General Care Discussion :: Question --- help

[TheBean]

This is the bean's wife. The bean just found about a 1 1/2 in baby RES on our back patio. We would like to rescue him/her and keep. Of corse not introduce the new RES with greenbean. My husband has the new turtle in a bucket of about 3/4 full of water with a piece of wood so that the little one can get out and bask. He is currently on that piece of wood. Please help us help this little one survive!

[jay2487]

My first and biggest RES I found crossing the yard. I got up one morning and my dog was barking and digging in the dirt, I went out to where he was digging and there was a little half dollar sized RES trying to burrow into the dirt away from the dog. At first I had no idea what to do with a turtle, I thought he was a land turtle simply because thats where I found him and I had no idea there was any difference in them. My first set up(before ever even knowing about these forums and all the info out there)was a 10gal conventional cheap Walmart tank some family member had laying around, filled with 4 inches of dirt and a milk jug cut about 4 inches tall for a tiny make shift pond in one corner. I'm telling ya this thing was worse than those death bowls (name removed).com sells. So I first had a friend identify it, then started researching, learned my setup was more proper for a tortoise and not an aquatic turtle, and went out and bought all the right stuff, heat and UVB lamp, cuttlebone, basking area, filters and heaters. Anything else after that I needed I got off of sites just like this. Is there anything inparticular your worrying about? One thing to remember is, if it has made it this far then it is pretty tough. I think the rate is 10% for hatchling survivability in the wild, someone on here told me but I don't quite remember.

[marisa]

You want to give the new guy his own set up. I think TheBean knows what to do...

As for food, I'd start by giving him a diet that's closer to what he's used to---bugs, like crickets, earthworms (cut up if they're really big), etc., aquatic plants. Reptomin Baby is a good pellet to offer.

[TheBean]

Thanks, Marisa! That's the info I was looking for. Right now, he's in a 3 gallon bucket filled about 2/3 with a floating piece of wood as a dock (he/she/it can get up on the dock fine). I put a couple reptomin pellets (broken up) in there with him/her/it, but he/she/it hasn't eaten yet. Probably too freaked out to eat now.

What kind of things should we take special care to do when it's this young? What things should we NOT do? is there ever a chance that this little guy could be introduced to Green Bean? We were contemplating partitioning Green Bean's tank and putting the little guy/gal/thing in there with it's own separate basking area.

If it can never live in harmony with Green Bean, I'm not sure we can keep him/her/it as we just don't have the space (and funds) for another full setup.

[steve]

I would try to maintain a water temp of 78-80F, then concentrate on getting Little Green to eat. Have you checked the back for any more? One they're eating, they're like older RES though I would be more careful with their diet (not to overfeed). Once he's adjusted, I'm sure he can meet Green Bean for a supervised visit.

[TheBean]

Thanks, Steve!

How do I/we go about getting this little guy/gal/thing to eat? I dropped some food pellets in there while he was looking up from the bottom but I think he's still too freaked out right now to eat.

Oh, BTW, we named him/her/it Jalepeno.

[marisa]

Since Jalepeno's wild, s/he probably doesn't even recognize the pellets as food. Food that moves (like those worms), food that has a strong odor (bits of sardine, tuna, etc.) would probably be more attractive to him. It still might take a little while, though, since s/he's in a totally new environment.

Also, if you're standing over him waiting for him to eat, it would be better to leave him to eat alone.

[TheBean]

Well, upon reading this thread: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25749 I found that we likely can't keep little Jalepeno. We don't have the room or money for another setup for a turtle to grow big so we're probably going to let him go.

My poor wife is so sad.

[jameshermanto]

hmm.. anyway.. rehoming. @_@ its your last hope. NO NO NO Dont release it to wild. poor turtle.

rather you give to me. than you put that thing away like that.
sorry if i'm to sensitive. but.. anyway.

=.= rehoming.seriously. rehoming. is your last hope.

[TheBean]

It came from the wild. It's a wild turtle (so far). I don't have anyone to give it too. It still has all of it's wild insticts since wekve only had him/her/it 2 days. Releasing it back where it came from is the fairest thing to do for little Jalepeno. Either that, or GreenBean kills and eats him/her/it and I'm definitely NOT letting that happen.

[TheComputerGremlin]

It's a hard but rationale decision to make. Consider a few things first:

1) Are RES native to your area? Will releasing him/her be in its best interest? For instance, if there are initiatives in your area to get rid of non-native turtles, Jalepeno might be killed someday.

2) Where are you going to release him/her? If you can find someone who has a pond and wants a RES, that would be better than dropping him/her off in a storm drain or random stream.

I understand why you want to keep him/her, but yeah, the thought of a second setup is insane!

[TheBean]

Well, we actually released him last night. But to answer your questions:

1) Yes, RES are native here. They're not protected that I know of, but there's no initiatives against them.
2) We live with a bayou in our back yard. That's likely where he came from or where he was headed when I stumbled upon him. We released him at the water's edge and watched him jump in a swim away. It was sad.

I'll post pics of him when I get a chance soon.

[marisa]

Since they're native to your area, you did the right thing by letting him go where you found him/her. S/he's probably went to look for something to eat.