Urgent Care :: New to our RES, problems and questions

[Ash-N-Charlie]

My girlfriend was given a fairly large sized RES "Stabby" (about 6" in length) a month or so ago. Her, or her parents, dont have much experience with aquatic turtles, nor do I. I found this site (TONS of great info, thanks). Now that we've found the site, we know that quite a few things need to change with Stabby's habitat. He needs a lot more water, sufficient basking area, and a better diet.

We are getting ready to move next week. And Im kindof hesitant to change too much about his habitat until we move. I think it might be too much of a shock to be changing so frequently. Stabby is not a happy turtle. He doesnt eat regularly. His shell has some discoloration, and peices missing. He doesnt bask. And he is fairly skittish. I know that the sooner we get his habitat in order, the sooner he will start to get better.

We bought a underwater heater. It wont be here until next week. He needs more water in his tank. And the lights will not be enough to heat it with more water in it. Also, I need to build him a basking platform. Can anyone point me to some DIY threads? He has some large rocks in the tank right now, but they wont be big enough with more water. If the discoloration is shell rot, should we leave him out of the tank for a while? He does not bask.

I can post some pics up of his shell later. But Im just wondering if it is a good idea to tackle most of these things now, then turn around in a week and move him. Any other recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Charlie

[Ash-N-Charlie]

Also, if he needs to go to a vet, does it need to be a herp vet? Looking at the sticky, Im not sure that there is one within 250 miles of our house.

[Tenodera]

Can you post a pic of Stabby? I don't like the sound of "pieces missing"

There's a lot of above basking platforms in the photo gallery, you can use the Search button above the forum.

Yea, it has to be a herp vet.

[Ash-N-Charlie]

Yeah, Ive been diggin around in the photo gallery looking at other people's setups. And we've definitely got some work to do.

Tonight I will get some dry pics of his shell.

Should we change his tank setup a week before we move? He is in a 55 gal tank. And there is only about 12-15" of water in it. With a couple large rocks, that we intended him to bask on. We've got a large lamp on the tank, but Im not sure if it is UVB/UVA or what not, and that is his only heat source. I know that his current setup is no where near acceptable. But we are just now learning about how to take care of him. The situation was pretty much either he got set loose, or Ashley took him in. And he wouldnt survive in a month or so around here. And we both feel pretty horrible about his situation, and are trying to get him healthy.

What makes it so hard is that any pet store that isnt geared toward dogs is at least 2 hours away, with the closest herp vet 2.5 hours away, so most supplies we buy online and have to wait. I am going to get started on a platform, and I suppose we need to go ahead and order the proper lighting. We've already got an intank heater on the way.

[Safdar]

Pictures will help to determine whats wrong with his shell.

[SpotsMama]

You two are very kind to be helping him out like this. If you can get him healthy, he'll be your friend for life. Turtles are wonderful.

Here's what I would do in your place. Wash him in clean water in the sink with some Hibiclense or Betadine (these are disinfectants for humans that you can get at places like Walgreen's). Be sure not to get any near his face or eyes. Be very careful because he'll be wiggling and slippery and you don't want to drop him. Rinse him well and dry him off. Then put him in a safe, dry dark place like a big box or rubber tub, with towels on the bottom that he can burrow into, and let him sleep for several hours before putting him back in the water. Make sure the top of the container is securely covered or he will probably escape.

I'm somewhat worried about the rocks that he's supposed to be basking on. Rocks can be very rough and damage the bottom of a turtle's shell. Does it look like there are any injuries to the bottom of the shell? If not, it would be ok to leave the setup pretty much as it is until you make the move but then the basking situation needs to be improved, as you already know.

There are two important things that need to be addressed. First, the water needs to be very clean. With such a big turtle in a small amount of water, and I'm assuming there isn't a filter, you probably will need to change it daily until you can get it filled up properly and get a good filter. Can you do this? Do you need tips on how to drain and fill the tank so it doesn't kill you?

The second is temperature. One of the most common causes for serious illness in turtles is temps that are too cool. You say your water heater is on order but won't be here for a week. Can you keep the room temps at least at 75 degrees until it does? The water temperature will adjust to the temperature of the air in the absence of a heater.

Finally, do you live in a place where you could take him outside for some sun? Even 15 minutes a day of natural sun would feel so good to him and be good for him too. If you can take him out, you know you can't leave him alone - either he'll wander off or something will get him. Watch out for ants, fertilizers and pesticides, and overheating.

[Ash-N-Charlie]

We got to looking around at shell problems, and came to the conclusion that he probably has dry scud. And just so happened to have some iodine and silverdia..something. So we proceeded to clean him off and try to treat the bad spots on his shell. Hopefully all is well, he didnt squirm too much. We were following the instructions on http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

Anyhow, here are some pics of him while we had him outside for a little while.




