study found the diet of the eastern musk turtle (S. odoratus) varied seasonally and males ate more insects and females more snails. Digestive turnover rates, from ingestion to defecation, of 49 hours (S. odoratus) to 57 hours (S. minor, S. peltifer) have been reported, although temperatures may influence these times. Habitat:Sternotherus are largely aquatic, but some species bask frequently, and may occasionally leave the water to forage and lay eggs. Fallen logs and deadwood submerged and emerging from the water are important for shelter and basking sites for all species of Sternotherus. Habitat preferences varies among some species. The eastern musk turtle (S. odoratus) tends to be generalist and may occur in almost any body of water, as are loggerheads (S. minor) to a lesser extent, although water with slow or no currents, soft bottoms, and shelter in the form of logs and rocks are usually preferred over very deep water and swift currents. Eastern musk turtles have been found at depths of 9 meters but, shallower water (ca. 1 meter), are more typical. Brackish water is usually avoided. Depths of 0.5–1.5 meters are typical for loggerheads (S. minor), but they have been found at 13 meters. The razor-backed musk turtle (S. carinatus) favors the relatively deeper waters of rivers, creeks, bayous, and associated oxbow lakes, backwater swamps, and floodplains where slower currents and soft substrates are found. The stripe-necked musk turtle (S. peltifer) are lotic, preferring the currents of rivers and streams although they can be abundant in lakes and impoundments along these waterways as well. The flattened musk turtle (S. depressus) is an inhabitant of clear, rocky to sandy bottom creeks and streams above the fall line, typically 1.5 meters or less in depth, taking shelter under logs and rocks, or burring in the sand. The intermediate musk turtle (S. intermedius) was regarded as a hybrid between S m. minor and S. m. peltifer as recently as 2017, and few if any studies specifically examining the ecology of the species have been published (as of 2022). In one ecological study of kinosternid turtles conducted over five years in Oklahoma, permanent bodies of lotic (moving) water in wooded areas such as large rivers and creeks were the favored habitats of both razor-backed (S. carinatus) and eastern musk turtles (S. odoratus), however, S. carinatus was generally found in deeper water. No sexual, age, or seasonal differences were observed in habitat