Re: My first show
I would guess you saw northerns (M. t. terrapins). The ones with the swirls visible are what we’re calling concentricas. Many dealers over the past year were offering “ornate” northerns ranging from light phases, to white skin, to highly visible concentrics. All are variations of the northerns. The only way to press a seller for more details on “ornates” is to ask if they are macrospilotas and where the breeding stock originated (must be Florida for the true ornates). Macros will have a yellow or orange spot in the center of the scute – not the concentric swirls. There are also differences in the skin patterns and the shell shapes. Some of those points are identified in our archives and folders. I don’t think turtles including dbts will show the kind of color change you are asking about. Many of us have fallen in love with dbts because of the wide range of color patterns. We also see quite a bit of “change” as hatchlings grow into adults – mostly for the better. White skinned specimens especially seem to just improve with age as they grow as the black spots, dots and tear drops spread out and more white is visible on the larger animal. But those “changes” are generally not on the order of a dark specimen changing into a light phase or becoming an “ornate.” Where was the show? Todd in Texas coldtail88@… wrote: