I rescued 7 baby RESes from several large ducks sort of chewing them and trying to swallow them. Since they are 50cent sized, the ducks had no luck and here I was picking up 7 turtles (not all of them survived the ducks).
At home I called a local oceanographic center where they will be building a turtle exhiblt...wasn't built and the educational person walked me through some basics (very basics as I read this forum!) She told me that they were common in Fl, so as ong as they were healthy I could let them go.
4 of the turtles opened their eyes, became very active, so I released them in a more sheltered pond with numerous aquatic plants that they could actually hide in.
Today I had high hopes the others would follow. The last three turtles do not have their eyes open. One of the turtles eyelids are swollen (I guessed from the ducks fumbling around with it in their mouths).
I gave them well water(no Cl), rocks/pebbles to "sun bath" out in the FL sun all day with opportunities for shade. I actually would place them in the water to get them wet (I watched the ohter turtles in the water "wipe" their eyes and then they opened).
They now sit on out kitchen table warmed by a heating pad under the gladware container that they are in. Half is water and the other half are fishtank pebbles which they are sitting on. They did not eat lettuce or turtle pellets my friend gave me.
I think we have pedialyte (fruit flavored powered mix) but I also have gatorade. We have no Vit. A capsules. What can I do to get these turtles through the night, so they may get help in the morning? Please help.
