Penny FL Cooter (water turtle) Turtle Turtle Baltimore, MD

PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION completely before contacting MATTS. Many of your questions will be answered below.

I'm a female aquatic Florida cooter turtle (Pseudemys) in the Baltimore area, but transport is available to the York, PA. I eat Mazuri, Reptomin, and Zoo Med turtle pellets and other brands of pellets and dark leafy greens. I ONLY eat in the water. If you're in in the DC area or farther south, and you've been wanting a slider for your outdoor pond, but are worried about your fish, then a cooter is for you! We eat more aquatic plants than fish in the wild, so we're less likely to eat fish in a pond, but we might tear up your lilies unless there's an underwater corral for the plants.

I am a big girl; my shell is about 9", so I'll need at least a 75 gallon aquarium or stock tank or indoor pond, but larger is better, with a strong external canister filter or really good home-made filter. A Rubbermaid stock tank would make a good home, and those are cheaper than aquariums. A 100 gallon plastic Rubbermaid or Tuff Stuff stock tank from True Value or Tractor Supply Company is usually about $100, and they also come in 150 gallon sizes. In the summer, it would be great if I could live in a fenced-in, backyard pond (dug below the frost line so that the top won't freeze solid, if I'm spending the winter there, too). I can also live outside all year if I go into the pond during the summer.

I'm for adoption because my owners didn't do their research before buying me and my friend when we were little. They didn't realize how big we would get.

Cooters can live for 20-60 yrs. They need large indoor aquariums or ponds, a basking spot, and water filtration. Indoor ponds and aquariums require a haul-out spot, a.k.a. basking spot, a heat light over a basking spot, a UVB light over the basking spot, a high-powered filter, and usually a water heater. Outdoor ponds must be in an escape-proof yard or the pond itself must be escape-proof. If you have a backyard pond, the turtle can't go outside for the first time until May, but can live year-round outside after that. Cooters are generally fairly calm with other turtles, so I can usually be in a pond with maps, terrapins, and other female cooters and female painteds. I might be able to live with sliders but sliders are more likely to be jerks.

For ideas on how to prepare an aquarium or pond, visit www.turtleforum.com to chat with other keepers. Review the slider care sheet to learn more about caring for aan aquatic turtle http://nebula.wsimg.com/ae4cb36565545a257b1ff6f17a885dc2?AccessKeyId=A3E784782F81D21389AD&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
You can also get the book Red-Eared Sliders (Animal Planet Pet Care Library) (on Amazon or in some stores).
Here's a great book on aquatics, and it can be downloaded for free https://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-lunsford/captive-care-of-north-american-water-turtles/ebook/product-17551523.html

We do not allow female cooters to be in the same enclosure as male cooters.

REQUEST AN ADOPTION APPLICATION from matts_adoptions@hotmail.com. Please INCLUDE YOUR CITY AND STATE when contacting MATTS. An application will be e-mailed to you. Once completed, the application can be returned, and if approved, you'll then have to submit pictures of your set-up before picking up a turtle. We meet adopters in central locations such as Fells Point in Baltimore, MD, Parkton, MD, and York, PA, as we foster from our homes and do not have a central shelter. Shipping is possible if temperatures allow, if you're willing to pay for shipping, and if it's legal to have a cooter in your state.

PLEASE HELP OTHER TURTLES by spreading the word - baby turtles grow into big turtles! They do not stay small - they do not grow to the size of their enclosure! Please don't buy hatchling turtles at vacation tourist spots. It's illegal in ALL 50 states to sell a turtle this small. Like turtles but can't have one? Want to help? MATTS accepts tax-deductible donations at MATTS, P.O. Box 341, Highland, MD 20777. We help over 100 displaced pet turtles a year!