My Cousin: The Common Musk Turtle

The Common Musk Turtle is also known as the Stinkpot Turtle because these animals can emit an offensive, foul odor from the glands that are located at the corners of their plastron. Along with this odor comes an orange colored liquid. However, that usually only happens when these turtles are startled or frightened.

Common Musk Turtles are aquatic and found in the eastern parts of North America, all the way from Ontario down to Florida. They are also found in habitats extending to the west, into Wisconsin and Texas. They can live between 30 and 50 years under the right conditions.

These turtles are typically located in river habitats, as well as slow-flowing portions of streams. They can also be found in ponds and lakes.

You will notice that Common Musk Turtle features a blackish-brown colored carapace that is also highly domed and has a vertebral keel, while the plastron is smaller. The keel typically flattens in adults, but it will be highly prominent amongst Common Musk hatchlings and juveniles.

In the wild, the Common Musk Turtle will feast on a varied diet. For example, these turtles will enjoy eating mollusks, snails, and crayfish, and will even attack small tadpoles. They also enjoy eating both aquatic insects and terrestrial insects that end up falling into their water, such as damselfly nymphs and dragonflies.

Every now and then, these turtles also like to eat plants, such as duckweed and Elodea species. Your pet turtle can also feast upon some fish that has been cut up into small pieces, as well as shrimp, earthworms, bloodworms, and crickets.

Common Musk Turtles make great pets, but because they can emit an offensive liquid and odor as a defense mechanism, and because they will sometimes try to bite you, you should be careful when you handle them.