#ornate box turtle

[doctorqueue]

I don’t wanna spend too much time on this 2day but I absolutely want to try and make a full post about this theory at a later time. So if I come off weird it’s cuz I’m tired hsbcrvg, I’m gonna forget if I don’t write it out now tho.

I’m also not at all an expert, just autistic 😎. To quote Raph, “I’m not a scientist but this is absolutely your guilt glands, excreting guiltzimes into your guiltis system☝️😌.”

But basically I, as I’ve said before, am now incredulously familiar with the different Rise turtle species’ anatomy. And over the last month or two I’m becoming increasingly sure of the theory that they aren’t just blood related through Lou Jitsu, but have a little of each others turtle DNA too.

⭐️The biggest undeniable signifier of this is Donnie’s plastron and bridge. It’s of course important that there’s a lot that doesn’t have to be accurate in a stylised completely fictional show like Rise, and especially with mutants.

But man it’s a pretty big plot hole to have this character who’s design and character (as well as story at times) be known as having a softshell because of his species, but give him these key/obvious turtle attributes that said species definitely doesn’t have, he certainly didn’t get a hard and external plastron + bridge from his human side. /nm /gen

Turtles have tons of bones inside their bodies like most animals do, but the shell, bridge and plastron bones are more external, and covered scutes. The skin connects around the two gaps in the front and back.

Softshells still have a hard plate with their spinal cord and [shorter] ribs, but it’s under a leathery “shell” of skin, and they don’t have a solid bridge connection like other turtles. Their bones are absolutely wack bro /pos. Their plastron and the closest thing they have to a bridge are still equivalent to our front ribs, but even more so in that they’re still behind skin [but I don’t think muscle?], and that skin more or less is around their entire body [kind of].

[it’s worth mentioning that in other species they do have lots of nerves and stuff in their shells, they ARE still sensitive, though most likely less. Not too relevant to this but I feel like people have the assumption that their shells are super numb or they can’t feel stuff touching them. They love those shell brushes yo!]

Then there may be extra little details that COULD support this theory as well.

-Donnie being seen going inside his shell twice, once in the lair games and then once in the purple jacket (in the basket of Aprils bike). I’ve always preferred to retcon these, as Softshells cannot go inside their shells at all. But with a harder plastron and bridge ‘outside’ of his skin that connects to where his shell sticks out, it isn’t as impossible as a normal softshell, and of course Mikey and Leo absolutely can and have completely gone in their shells. [tba examples?]

Also snapping turts can’t go inside theirs either, though considering how massive Raph’s limbs are he probably can’t even with Mike and Lee’s DNA influence, not that it’s realistic for any of the ninja turtles to be able to go in their shells LOL.

-Donnie looking like he has small spines/spikes across his spine, even though Spiny softshells don’t have any there, but rather at the top lip of their softshell. Some do on occasion have their spine make bumps visible on their ‘shell’.

Rise, like many 2D handrawn animated things, has quite a few design inconsistencies, but you can usually surmise the most common version of something once you collect enough references. Though ngl I’ve seen a lot of both spiny looking bumps and just wobbly bumps, some with no bumps. But my point is this could be a minor feature from Raph’s Alligator Snapper DNA, unlikely but worth mentioning, plus super cute. [tba example images]

-Raph’s fear stink? I need to do more research on this, but I know that Softshells are actually known to release an odor to scare off others, if I’m remembering correctly. [tba info?]

-Mikey’s shell patterns, when studying Red-eared slider shells, I was so stoked to see the inspiration of Leo’s shell markings, and it looked like Mikey’s also matched his species. That is, until I realised Mike matched with COMMON/EASTERN box turtle shells. Ornate box turtles almost always have these radiating stripes. I’ve personally made my own kind of in between for how I draw him, but it made me realise how maybe it was influenced by Leo’s slider DNA? [tba example images]

-The same Plastron + Bridge argument as Donnie but with Raph. Alligator Snappers def have em, but they cover waaaay less than most turtles do, their bridges are very narrow and their plastron don’t even stick out, or are that thick, it’s pretty interesting. [tba example images]

TURTLE EXPERTS PLEASE CORRECT ME WHERE I’M WRONG AND/OR OFF /POS

I want to add credits for the sources/photos, and more images to this post as I have tooons of reference images, but I’ll just stick to the simple plastron one cuz it’s past midnight and am eepy

[kodysstuff]

Ornate Box Turtles

Facts and Information!

