Urgent Care

Hello

This is my first time posting so I'm just gonna start at the beginning. I stay in China(I'm South African), my wife just brought home a turtle in a bucket!! Now this freaked me out a little! How can you keep a turtle in a bucket! She got the turtle from her father who "rescued" it from some boys who found it in the wild. It has been staying in this red bucket for a month already! I don't think they fed it properly and obviously does not have enough water, there is just enough water to cover the feet. So my hart is breaking here, I'm a animal lover, and love all kinds, except spiders, cant handle those. Anyway here is some info on the turtle:

It is a Red Eared Slider(res) I Googled types of turtles, and found that.
I think it is a female. Because of the short nails and tail(googled)
She is 17 - 18 cm in length
And she got a slight temper

I want to take care of this turtle and make sure it will live long and be healthy, but I will need some advice from people who knows more about turtles. My biggest worry is how do i feed it? Can i put the food in the water with the turtle or do i put the turtle on the floor with the food? I'm feeding it lettuce and grapes. Apparently It also eats meat. What meat can I feed it? pieces of lamb or beef? This is China so there is no way I can find crickets or earth worms. The pet shops around here only cater for cats and dogs. I'm going to buy a tank for her tomorrow, I don't have much space but will buy the biggest tank I can fit in the apartment.

Can you please offer me some advice on how I can help this turtle to survive. I thought of taking it back a lake or dam, but someone else will surely find it and then it will not survive.

It will have to sleep in the bucket until I can buy her Tank. I'll upload a photo of her as well.

Thanks in advance.
Coenie

WOW GUYS THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES!!!
YOU HAVE BEEN A BIG HELP!!!
I can see how much you care for turtles!!!!!

What a cr@p turtle community .......

Large storage containers are fine as temporary tanks. The jagged marginals indicate fast growth, most likely from the poor diet you mentioned. Stick with good pellet but also introduce some veggies (check www.redearslider.com/plants.html for additional options). Cut out live prey and meat... they are omnivores but gradually consume more plant material.

Thank you for your comments, I'll keep them in mind.

Hi Steve

Can you please tell me if I should throw the veggies in the tank,(in the water) or leave them on the basking platform? No where on the internet tells me how to feed it.

I appreciate your response.

Thanks

Hi Steve

Can you please tell me if I should throw the veggies in the tank,(in the water) or leave them on the basking platform? No where on the internet tells me how to feed it.

I appreciate your response.

Thanks

Hello!

Put it in the water, a turtle cannot swallow anything without water.

dumbork14 wrote:Hello!

Put it in the water, a turtle cannot swallow anything without water.

And if its not used to vegetables, you can try soaking in the water from a can of tuna first to encourage it.

Please read through the main site: http://www.redearslider.com/

Also, a lot of us have jobs. It is impossible to answer each and every question as fast as you would like.

Hello guys.

Looks like Erica will live. Below is a photo of her on the basking deck, It is in the shadow because there was a plant hanging above her. The filter will arrive on Sunday along with a proper basking light. I also had to order commercial pallets. She did not want to eat the veggies, but in the morning the veggies was gone, so she ate them.

I have a few more questions, not sure if I should continue this post or start a new one in the appropriate channel.

As you can see on the pic she lives on my balcony. The windows are never covered and there is sun from morning until late afternoon. Do I still need a UVB light?

Thanks

You probably do still need a UVB. Glass blocks UVB rays pretty efficiently.

vear wrote:Please read through the main site: http://www.redearslider.com/

Also, a lot of us have jobs. It is impossible to answer each and every question as fast as you would like.

yeah we are answering everybody else i hade to wait 3 days to take my first answer so shut up and wait man we all love our turtles and we are all busy

Urgent Care :: Red eared slider living in a bucket! please help!

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