u/girlie_sparrow

My brother is a farmer and he found this turtle while he was working and gave it to me. Must have been baking in the sun for a good long while. How can I best sanitize/preserve it?

It's very dried out and hard so im not sure how I could remove the flesh. And the shell is very dry and flaky in some parts. I'd really appreciate the help.

Im pretty sure it's a western painted turtle but im not very familiar with reptiles or if im even allowed to keep it. Im in Manitoba, Canada if that helps.

So sorry if this is an inappropriate sub to ask this, though I think this is OK. Thank you for your help if you can answer my questions.

I'm leaning towards them being fake but I'm not certain for a few reasons.

First thing I noticed upon picking them up is that they're both cool to the touch and have some decent heft/weight to them. I saw that they were knotted between each bead/pearl as well which I had heard happens with real pearl necklaces so you don't lose them if it breaks.

I did notice that there can be a lot of space between the knots so the beads/pearls can move a bit in some spots, not sure if that's anything.

They are definitely painted however, and from one poorly painted one I can sort of see the material underneath. I dont know if it looks pearly, not really from what I can tell but I have no idea what it could be.

And I attempted to rub them to my teeth or together but I can't tell if they feel slightly gritty or if the paint impedes that's test. Also they are not all consistently shaped, they're all relatively spherical but there are some indents or lumps on some of them.

Theres no seam from what I can tell that you might see on poorly made plastic beads.

TL;DR

Positive signs:

-cool to touch

-have decent heft/weight

-knotted between each pearl/bead

-not uniform shape (some lumps/dents)

Neutral signs:

-loose space between knots

Negative signs:

-definitely painted

-can't tell if there's a gritty texture