River Cooter - Pseudemys concinna, or Peninsula Cooter - Pseudemys peninsularia

Heaters outside are expensive and dangerous due to temp. fluctuation. The Koi don't need a heater, but if you add a turtle, it needs to be warmer. I recommend waiting until spring when Temps are back up to add a turtle. Also, you may want to cover the pond with a net or cage. Koi love jumping, and r...

Very cool!

If they are truly Orthoporus ornatus, then I believe they're supposed to be at most 6", but these girls are both a lil bigger, so I don't think so.

Orthoporus ornatus

I should probably update you all:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=34812

Yep. Ok, so on another fourm, we're having an issue of what exactly this guy is. I assumed he was a male RES, because of the very faint red ear you can see in the first photo. But here's the problem. His front claws are short, but he has a fat tail. And he has no stripe through his eye. And you can ...

He looked fine. There were def. some in the pond that were tilted though.

I had the opportunity to release a really old male RES into a local pond, in fact my college's pond. I had permission of the guy who runs the pond. Don't go releasing turtles into random ponds please. Anyway, onward to the photos: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a230/kinglinusII/100_0472_zps367727...

Melanistic. Basically the exact opposite.