Elon the musk turtle is also known as the stinkpot turtle.
Elon the musk turtle – also known as the stinkpot turtle – has been rehomed by the RSPCA after a record 1,579 days.
The musk turtle – sternotherus odoratus – is native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada and has the nickname stinkpot turtle because it can release a foul musky odour from scent glands on the edge of its shell to deter predators.
Head of reptiles at Brighton Fred Bark said: “Elon was quite a personable chap really and he was easy to handle when musk turtles can often be smelly and quite bitey.
But despite describing him as a “personable chap”, the centre has taken four years to find the right new owner who has space to keep a musk turtle.
