Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus), also affectionately known as Stinkpots, are small, fascinating freshwater turtles found throughout the eastern United States and parts of southeastern Canada. Their quirky names stem from their unique defense mechanism: when threatened, they release a strong, musky odor from glands under their shell, earning them the name “Musk Turtle” and the amusing nickname “Stinkpot.” The species name “odoratus” also reflects this distinctive trait.

These turtles typically range from 3 to 5 inches in size and possess dark, domed shells with a keel down the center. They also have distinctive barbels on their chin and throat and yellow stripes running from their eyes down their neck. Despite their small stature, Musk Turtles show resilience and can thrive in various aquatic habitats, from slow-moving streams to ponds and swamps. Primarily aquatic, they rarely bask out of the water, preferring to hide among submerged vegetation and debris.

The 3D printable, digital files are in STL format. They’re scaled to life-size and ready for you to print and paint them.

This Musk Turtle’s carapace is 11.3cm long, which is about the average size for this species.

The files are packaged in a .zip archive for ease of delivery and organization.

We successfully printed this Musk Turtle in grey resin on an LCD 3D printer using these settings:

• Layer height: 0.05mm
• Hollowed: True
  • Wall thickness: 2mm
  • Infill: 10%
  • 3mm drainage holes hidden on the underside of the model that we later filled.

Feel free to use these settings as a guide or use your own preferred settings. They’re just the settings that we used when printing.

Due to the nature of resin printing, you will have to determine your own exposure settings because they are different for every brand of resin and printer.