We cleaned out his tank. We have a Fluva 3+ (i think is what its called), its just laying down on its back instead of hanging from the tank wall. Might go ahead and take the rocks out. The plan is pretty much to use the tank just for feeding until it is suitable, after we move.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys

Charlie

[industrial_girl_2000]

Wow, she doesn't look too bad, all things considered! It also looks like her shell may be shedding a bit around the butt area, but the shedding is normal as long as the shell looks healthy underneath.

The white patch on top looks like she may have had a run in with something that damaged her shell since the bone is showing thru (shell was peeled off too early, exposing the bone underneath). What I would do is to make sure you are continuing to feed her lots of fresh veggies (see the suggestions on this website about feeding/nutrition). Fresh veggies & a good strong UVA/UVB light will definitely help the overall "look" of her shell & she should be able to recover in time. Within a year, you should see a big difference.

Hand-feeding will help the skiddishness. Feel free to try many different foods too. The list of foods that RES's can eat is very extensive (again, there is a list on this site, print it out & stick on your fridge!). It is fun to try different things with them to see what they want to eat. Stabby may really surprise you with some of her choices! She is big enough where you can try spoon feeding her with a baby-spoon (to save your fingers from getting bitten, LOL). I do this with my RES and it works great. The spoon is smooth & it slides out of their strong jaws.

Getting her used to you may take a while (sometimes can take many months or years, but having said that, the journey is really fun!), so just be patient & give her good care. The good news is that turtles are fairly resilient (bounce-back) if given the right care. As you continue to upgrade her setup, post pictures & let us know how she is doing.

[Ash-N-Charlie]

The part of the shell that worries me most is the small "holes", and the large area "above" the large white area in the second pic. Is this what is considered SCUD? Or shell rot?

Oh, and we think Stabby is a boy. His claws are huge, just cant see them in the pics.

This morning we put him back in his tank for a little while to eat, and swim around a little. Im a little worried about keeping him in there because the water temp was hovering at about 75 this morning. And he really doesnt have a good area to bask, or ample lighting. Ashley is taking the afternoon off, and will spend some time with him outside in the sun. Stabby is staying at Ash's parent's house until we move. We are leaving town for a wedding tomorrow, and not really sure if we should leave him in the water, or have her mom keep cleaning him and keeping him out of the water, except for feeding and little swimming (roughly 3 hours per day).

[industrial_girl_2000]

Are any of the pits in the shell soft or have a bad smell?

Overall, I think this turtle just never had a UVB/UVA source & was probably left in the water all the time (before you got him). He probably never got any vegetables either which is why his shell looks the way it does. Vegetable matter helps with shell growth/texture/shininess/shedding.

He'll be ok in the water for the next coupla weeks or so until you get the setup finished. As long as the water is clean & you have someone feeding him when you are out of town, he'll be alright.

75-77 degrees is ideal water temp for a turtle this size so don't worry about that.

Keep in mind that it can take yrs for shell issues to develop so a couple of weeks more isn't going to make a negative impact on his health. I think it is great that you are already working towards making a better home for him. Definitely look at peoples' set ups in the photo gallery section for ideas.

Once you get the set up in order, I think you will see a BIG change in his attitude & he will start to bask if the conditions are right.

[SpotsMama]

Austinsturtlepage.com has very good medical advice and silver sulfadiazine is excellent for any shell infections. I've used it and it is indeed very effective. Sunlight and finally getting to thoroughly dry out are wonderful tonic for whatever ails a turtle. Industrial Girl is correct - you'll be able to tell he's a happy turtle as these things are corrected.

He's a fine looking big boy, by the way.

[marisa]

Ash-n-Charlie, your turtle has been shedding scutes. The lighter colored scutes still need to come off.

The pitting could be a bacterial infection, and I see the area you're concerned about. Is it soft at all? Any smell?

ATP's advice is good, and what you've got (Betadine and Silverdyne cream?) should help the condition.

Taking him outside for sun when you can is great for his shell. Keep his water superclean and give him the opportunity to bask under correct lighting (UVB and heat lights).

[Ash-N-Charlie]

A lot of the shedding scutes came off as Ashley was cleaning the shell last night. The large ones close to his butt are still there, though. We read where you arent supposed to take them off if they arent ready. Should we give the large ones on his lower back a little while to come off naturally? BTW, it looked alot better this morning, than in those pics. But his skin was whitish. Is it just from the lack of water over the night, or signs of overheating?

None of his shell is soft, and we havent noticed any foul smells, at least not from the turtle

[marisa]

If they came off easily when you were cleaning the shell, I'd give the rest time to come off by themselves as well. It doesn't look like there's any problem with the shell or scutes in that area, so I'd just let them come off when they're ready (doesn't look like it will be that long).

Whitish skin could be dryness or it could be the start of shedding. What does the skin look like when he's in the water?

[Ash-N-Charlie]

Everything looks fine when he's in the water. This morning was the first time we've seen his skin like that.

Thanks for all the info guys
Charlie