Urgent Care :: New Here and Concerned about my RES

[Louguy510]

Hey Everyone,

I just adopted my uncle's turtle when he moved to Alaska last weekend, and here are my concerns(all concerns are after I moved RES to new tank):

Previous Conditions:
1. RES living in small unfiltered and unheated 1/2 gal - gallon tank

Concerns(since moving to new tank):
1. Restless swimming
2. Rubbing/scratching the top of it's shell against the filter/basking area
i.e: the way a bear rubs onto a tree to scratch itself

How big is your turtle?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 inches length
How long have you had it?~~~~~~~~~~~~ few days

What is the water temperature? ~~~~~~~~ 79-83 degrees
Are you using a water heater? ~~~~~~~~~ yes
How much water is in there? ~~~~~~~~~~ 5 gal
Are you using a water conditioner?~~~~~~~ Yes
Are you using any filtration?~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, Canister

What is the basking temperature? ~~~~~~~ 85-90
Is there a basking light? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?~~No, kinda falls off
What kind is it or what is it made out of?~~~~~~~~~Turtle Dock
Is there a UVB light?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Yes

What have you been trying to feed it?~~~~~~~~~~~pellets+3minnows
When was the last time your turtle ate?~~~~~~~~~~Today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?~~~~~~~~~~~~10 gal
Is the tank near a window?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?~~~~~~~~Just my activity

Have you read the Basic Care section?~~~~~~~~~~Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations?~~Not these forums

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?~shell has faded whitespots

[urbancleopatra]

well you certainly have your hands full. the first concern i have is that you have a 5 inch turtle housed in a 10 gallon tank. turtles really need about 10 gallons for every inch. so right there you're looking at a 50 gallon tank at least. if i were you i would go bigger so the turtle can grow into it. my second concern is that you're feeding minnows as a staple to its diet. pellets really should be the basis of its diet along with fresh greens like romaine lettuce. anything else should just be a treat used sparingly. the restless swimming is just due to the new environment. it may be skiddish and even refuse to eat for a little while as it adjusts. this is normal. the best thing to do is leave it alone and let it get accustomed to its new space. now normally the shell rubbing could be dismissed. but seeing that the shell has faded white spots, this could be a sign of something more serious. to be proactive about it i would make sure the basking platform is easily accessible. i would also seek out a vet in the area to check out the shell. the spots could be an indication of a type of fungus. if you could post a picture that would really help. hope this made a dent in ur questions!

[Louguy510]

Well the staple diet is the Turtle Pellets, today I just happen to come home with a 3 small minnows and the RES ate two, which I took as a good sign as at least the RES has an appetite. I have fish also, so I know that when the animal Completely stops eating theres a huge problem. I'll post pics and video of the rubbing if I can figure out how to do it. thanks.

[camee1991]

Louguy510: Sounds like you are on your way helping the at little guy! Good for you!
It could be that he may be really needing to shed his scutes (cant tell without pics, but turts normally LOVE to scratch to help shed). Cant really tell that without pics; but I would assume it since he obviously cannot bask properly. He REALLY needs UVA/UVB lighting for his shell and heat.
The white spots on shell...are they soft, smelly or anything? If they arent, is his shell, pyramiding like...looks like he has more scutes on his shell than he should? Good sign of needing to shed. But if the spots are soft and are stinky...he needs a vet immediately. Could be shell rot signs. (If it isnt shell rot, which I hope its not, just could be from neglect and no heat source or enough calcium..bad diet, etc..) Which you can correct!
Eating is a great sign and restlessness is normal in a NEW environment. Sounds like you are on the RIGHT SITE here! There are so many knowledgeable people here.
You may be doing your best right now with the equipment you have; but turts are a HUGE responsibility, and need the right size tank, temperatures, food, basking areas, etc. So you may be having to spend some big bucks in the beginning! But it DOES sound like he is in 100 % better living quarters than he once was!
Keep it up!

[Louguy510]

An update on the RES is that he still swims around aimlessly and I saw a thin piece of shell on the bottom of the tank.

Here are some pics of the RES:


Shell Spots
http://s147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/Lou510Guy/?action=view&current=DSC00487.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/Lou510Guy/DSC00485.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/Lou510Guy/DSC00486.jpg

Rubbing Shell Against stuff:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r286/Lou510Guy/DSC00477.jpg
Video of Rubbing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4so2jt9354

[camee1991]

It looks like he REALLY needs to shed to me, and it is slowly happening. He looks to have extra scutes and chipped ones as well.

Very cute turt though!

Just keep his light available and a place he can safely get on and bask and those scutes will start coming right off!

[SpotsMama]

What a sweet turtle! You're very kind to be upgrading his home!

He looks like he's desperate to shed some scutes. The thin piece of shell you saw is probably the normal shed of a scute. Hopefully there will be more. It's essential for the shed that they get plenty of good UVB light and bask regularly to give the shell a chance to dry out thoroughly - top and bottom. To motivate him to bask more, lower the water temperature to no more than 75 degrees and keep the basking temp at 88 to 90 degrees. The warmth of the basking area relative to the cooler water temp is what motivates the turtle to bask.

Something you should do right away is remove the gravel from the tank. Gravel is extremely hazardous - turtles eat it and it sticks in their digestive system and can be fatal. In addition, it's very difficult to keep a tank clean when there's gravel in it. You'll find it much easier to keep the water clean when the gravel is gone.

You can also put more water in that tank. Fill it as full as you can BUT not so full that the turtle can climb out. They are great little climbers - so don't give him any opportunity!

As was mentioned above, as soon as you can you should get your turtle a bigger home. 10 gallons of tank per inch of turtle is a good rule and, as was also said above, your guy is only going to grow! A big aquarium setup can be expensive, so if you want a more affordable alternative that you can put in place right away, why don't you consider a big rubber tub like a stock tank? Lots of people on here use them because they make very good turtle homes and are quite affordable.

In addition to making the turtle happy, a big benefit of a larger enclosure is that it is much easier to keep clean. With such a big turtle, it's going to be almost impossible to keep a 10 gallon tank clean, but with a 50 gallon plus enclosure and a canister filter, it won't be difficult at all.

[urbancleopatra]

that video is hilarious. reminds me of my chihuahua.

[marisa]

It looks like he's got scutes to shed, and the rubbing of this shell is his way to trying to get them off. My RES has done the same.

Get him an even bigger tank/container with a good basking area that will support him and is easy for him to get on and increase the water depth. He'll need both a heat light (can be a regular lightbulb) and a UVB light if he doesn't have one. Basking area should be 88-90F. All that gravel is taking up space and could be harmful if he decides to start eating it. The water temp range you have the water at is for hatchlings at the lower end and sick turtles at the higher end. At his size, if he's healthy, he would do fine with the water in the low 70's.

The restless behavior could just be from the changes in his set-up.

Just curious, but what kind of canister do you have on that 10-gallon tank?

[Louguy510]

I have a Fluval 1PLus underwater foam medium filter. I probably should of gotten the 2nd stage but oh well.

[kc]

just by experience, i would recommand not to have gravel on the bottom of the tank. they are small enough to be eaten by your turt.

[marisa]

FYI, the Fluval 1 Plus isn't a canisiter filter (canister filters sit outside the tank), it's an internal filter, the smallest in the Plus series. It is inadequate for your turtle and even for a 10-gallon tank (I used a Fluval 2+ in a 10-gallon tank with several little hatchlings). Look into a bigger tank/container and a real canister filter. It will make life much easier for you and healthier for your turtle.