Ornate Box Turtles have a life span of 30-40 years, and reach the age of maturity between 8-10 years.

The turtles shell has a fancy look to it, each shell segment (scutes) has a radiating pattern of yellow lines on a dark brown background.

Habitat: open woodlands, pastures, and marshy meadows.

Range: inhabits a significant portion of the Midwest region, ranging from the state of Wisconsin, to Nebraska up in the North, and Louisiana to Arizona in the south.

Their diet consists of snails, insects, berries, salamanders, fungi, snakes, eggs, birds, worms, slugs, fish, roots, flowers, and frogs.

Fun Fact: they spend most of their time on land.

[labrabeet]

While Raph art is in the works (and Leo don’t you worry), I have a few lil things to say!

1) him

2) he

3) heem

4) OH LAWD HE COMIN

Thank you. If you ever want turtle pics: I have a hoard and I keep spamming everyone I know goofy pictures of softshells.

[pealeii]

met a turtle yesterday 😍😍😍

[flurry-bace]

erm. turtle doodles i did

[sofiaspeaksart]

Thought I’d share a little watercolor unicorn painting I made (:

[its-wabby-stuff]

Fun fact: it is very likely Mikey has Red eyes, coming from his species of turtle, and is very likely to gain or have an orange patch/birthmark, on his chin or throat.

Or if you headcanon other options, such as trans Mikey, female ornate box turtles have brown eyes and do not gain an orange/red mark on their throats.

The Ornate Box turtle is also endangered.

[joanofarc]

[rye-enjoying-things]

Guess I now have a pet box turtle

I know I need to get a better enclosure for them but I just got them today from my dad (it was a total surprise)

I'll do my best to take care of this little guy!

I think it's an ornate box turtle but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

Here's an image of them when I first got them (I'll get a better enclosure for them don't worry)

This is my first ever reptile I've kept as a pet, usually I'd have cats or dogs.

[basilisk2000]

sorry about no update last night! we were both tired, but here is beans new terrarium! its more than double of the size of his temporary housing and he loves it! the substrate is a mix of dirt, coconut fiber, and spagnum moss! i spray it daily and got him a mealworm bowl and a new water contaier! hes really happy and warming up to his new home very well! today he ate grapes and a cricket, he loves grapes!!! he keeps yawning today, sleepy guy

[pantestudines]

This wonderful little thing was just hanging out by the lunch table..

[doctorqueue]

I’ve been so busy, and then spending all my drawing time making refs n designs I just wanna DRAW THE SILLYS!!! I think I’ve done plenty enough for now I just wanna fanart w/ out no commitment UwU. I struggle with not getting to stiff/ detail oriented straight away but Raph felt a lot looser :]

[plushmer]

Characters from our DND oneshot

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I think is cute is that - y’know how Raph’s eyes are more on the yellow side?

Well, you know who also has slightly yellowed eyes? Donnie.

While Raph’s are more yellow, I think it’s cute that this is something that they share and I don’t see it pointed out too often?

It’s also something they both share with Draxum and Splinter’s current form (though again, these two have much more yellow sclera than the boys do.)

But yeah, I like that there’s this little detail that ties Raph and Donnie together, even if it’s small.

[iconsumeheadcanons]

some turtle origin hcs

this is based on appearance for now. and very small list lol. i just needed to talk about tmnt and herps or i was gonna like explode or smth. PLEASE share ur own ideas if u have any!!!!

i think tumblr will auto-label images posted by another user that reused in-site, but if not i just grab baby tmnt turt pics from forgetful-nerd

2003

either yellow-bellied sliders Trachemys scripta scripta (left) or chinese box turtle Cuora flavomarginata(right)(im leaning more towards cuora here)

->yellow plastrons

->domed shells (espceially like the chinese box for this!)

->both sold as pets (yellow-bellied way more likely since its native-ish and common)

->i heard sliders are very personable (most sliders slip into water if i get within 100ft of them tho so i cannot confirm)

->the box turts are very squort

2012

diamondback terrapins malaclemys terrapin!! you cannot convince me otherwise tbh (but i love to hear more hcs too!!)

