There was no power to the house, so no lights were on, and there was less than an inch of water in the tank (which was black and putrid). There was no food; but there were a lot of dead bugs in the tank, so she may have been eating them?
I have no experience with reptiles of any kind (i'm more of a bunny person
), but I couldn't let the tech let the turtle loose in the river (which was his original plan), so now I guess I have a turtle. I bought a new tank, and a big rock thing at Petco, and a heat lamp because the girl I work with said I needed those things. Am I missing something? I've been reading lots the past day or two, and I keep seeing mention of a second light? does that heat as well? is it possible for the tank to be too hot?I keep reading different things about what I should be feeding her (after different googling...I'm pretty sure the turtle is female, so I am calling her Shelly). Right not I only have Reptotreat....which looks like dried krill...but i'm guessing by the name that should be a treat, not regular food? What else should I be feeding her...and how much? (She's pretty big...i'd guess about 5" across).
My biggest worry is her shell. When I first got her, her shell was almost totally white, and kind of dusty looking. The guy at Petco gave me some drops to put in her water, and told me to leave the heat lamp on for 24hrs/day for the first few days....is that right?
After just two days, Shelly's shell is looking much better...there are still some dull pale patches though. Is there anything else I can do for that? A big piece of shell actually peeled off today (and she ate it!...should I be worried?), and after looking closer, I think more may peel off...is that a good or bad sign?
I'm sorry about all the questions....I am trying to learn as much as possible, but there is a lot of different opinions online!
I'm just trying to give her the best life possible, because it makes me sick to my stomach that someone would abandon any animal and leave it to die T
