After all, Elon is a stinkpot turtle and when alarmed, lets out a musky stench of a smell, hence the name.
It looked as if nobody wanted Elon the Musk turtle at the RSPCA’s Brighton Reptile Rescue in England. After all, Elon is a stinkpot turtle and when alarmed, lets out a musky stench of a smell, hence the name. But alas, after 1,579 days being abandoned during the Covid lockdown in September 2020, somebody has adopted the smelly little Elon.
“We’re so pleased that we have been able to find Elon a home as it seems he has been with us forever,” Fred Bark, head of reptiles at the center told BBC News.
Not much was known about the U.S. native turtle before he was abandoned and the center except that the turtle was fully grown. They are a small species, growing to about four inches in carapace length, with males slightly larger than females.
“We had plenty of interest in Elon from the six to 10 age group. But we needed adopters who had an enclosure with some space, an area of land as well as water as musk turtles have all the care needs of a reptile and a fish,” Bark said. Congrats to Elon for finding someone who would take him.
Musk Turtle Information
Musk turtles are highly aquatic and can be found in lakes, ponds, and slow moving stream and river ecosystems. The hatchlings are the smallest of the north American turtles, coming out of the egg barely bigger than a penny. They are known to exist in eastern North America from Ontario Canda to Florida, and as far west as Texas and up to Wisconsin.
