I was out fishing today and saw what looked like an empty turtle shell on the bottom of a little brook that fed into the pond I was fishing. I picked it up with my kayak paddle and it turns out there was an inhabitant of the shell. This was the coolest little turtle I've ever seen. He/she kept poking its head out enough to look at me with one eye...lol...finally I got it to stick its whole head out so I could get a good look at it. I've seen hundreds if not thousands of painted turtles in my fishing career but never one of these. I was just wondering what it was. I was tempted to take it home because it was so cool but I ended up putting it back in the brook. Here's a few pics.

Musk turtle, maybe. saint would hafta verify for sure.

Yup, you're right. Definitely a musk turtle. Before I posted this I looked on wikipedia and saw the shell with ridges and figured that couldn't be it. But looking further on other sites it says the shell is smooth like the one I found.

You're getting good at these Wyite.

He may be little, but for his kind that was one massive male you found, D.

The pic on wikipedia is accurate, it's just a baby. Babies start out more ridged, and as they get older they smooth and round out. As far as musk turtles I've kept, they're some of the friendliest and nicest ones.

Cool...thanks for the additional info SF. If I ever get one that would be the type. I just like the looks of it and the character so much better than the painted turtles. The pond I was in is a very healthy widlife management system which is why I assume he was so big. I never noticed any type of smell from it. Would I have noticed it if it had "musked" me (lol not sure what it's called)

For future reference...What size tank would I need for one? Are there issues with keeping wild caught turtles?

It could be I'm just used to it, but I can't say I ever remember thinking they were stinky. Certainly not stinky enough to warrant the stinkpot name anyhow. Good bunch of people never had to smell a big pissed off snapping turtle I tell you..

For mine, I use 2x3 concrete mixing tubs. They're made by MacCourt and are 12 bucks at Lowes. If you want to use a tank, the smallest I would use would be a 20 Long or a 29, or any other size that's at least 30 inches long. They don't need to be kept that deep, so depth isn't a big concern.

Add enough water that they can walk around on the bottom and stick their head out. A basking spot, with a 40 or 60w bulb, tho you'll rarely see them bask, and a uvb light, instead of a regular florescent and you're set. They'll take pellets just fine and will make short work of any live plants while clogging the hell out of your filter.

Cool! Sounds like a fun future project that my kids might like and I do have an empty 20L...hmmmmm?!?

I just noticed, you asked about any potential issues, and outside of obvious wounds/injuries the only big potential problem would be worms. Aquatics are usually more prone to funky protozoans than actual worms though.

Cool, dawg, now you might just have to go hunt it back down!

lol...maybe.

Thanks again SF.

Just found this on my local DEP website...

"The life expectancy of the musk turtle is 40 to 60 years of age."

I'll be dead before my pet?!? I may have to rethink this one.

Nah, you just need to will it to the kids.