General Care Discussion :: One old + one new

[tapioca-boat]

Um, so... I got a slight surprise last week in the form of a baby RES--after looking/lurking around here for the past week, it seems like s/he is a hatchling. I named him/her Jillian... I know it's a female name, but if it turns out Jill is male, he's keeping that name anyways xD

Here's a picture of Jill:



Jill's currently in a round plastic container that's about 13 inches in diameter and only 5 1/2 inches high. I know it's too small, but it's a temporary container.

Still doing research and will probably make a post in the Equipment or Habitat-Indoor forum about the set up I have in mind for Jill. As well as the 10 year-old RES who was kept in very bad conditions.

I didn't pay much attention to the care we had when we got him--I was about 5 or 6 when we got him, and I guess I grew up used to the conditions he was kept in.

THEN... when Jillian the surprise came, I did research and now I realise that he's been kept in really... REAALLLY... REAAAALLLLYY bad conditions and it's actually surprising that he's still alive. He's only been fed pellets since he was about hatchling-sized, about the same size as Jillian, who is 1 1/2 inches big. And he's been kept in a 10 Gal tank for all his life :I

I think that because of the poor diet and tiny enclosure he didn't end up growing as big as he should have grown since he's only 6 or 7 inches long. I'd measure him properly, but he has bitten my dad pretty badly before and I'm a lot smaller than my dad, plus I'm kinda skittish about his squirming and hissing and biting >__> I'm not a very big, strong, or sturdy person physically either.

I think he's got the begginings... or well, is past the beginnings of shell pyramiding. It's not anything extreme, I don't think, but I'm still worried. And should his shell be brown? & what's that crusting around the scutes?

Pictures of him:





Again, I'm too skittish and nervous to pick him up and could end up doing harm if I tried... so... no pictures of the plastron.

How do I get around to fixing the pyramiding if it's fixable? & can I just start feeding him veggies and all that even though he's been fed on all-pellets his whole life? And moving him to a bigger container... we don't have much room in the house, so can he stay inside a big rubbermaid container for... well... I guess two years or so? Since I'll shell out the savings I have for him when I can move out to a place that has more available floor space.

[rsour24]

the damage done is permanent. the only thing u can do now is prevent further damage. your RES should be fed mainly veggies at this point

[turtle man]

you have a uvb lighting, right??

[tapioca-boat]

We just got the bulb today; I'm not sure what lighting my parents used for him, but I sort of doubt we used UVB lighting.

We got a bulb today though...

Do I need a specific type of clamp lamp for the bulb to go in? It's a Repti Glo 5.0 Compact Fluorescent and the person at the store gave us this light fixture.

I don't know if it's good or bad for the turtle to have that glow in the dark thing... do I use a regular clamp lamp and put the UVB bulb in it? Or do I use the one he recommended?

[turtle man]

dont waste your money, get a regular clamp lamp, check the packaging of your bulb to see if it gives off UVB.

[steve]

The shell doesn't look too bad, though you'll want to clean it at some point so you can assess it's condition. I bet he'll look pretty good after a few sheds.

His size seems about right and if there is pyramiding, you'll need to decrease the amount of protein in his diet.

[mikee]

A turtle that size should be fed every other day and don't over feed him when you do. The carapace will not change much at this stage of his life but you can help by sticking to the rules of the road in his habitat. Temperture, lighting and clean water are key.