Soft Shell Turtles

They are called Soft Shell Turtles but their shell is not soft at all, actually their shells are as hard as any turtle shell. The carapace of the soft shell turtle has, indeed, soft edges and it lacks the scales. Instead of the scales, the soft shell turtle is covered in skin. They have long necks, that help them bite anything. Their long round noses step them apart from other turtle species. They keep their nose above the water when they are swimming, to breathe. They are good swimmers because of their webbed feet. The females grow up to 24 inches and that makes them much bigger than male soft shell turtles that can only grow up to 12 inches, the maximum weight is 35 lbs.

Soft Shell Turtle Behavior

The soft shell turtle is mostly aquatic and, it spends most of the day underwater. On land, they can't retreat in their shell and they tend to get aggressive because most of their flesh is exposed. Their aggression escalates if they feel threatened. Since they are aquatic turtles, they have excellent swimming skills and they can move very fast. Their eating habits include baby ducks, crayfish, frogs and snails.

Soft Shell Turtles Location

They prefer slow moving water, ponds or ditches and they hide in mud or sand, during the day, when they are not active. Half of the United States is populated by soft shell turtles.

Specific Types of Turtles:

  • The Bog Turtles - There are small turtles in the world, but the Bog turtle is the smallest and is one of the most rare turtles around. The Bog turtle rarely grows four inches.
  • The Musk Turtles - Musk turtles, also known as stinkpots, seem to prefer deep, still water in lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams with muddy bottoms and an abundance of plant life.
  • The Painted Turtles - The Painted Turtle must be the most common widespread turtle. Their size varies between five and six inches, so they are among the small sized turtles.
  • The Slider Turtles - The colors that you can see on slider turtles are usually red or olive green. The skin and shell of a slider turtle is splotched with red or yellow.
  • The Snapping Turtles - The "Most Dangerous" award goes to the snapping turtle, out of all the turtle species. Snapping turtles have long necks and powerful jaws that combined with the vicious temper make them very hard to handle safely.
  • The Soft Shell Turtles - They are called Soft Shell Turtles but their shell is not soft at all, actually their shells are as hard as any turtle shell.
  • The Box Turtles - Box turtles are a land species but they can occasionally be found near or in the water. They prefer swamps of moist open woods but they are very well adapted to live on land.
  • The Mud Turtles - Mud turtles are divided into five species, K. baurii, K. Subrubrum, K.s. hippocrepis, K. flavescens, and the K.hirtopes murrayi. The colors of the mud turtles tend to be dull, compared to other types of turtles.