->look at the goofy shape of those legs. look at that. just like the 3d models

->spots, swirls, pale coloring(but there are ones that match the color of the brothers better, they arent all pale white)

->flat ovular shape shell that is bulky

->popular pets, typically ppl get more than one at a time, and somewhat native to the region as they live in brackish/coastal habitats (fitting for turts who regularly swim in flooded areas and eat algae and worm based meals for like....15ish years)

->(they would be carnivorous if they were purely turtle btw)(also eating algae isnt really too weird. prolly strange how they do it since they seem to eat it fresh? but ppl eat seaweed and algae based broths all the time; i.e. most stuff in japan actually!)

->pls look at pics of these, theyre so unique as a species, have fun personalities, and look so stinking silly

->oh and dee said one ep that they were either (eastern?) box turtles or diamondbacks. i think they have very little in common w terrapene carolina carolina

2023

STINKPOTS aka musk turtles!!!!!!!! i havent picked out a particular one (and there are many!) but LOOK AT IT ASDLFKJASDFKLJDSF

->ALL of them look exactly this goofy. they only get GOOFIER with age. spectacular

->so small. please understand. size of a pea kinda creature (only exaggerating a bit). they hatch the size of a coin and reach adult size of smaller than a human hand. i have held one before. this is not exaggerating. i have "medically small" hands as well. (if anyone could explain what my neuromusc doc meant by that btw that would be cool to know. i just know it means i cant reach the enter key on my laptop w/o moving my whole arm over too)

->stinky:teenage boys going to public school blah blah that joke i guess

->looks exactly like how i imagine donnies scream would look like if it manifested as a real turtle

->some ppl have them as pets, kinda rare tho. the turts are VERY common in my experience. usually in wetlands foresty environments. if there are some native to illinois i dont see why they wouldnt be fucking around some parking lot drainage pond in new york

->great mixture of looking fat and squishy and also looking like a child growing into their long limbs. good silly shapes

->look like little treats to snack on like gum <3

^mikey giving his first stand up performance at comedy club

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Nature Conservancy:

Ruger, Yogi and Skeeter are unphased by the on-again, off-again rain this chilly morning. The three Boykin spaniels have a job to do—and it’s obvious from their wagging tails and enthusiastic trotting that they love their occupation.

“Find turtle! Find turtle!” shouts the dogs’ owner and trainer John Rucker. And the three chocolate-colored dogs are off again, scampering through the prairie at TNC’s Nachusa Grasslands Preserve in Illinois, pausing every few feet to sniff a fallen branch or the roots of native grasses.

The dogs are searching for ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata), a threatened species in Illinois, for a box turtle monitoring project being conducted by the Wildlife Epidemiology Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the Brookfield Zoo Chicago (BZC). TNC encourages scientists and researchers from around the world to use our preserves as living laboratories to study wildlife and other conservation issues. Nachusa provides a high-quality habitat for ornate box turtles—and for the scientists who study them.

UIUC veterinarian and BZC’s Director of Conservation Medicine and Sciences Dr. Matt Allender leads the investigation and warns us that the chance of finding many ornate box turtles today is low. It’s not so much the drizzling rain as the 50-some degree Fahrenheit temperature. Turtles tend to hide underground on chilly days.

Our group’s disappointment is tempered by the joy of watching the floppy-eared affectionate spaniels—as well as the beauty of the prairie in early spring. TNC’s Dr. Elizabeth Bach, ecosystem restoration scientist at Nachusa, points out native flowers, including the blue spires of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) and the bright yellow clusters of Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea).

Just when the expedition is about to wrap up for the morning, Rucker shouts: “Turtle! Turtle!”

We all rush over to see: Skeeter stands triumphant by Rucker’s side, holding an ornate box turtle tenderly in her mouth. “You see the way she just wouldn't give up, circling, circling around the spot,” says Rucker proudly of Skeeter. “She knew she could smell the turtle, but she just had to micro hunt until finally she was touching it with her snout.”

The ornate box turtle population has been declining for decades in Illinois. A primary reason is the conversion of the turtle’s home turf for agriculture and development. These terrestrial (land-based) reptiles live only in prairie, grassland and oak savanna habitats—preferably those with sandy soil, which allow them to easily burrow underground. 

“You have probably seen the statistic that less than 0.01% of the original prairie remains in Illinois,” says Allender. “For ornate box turtles, this means there are not many suitable places left for them to live in the state.”