Urgent Care :: Saving abused RES

[Mingo]

Found this add on Craigslist. It really upset me. I have never owned a turtle before but this add titled "mini turtle. I don't want it come get it $10." really hurt me.

I am going to go get it tonight. Hopefully. The poor thing. Doing research I don't see how someone could keep it in something like that. How it has survived.

I think it's a girl. I can't see well but I don't see the long claws. And I think it's a RES. I need to keep it in a critter keeper for a few days but a friend is letting me borrow her 20 gal. We are going to get a 60-70 filter. A water heater. And we have a basking lamp. We are getting some river rocks and will try to find one for a bask.

Is it possible to tell me if this little guy looks healthy or not? If it has pyramid shell. If I am wasting my time trying to save him? Will my accomidations be ok for the mean time?

[Gurgi's Mom]

From the picture it seems it is too little to tell the sex or anything else for that matter. It won't be a waste of time saving him! You should have seen the conditions my turtle was in before we saved him and he was much smaller.

I am a new turtle mommy as well... You'll find a great deal of information on this site... and all your questions will be answered just by reading the past and sticky posts. But I hope you went and got him/her!

[Mingo]

They never responded with their address but they were out of town until tonight so I will call again this weekend. There is another one I am looking into saving around the same size or smaller. I figure I can get them healthy and find a better home for whichever one. Hopefully I get a male and a female and find a home for the female. Or I get two males. The males size sounds a bit less expensive from what I've read.

[steve]

The shell looks OK, but from the picture it looks dirty... could be from the poor picture quality. Males usually need to be separated from other males and females. Rescuing them is admirable, but you need to have a plan on how to keep them.

[Mingo]

We are looking into buying one of those 20 gallon long aqua turtle starter kits off of craigslist for half the price of normal. And my friend who is helping me with this has a 40 gallon long tank that her Savannah Monitor Lizard lives in, when he out grows that we'll put the turtle in there and hopefully by then we will have enough knowledge to either build a pond, build a large tank, or have enough money to just buy the large tank.

[Moose]

Let us know and keep us updated!!!

[steve]

If that 40 gallon is a terrarium, you won't be able to use much water in it. Cheapest thing to use is a plastic storage container but if you want a tank, craigslist usually has great deals and Petco occasionally has a $1 per gallon sale (up to 55 gallons).

[Mingo]

Thanks Steve! I my friend was telling me to use a rubbermaid, I worry about covering it and such. And if I did the 40 gallon terrarium, could I make one of those custom above tank docks I've seen? People put some plywood and some mesh so the turtle won't climb or fall out, and then they have the turtle dock above the terrarium, so that they have more room for water, would something like that work?

I figure, if I can't handle the responsibility of the turtle, I can at least get it from that owner, make sure it is healthy, and then adopt it out to someone who knows what they are doing. I will keep an eye out for that petco deal, because that IS amazing. And I've been craigslisting like a fiend. Just have to find the right one.

As it is, the person stopped responding to my texts on Wednesday night, so I am waiting until 5:30 to try and call them again. I don't want to sound too pushy so they get annoyed and decide not to sell. D:

[steve]

A terrarium has thin glass, I would not add weight above or next to it. I'd just check to see what it is first... if it's an aquarium, you're good to go.

[Mingo]

Seems someone got it already, or they changed their minds. After hounding them a bit about it I was told that someone already picked it up. So I wish the little guy the best of luck. Thanks for all the help everyone.

[steve]

There are plenty out there that need rescuing if you ever change your mind

[Nighthawk11]

I'm really glad you saved it!!!!