what makes a turtle ornate?

[habitat101@yahoo.com]

I know it has to do with the shell, but what about it? Please forgive me, if I ask alot of questions b/c I am new to turtles. All my knowledge and experience are with saltwater/freshwater aquariums. thanks

[Macrospilota]

What makes them an Ornate diamondback terrapin is just being of the subspecies M. t. macrospilota. There is a huge color variety within each subspecies. The common name “ornate diamondback terrapin” was assigned to M. t. macrospilota. There are certain color phases of northerns and carolinians that some breeders have recently advertised “Ornate” as a sells gimic. This is similar to the Ornate box turtle or the Ornate chorus frog. You don’t call eastern boxes “ornate” or other Pseudacris sp. “Ornate”. Take a look at the files section and there are pictures of most subspecies. Treat you water in a turtle tank like you would your fish but add more filtration, food, and a basking area. DBT’s are not nearly as aquatic as sea turtles. They frequent the land areas and shallows for basking and resting as well. Thanks, Scott

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