No, they are Florida red bellied cooters, Pseudemys nelsoni - they exhibit all the classic markings of this species. Red bellies come in varying shades from yellow to orangey-red... not all have red markings!

They do not have the head markings (wide vertical yellow 'S' shape behind eye) or plastron markings (plain yellow with two black dots on the anterior scutes) of YBS.

Relsoh, yes, cooters are common in the UK. If you look at the turtle's 'beak' you will see that they both have a tiny 'v' shaped notch. This is a classic identifier of a red-bellied cooter. No other cooter or slider species has a notched beak.

Thanks Pelusios. Hope sent me a personal message just after saying that it was a red belly cooter, so that's three people saying the same thing. I knew they didn't have the markings of YBS hence me asking in the first place but I didn't have a clue what else they could be. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.

I spoke to someone else about them and showed him some pictures and he thinks they're Eastern River Cooters. So it's fairly decided by most that they are Cooters. Thanks everyone.