Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:48 pm Re: I need help identifying my turtle!
They do, but the fact that its becoming melanistic takes away from the patterning. Melanistic doesn't exactly mean they turn all black, it does have to do with some parts becoming black, but oddly in sliders they can become quite yellow in the carapace and plastron. Melanism is basically the exact opposite of hypo, in that pigments become darker rather than lighter. Nicaraguan sliders, have a post orbital marking that does not contact the eye, just like this turtle. Sometimes they'll have a little dot right behind the eye, then a break...again like this turtle. The only problem is, there's a couple other species like this. Such as gaigeae, or even some rio grande res.