Peninsula Cooter Turtles - Pseudemys floridana peninsularis

Pseudemys floridana peninsularis or the Peninsula Cooter is a medium sized turtle commonly found in Florida. It is often confused with the Florida cooter, the Pseudemysfloridanafloridana. The Peninsula Cooterhas a brown carapace with golden and yellow stripes all over it. The carapace is round, domed, keel less and non serrated. The carapace might have a slight keel running medially along the carapace. The marginal scutes are smaller than the medial vertebral scutes. The plastron is round and yellow. It is hinged with the carapace along both the sides. The carapace along with the plastron gives the peninsula cooter an almost egg like shape. The periphery of the plastron has round patches of black, grey and brown. These patches are also one of the features that distinguish it from the Florida Cooter. The patches on the Florida Cooter have lighter center while those on the Peninsula Cooter are completely dark. Except for these patches the plastron is completely plain and simple. The head and the rest of the body is black or brown withbright yellow stripes. Yellow forked stripes run from the nostril across its eyes to the throat on both sides. The limbs are scaly with thick yellow stripes. The tail is heavier in males than in females.

The Peninsula Cooter Habitat

The Peninsula Cooter inhabits lakes, sloughs, marshes, swamps, ponds, slow moving streams, and other fresh water bodies. Soft bottom and a profusion of aquatic plants is an essential requirement. It is very commonly found in Florida and is easily spotted. However it is a shy species of turtle and would slide into its safe abode, water, if you go too close. On rare occasions they might be found in brackish water bodies too. A 60 gallon terrarium is recommended for a single Peninsula Cooter Turtle. For every additional turtle, thekeepers are reccommended to upgrade the tank by 20 gallons. As I have mentioned earlier the Peninsula Cooter Turtle prefers soft bottoms so a soft muddy or sand substrate is recommended. You can even use saw dust to line the bottom of the tank. The Pseudemysfloridanapeninsularisneed land as much as water and that is why the aquarium should be constructed that half of it is water and half of it is land. You can leave the water areas shallow or just as much deep as to completely submerge the turtle. A submersible heater should be fitted to keep the temperature between 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. A spot bulb should be fitted on the land area and the temperature should be kept around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Keepers are strongly recommended to fit a UVB light in the terrarium as an alternative to natural sunlight. UV rays are essential for turtles and help them synthesize calcium. The water should be filtered and de-chlorinated before the Peninsula Cooter is placed in it.

The Peninsula Cooter Turtle Diet

The Peninsula Cooter Turtle is a tough species and is very easy to handle and care. ThePseudemysfloridanapeninsularisis usually herbivore. The juveniles prefer to eat flesh and fish but as they grow up they becomes increasingly inclined towards a herbivorous diet. You can feed them commercial turtle pellets, green vegetables and fruits with vitamin and calcium supplements once in a week.

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