Other Turtle Discussion :: found turtle

[cindyinmd55]

turtle was found on road in a housing development and brought to me, one because the area was not safe for the turtle and second because the turtle has a healed dent in her shell like someone hit her with a hammer. also there are paint lines on her shell. she is 7 inches long. I have an outside screen box with a basin of water for her. I dont think I am going to keep her. i have a res already in an inside aquarium. it is quite a bit of work to keep the tank and i dont want to put them together since I dont know if she is healthy or not. I put her in the water and she gets out but not back in. she looks like some of the turtles here on this site. she has the red markings on her legs but not on her ears. her body and shell look the pic you have on the physical description page. i am worried about her not getting in the water basin. i have given her some raw meat and veggies but i dont think she ate yet. any suggestions?

[Jessica313]

you gave it raw meat???

thats a bad idea....

[cindyinmd55]

she didnt eat it. i can take it out.

[Jessica313]

thats good, giving raw meat to a turtle is just as bad as it would be for a human

[reptilegrrl]

I would find the nearest natural body of water and put her in it. Was she near a body of water when she was found? She may have been crossing the street or have climbed onto it to bask.

What do you mean by "paint lines" on her shell? Did someone actually put paint on her, or is her shell just brightly colored?

If she does not have red ears, she probably isn't a RES. SHe could be another type of aquatic turtle. Red markings on legs sounds like a cooter or a painted turtle.

[cindyinmd55]

she looks like one of the turtles on this site. she has yellow instead of red lines on her ears but red everywhere else like the turtle on the physical description on this site. she was found in the street of a housing development. the paint on her shell was painted on. it could be a glue maybe. it is not natural. she seems to have been thorugh quite a bit. because she is 7 inches I assume she has been around for some time. i am unsure about just letting her go and was hoping to find a rescue to take her. the local reptile rescue here is not accepting sliders at this time due to the care involved in keeping them.

[sonyj]

Well, she doesn't sound like a slider... I'd take a pic and post here so we can help I.D. her or else simply tell the rescue center that she isn't a RES and needs help.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the pic that your are referring to under physical description is a painted of some sort. And from your description of her she sounds like a painted. They are aquatic and need a body of water to live in. If the hind feet are webbed, then you know for sure she's a type of aquatic turtle.

[sonyj]

...delete post... computer problems... sorry...

[reptilegrrl]

It sounds like she was once someone's turtle and was abandoned.

I just went and looked at the description page, and that actually doesn't look like a RES to me. It doesn't have red ears! If your turtle looks like that, it is not a RES. Yellow ear marks probably means a Yellow Bellied Slider. They are similar in care needs.

If no one will take her and she seems to have been in the wild for awhile, i would go ahead and let her loose in the closest natural body of water. If not, try a local animal shelter.

[steve]

You should be absolutely sure of the type of turtle it is before you put it into a habitat or feed it. If the turtle is in good health, then I agree and you should take her to nearest safe habitat. If you aren't sure, and the rescue organization won't help you out then ask a local herp organization. Where are you located?

[cindyinmd55]

I live in Lancaster county PA just over the Chester county line. I heard back from the local reptile rescue. They said she could be displaced from all the recent flooding in our area and that I should let her go in one of our parks. I guess she could be a paint turtle instead of a RES. She has the red everywhere but not on her ears.

[steve]

Considering she may have been abused or mistreated, I'm disappointed that the rescue wouldn't at least check her out.

[cindyinmd55]

The reptile rescue says she is an Eastern Paint turtle and to let her go in one of the county parks. I feel the same as you dissapointed they wouldnt at least see her.