Variations
1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Striped mud turtle
Usually shy and can be semi-aquatic; may eat small fish.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
- Striped mud turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Striped mud turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Striped mud turtle should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Care and water
Behavior
Usually shy and can be semi-aquatic; may eat small fish.
Check your local laws. US federal (FDA): live turtles under 4 in (10.2 cm) shell length and viable turtle eggs may not be sold or commercially distributed (exceptions for science/education/exhibition, non-business sales and export). As almost all adults are under 4 in, commercial pet sale in the US is essentially barred. CITES Appendix II: K. baurii was among the Kinosternon species listed at CoP19 (November 2022), so international trade needs CITES permits. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Needs a land area and a shallow water depth.
- wood
Food
Pellets, worms, snails and insects.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Males have longer, thicker tails and a patch of rough scales on the inner thigh and lower leg; both sexes have a horny tail tip.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate
Mating and egg production happen almost all year. Females nest in sand or piles of rotting vegetation, laying 1-5 eggs per clutch and up to about 3 clutches a season; in the Southeast many nest in the fall. Eggs take about 100-130 days and the embryos can pause development until they have had a cool spell.
Pair.
Shallow tank with land.
Seasonal cycles.
1-5 eggs per clutch, up to about 3 clutches a season; incubation about 100-130 days, with embryonic diapause.
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 striped mud turtle
A small mud turtle of Florida and the southeastern coastal plain. In much of Florida it has yellow head stripes and three pale stripes along a dark shell, but many animals in Georgia and the Carolinas lack the shell stripes. Its plastron has two hinges, so it can close up partly like a box turtle.
Samuel Garman described the striped mud turtle in 1891. It lives in wetlands of the southeastern US. Its light stripes help identify it.
First described by Samuel Garman in 1891. Named for Named after German-American herpetologist Georg Baur.
- It has three light stripes on its shell.
- It can live in brackish water.
- It spends time on land.
Sources
9 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Reptile (aquatic turtle), not a fish. Author Garman, 1891; also spelled "bauri" in older literature. The legacy alias "bauer's mud turtle" is a misspelling (Baur). No subspecies recognised. Hybrids with K. subrubrum are reported (Reptile Database references), and the two are hard to tell apart where stripes are faint.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii · Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) - Familycorrected
New value.
The Reptile Database: Kinosternon baurii - Size
Carapace length. Typical adults 7.5-10 cm; maximum about 12 cm. Legacy 12 cm is the maximum.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii · Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) - Where it livescorrected
New value. Reptile Database quote is from the fetch tool's reading.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii · The Reptile Database: Kinosternon baurii · Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) - Male or female
Legacy agrees.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) · Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii - Breedingcorrected
Legacy "lays 2-5 eggs" is close (range is 1-5). Turtles of the World gives an April-June nesting season while SREL stresses fall nesting; both are reported. Embryonic diapause matters for captive incubation (a cool period may be needed).
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii · Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) - Eggs and youngcorrected
Legacy said 2-5 eggs.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis): Kinosternon baurii - Storycorrected
Legacy said it has three yellow stripes on the shell; that is true of many Florida animals but not of most northern ones.
Savannah River Ecology Lab (University of Georgia): Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii) - traits.legalcorrected
FDA rule 21 CFR 1240.62: no commercial sale or distribution of live turtles under 4 in (10.2 cm) carapace length or of viable turtle eggs; exceptions for bona fide scientific, educational or exhibition use (not pets), sales not in connection with a business, and export-only shipments. Small adult males of this species can be under 4 in, so they also fall under the rule. The Salmonella hand-washing advice in the legacy text is reasonable but was not checked against a source. Prop. 29 quote is from the fetch tool's reading of the PDF. Legacy omitted CITES. State rules not checked.
eCFR: 21 CFR 1240.62 Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements (FDA) · Earth Negotiations Bulletin (IISD): CITES CoP19 daily report, 23 November 2022 · USARK: 2022 CITES (CoP19 turtle listings summary) · CITES CoP19 Prop. 29 (Mexico): inclusion of Kinosternon spp. in Appendix II