Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 5:15 am
S/he's adorable! What great photos!
I think they all have short blunt claws like that, Fric- they walk along the bottom more than they swim. There is a huge colony of them in Buffalo Bayou near Memorial park; I used to work in a building with a deck looking out over the bayou, and they would all swim to it and beg for food.
Looking at that turtle, I bet she was a rescue who was mended and released. He looks like he's had major shell trauma in the past, but it has healed, and he's not very afraid of humans.
It looks like she's checking to see if any invertebrates have been stirred up.
I used to be a reptile expert. Now I'm just an old turtle lover.