#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

[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.

[friendly-neighborhood-furry]

hello again wonderful rottmnt fans!!

are you looking for a species of turtle to base your oc on but don't know which one to pick? then boy, do i have the post for you! well, as long as you're okay with doing some reading lol.

under the cut are three turtle species with cool body shapes and wild proportions. as per last time, i've included their scientific names, photographs of the species, where they're native to, and any other miscellaneous facts about them that i found interesting!

i also wrote down some concepts and ideas that i came up with for the species listed (y'know, for some inspiration fodder <3)

honestly these posts are just an excuse for me to indulge my zoology hyperfixation lmao

(part one of this post is here)

PART TWO: Body Shapes and Builds

The Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata)

appropriately named, these turtles sport intricate stripe patterns on their shells!

these little buggers are found in a lot of midwestern states, including but not limited to: Illinois, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, and the general area around the Gulf of Mexico.

theyre omnivorous, and are known to eat things like grasses, berries, all kinds of bugs-but also the carrion of mammals, birds, amphibians, and even other turtles! (via Wikipedia)

i chose these guys because a) i forgot to include them in the original post and b) i find them quite beautiful and very befitting of their name :)

with the amount of diversity in the kinds of patterns their shells can have, you can get SUPER creative with it! so many possibilities....

The Yellow-blotched Map Turtle (Graptemys flavimaculata)

also sometimes called the "yellow-blotched sawback" turtle, these guys were chosen for obvious reasons-check out those crazy spikes!

i cant tell you a whole lot about them outside of their habitat, which is confined to the area around the Pascagoula River of Mississippi.

most map turtles also have these cool ridges along their shells and spikes on their backs, but i chose these guys in particular for the coloration on their plastron. check it out!

theres a ton of different directions you could go with designing a character after these little guys! you could go the route they did with raph in the show, making a sharp and scary-looking character with a heart of gold, or you could go in the opposite direction and lean into those sharp angles and make them as badass as you want.

sadly, like a lot of other species i've covered, they are vulnerable to extinction. hopefully efforts will be put into place to keep them from going extinct! these little badasses should be appreciated :D

The Big-headed Turtle (Platysternon megacephalum)

okay so. i want you to imagine what this animal looks like, just based on that name. you're picturing a head that's bigger than usual, right? something that's large, but still proportional to the body, yeah?

okay so take that image you have in your head and throw it out the window because here's what it actually looks like

like. yeah that sure is a big head alright.

this ones doing the "i know what you are" face

at least the babies look relatively normal...or as normal as you can look with a head that big.

these little freaks (affectionate) are native to southeast Asia, specifically Thailand, southern China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

they're good climbers, using that long tail to prop themselves up while moving over rocks. despite being turtles, they're not very strong swimmers--but they make up for this by doing the coolest thing you can do when you have a tail almost as long as your body: they have been documented arching their tails over their backs like scorpions! (via Wikipedia)

while they (obviously) cant pull their heads into their shells, they wont hesitate to use their powerful jaws to defend themselves. mad wicked awesome!

that bright orange color is incredibly distinctive and might work in your favor if you lean into a neon/rave color pallet!

thank you for reading!

even if this post doesn't get very far, it was still a lot of fun to research and write about these wonderful animals. i hope this post can be of some use to anybody who wants to give their oc a bit more flare :3 or just anybody who likes turtles lol

testudines (turtles) are such a diverse order, and this is only a fraction of their awesomeness :]

information sourced from Wikipedia; all photographs belong to their respective owners.

[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.

[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.” 

[thatsweetlittletrainwreak]

i moved a turtle out of a busy road today

he got green beans and strawberries