I made a quick trip to Huntley Meadows Park on Christmas Day to see what creatures were stirring and was surprised to see some turtles had surfaced to bask in the sun. The flash of red on this Red-eared Slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) made its colors seasonally appropriate and it did seem to have sandy claws.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Now, that’s punny! We have this species (I think it’s pretty widespread) and they are fun to see. Very attractive, too. See how his rear foot’s extended? I always thought they were stretching, but i found out the do that to increase the amount of flesh that’s exposed to the sun.
I like your explanation of the extended foot. It makes sense that they would try to absorb as much sun as possible.