Variations
1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Florida red-bellied cooter
Calm but large; keep alone.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
- Florida red-bellied cooter should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Florida red-bellied cooter should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Florida red-bellied cooter should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Care and water
Behavior
Calm but large; keep alone.
Check your local laws. US: live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length and viable eggs may not be sold or distributed commercially (FDA, 21 CFR 1240.62; exceptions for science/education/exhibition, non-business transfers and export). Florida: taking wild animals and eggs is banned; adults only under a state permit (per ADW). Not CITES-listed per ADW. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Needs a basking dock with UV and heat lamp and deep water. Never house with fish.
- wood
Food
Pellets and aquatic plants.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Males have long, slightly curved front claws and long thick tails with the vent beyond the shell rim; females are larger (about 30 cm vs 25 cm).
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate
Egg layer: may mate all year (courtship seen October-March); females lay 3-6 clutches a year, often in the mound nests of American alligators.
Pair.
Large pond.
Warm season.
6-31 eggs per clutch, 3-6 clutches a year; eggs hatch after about 45-80 days (ToW: probably 60-75).
Hatchlings are fully independent: house them in shallow warm water with a basking spot and feed small pellets, worms and daphnia daily.
- Undersized tank and weak filtration
- No UV or basking heat (soft shells, poor growth)
- Releasing unwanted turtles into the wild
Where it lives in the wild
The story of the florida red-bellied cooter
A large basking turtle of Florida and southern Georgia with a reddish-orange belly. Adults are highly herbivorous, and females often lay their eggs in alligator nests.
American herpetologist Archie Carr described the Florida red-bellied cooter in 1938. It lives in lakes and springs of Florida. Adults are mainly plant-eaters.
First described by Archie Carr in 1938.
- It sometimes lays eggs in alligator nests.
- Adults are mainly herbivorous.
- Its shell has red markings.
Sources
10 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Reptile (aquatic turtle), not a fish. Valid name (Carr, 1938); no subspecies. ToW: 'hybridization with P. concinna may occur'. Not to be confused with the northern red-bellied cooter P. rubriventris or the Alabama red-bellied cooter P. alabamensis.
The Reptile Database: Pseudemys nelsoni · Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni - Familycorrected
New value (legacy had none).
The Reptile Database: Pseudemys nelsoni - Size
Carapace length. Females about 30 cm, males about 25 cm; maximum 34 cm.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni · Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Pseudemys nelsoni - Lifespancorrected
Legacy 30-40 years; the only source found gives a captive maximum of about 33 years (one captive kept 26 years). Upper legacy figure 40 is unsourced.
Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Pseudemys nelsoni - Where it livescorrected
New value. Ponds, lakes, ditches, marshes, mangrove creeks and slow rivers with plenty of water plants (ToW). Introduced to Texas, the British Virgin Islands (ADW) and Germany (Reptile Database).
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni · The Reptile Database: Pseudemys nelsoni - Male or femaleTurtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni · Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Pseudemys nelsoni
- Breedingcorrected
Legacy trigger 'Warm season' is only partly right: ToW reports courtship from October to March and possibly year-round; ADW gives a main breeding season of April-July. Males mature in 3-4 years, females in 5-7 (ToW).
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni - Eggs and youngcorrected
Legacy 10-20 eggs; sources give 6-31 (ToW) or 7-26 (ADW) per clutch, with several clutches a year. ADW gives incubation 45-80 days depending on temperature.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni · Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Pseudemys nelsoni - Story
Legacy 'A large pond turtle from Florida and Georgia. Mostly herbivorous as an adult.' is supported.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Pseudemys nelsoni - traits.legalcorrected
US: FDA rule 21 CFR 1240.62 bans selling, holding for sale or distributing live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length and viable eggs; exceptions include bona fide scientific/educational/exhibition use (not as pets), non-business transfers and export-only shipments. Florida harvest rule comes from ADW (a university account), not from FWC directly; the FWC page could not be fetched. The legacy Salmonella hygiene advice is sensible but was not separately sourced here (the rule itself is the FDA's Salmonella measure).
eCFR: 21 CFR 1240.62 Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements (US FDA) · Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Pseudemys nelsoni