General Care Discussion :: Need some help

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:19 pm   Need some help

So while we were closing my pool this year I found a RES chilling in the filter area in the water. He is missing the claws on his right hand. We got him and we happened to have a pond in front of our house with fish and stuff in it so we put him in there and he seemed to like it. As winter approaches (6 months later) we figured we would take him in the house, none of us knew if they could survive the winter so to be safe we figured we would just take him in. I had no idea was I was about to dive into. I figured it's a turtle... Just throw him in a tank give him some where to chill with some heat and he would be happy right? Wrong! So I noticed numerous things wrong with lucky. Yeah his name's lucky... Anyway, his she'll just looked horrible. It wasn't green what so ever, it was blackish and just looked bad. I assumed it was from living out side. He also seemed to be very sluggish and just didn't seem very active. So I hit the web. I bought a small 10 gallon set up from Walmart. It was a cool little kit, came with a 10 Gallon tank, 75Watt heat lamp, basking rock, and a tetra 20 whisper bottom feeding filter. So I set him up in there. Got him some high protein food and started feeding him. Over time I noticed that his shell was def messed up. So after research I found out it was most likely shell rot. As soon as he started getting some life back I was quick to learn the 10 gallon was not enough. He was destroying the tank, knocking things over splashing and just causing problems. So we got him a 20 gallon with a real basking platform and a ramp. I also got him water conditioner and sludge destroyer. I also put a calcium block in the tank which he loved. It's been a little over a month now and he seems to be doing very well. The only thing is his shell is peeling. At first it was just a couple of pieces but now his whole shell is peeling. Now I will say that all the black is gone now and his shell looks sooooo much better then it did when we brought him in, but I read that excessive she'll peeling can also be bad. But in my opinion I think it's good in this case cause he's healing from what ever was wrong with him before. I do a water change every week because I read that if it is shell rot that he had, he needs extremely clean water conditions. Is it possible that the peeling is bad? He's so much more active, swims around all day and sleeps on his little rock for hours. Compared to how he was when we found him, he's like a different turtle. Should I worry about the peeling? I can send pics to who ever can help
RESRescueNY
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Nov 13, 2018
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2018 12:19 am   Re: Need some help

You can post on this forum photo's . Instead of clicking "submit" thread click on full editor. See upload attachment. Photo's like in emails work better when 800x800 for forum , just resize if needed. Then add to thread , hit submit.

Pictures will tell more but to me it may be to late to put it back in the wild depending on where you live. You are now a parent of a turtle because winter is too close and it may not adjust back to the wild since inside a month now. I assume the NY in name is for New York ? The missing right claw and or nails is no problem if healed . Six month in that pond sound like it adjusted well and was just sheding a good sign. The whole shell is made up of pieces and sheds in pieces thats normal. The "sluggish" is normal this time of year , thats how they prepare for the brumation process. Turtles have done this since the beginning of time in the wild. Now back active inside may not be able to adjust to the cold that fast to be safe.

Some try to do what they think is a rescue turns out to be a burden and a big expense. Lots to learn . If not up for that start looking into Humane Centers , rescue sites , SPCA so this turtle can have a good happy healthy life that can be 20-30 years in the wild. If not in NY , depending on what part of the world you live in " climate zone" may still have a chance to go back in the wild and be happy in nature even with winter coming ? Turtle's from the wild do best in the wild . If you decide to keep it will be just like adding a child to your home , are you ready for that this time in your life ?
litefoot
 
Posts: 1647
Joined: Nov 7, 2016
Location: New Orleans
Gender: Male


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