Caring for Your River Cooter Turtles

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caring for your River Cooter Turtles Scientific Name: Pseudemys concinna Native to: Central and Eastern United States Maximum Length: Females up to 16 inches, males up to 10 inches Life Span: 40 + years characteristics: River Cooters are large turtles with relatively flat shells. River Cooters have a brown to black carapace, with reddish tinges, and the plastron is yellow, orange or reddish with prominent patterns of orange and black. Their head stripes are yellow, but may even seem orange. These gorgeous turtles are good for a beginner. River Cooters are typically found in large rivers with clear water, gravel river beds, and aquatic plants. care tips: Enclosure: Juvenile River Cooters can be kept in a 20 – 30 gallon long tank, adults require much larger accommodations. A minimum 300 gallon tank is needed to house an adult River Cooter. Substrate: Reptile sand or even fine pea gravel. Habitat: Cooters do well in aquariums when the water is kept clean and filtered. Make sure to provide plenty of space for your River Cooter including a basking area where they can get completely out of the water and swimming area with water deep enough to swim. Temperature and Lighting: Provide UVB lighting, a basking area of 85 degrees and water temperature of 75 degrees are recommended for these turtles. The basking platform must allow River Cooters enough room to stretch out and fully dry their shell and plastron to avoid shell rot. Food and Water: River Cooters are omnivores. Their diet should consist of a mix of pelleted turtle food, crickets, mealworms, and leafy greens such as romaine, collard, and turnip greens..

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Ecology of the River Cooter, Pseudemys Concinna, in a Southern Illinois Floodplain Lake
He!peto!ogica! Nalllral Historv, 5(2), 1997, pages 135-145. 135 ©1997 by the International Herpetological Symposium. Inc. ECOLOGY OF THE RIVER COOTER, PSEUDEMYS CONCINNA, IN A SOUTHERN ILLINOIS FLOODPLAIN LAKE Michael J. Dreslikl Department of Zoology, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois 61920, USA Abstract. In Illinois, the river cooter, Pseudemys concinna. is a poorly studied endangered species. During 1994-1996. I quantified growth, population size and structure. and diet of a population from a floodplain lake in Gallatin County, Illinois. For males and females. growth slowed between 8-15 and 13-24 years, respectively. Comparisons between male and female curves revealed that growth parameters and proportional growth toward the asymptote were not significantly different, while asymptotes differed significantly. Differences of scute ring- and Sexton-aged individuals from von Bertalanffy model estimates were not significant through age five for males and six for females. I estimated that 153, !57, and 235 individuals were found in the lake at densities of 5.1, 5.2, and 7.8 turtles/ha in 1994. 1995, and 1996, respectively. Associated biomass estimates were 3.84, 3.94, and 5.90 kg/ha, respectively. The overall sex ratio was female-biased, whereas the adult sex ratio was male-biased; both were not significantly different from equality. Key Words: Population ecology: Growth: Diet: Population structure; Tcstudines; Emydidae: Pseudemys concinna. Ecological studies can elucidate specific life its state-endangered status in Illinois (Herkert history traits which can be utilized in conservation 1992), and because of the scarcity of information and management planning. Many chelonian ecology concerning its natural history and ecology.
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