General Care Discussion :: i think its shell is cracked

[buttrflydreams06]

hi i have a question for anybody that can help i bought a turtle today it looks like a hatchling its barely more than an inch long. i didnt notice till i got it out the store that its shell is soft very soft. if you pick it up by its sides it squeches its body. is this natural????? also its tail is half gone and the back of its shell looks cracked. I dont know what to do. im a newbie here. can anyone help me??? please

[missibsu]

Do you know for sure that you have a Red Ear Slider? It is not uncommon for RES to have softer shells than adult RES, but to my knowledge the shell shouldn't squish all the way to the body.

Can you post a picture of the crack? (There are instructions in the photo gallery on how to post a pic.)

What kind of set up do you have for your turtle?

Does there seem to be any open wounds, or any infection?

[buttrflydreams06]

the place i bought it from said it was an res. but my friend has two res's and they are identical. right now i have temorary set up in one of those table set up aquariums open to the air with about 2 inches of water. and a slope to get out of the water under a heat lamp. is that ok???? i dont have any picture right now i probably coundnt post one for a few days though

[missibsu]

The first thing you need to do is read through the basic care information on the main site. I'm not sure how much water your table top set up holds, but rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch. There are certain items that are needed to maintain good health...a water heater, a basking light that provides heat, and one that provides UVB. A good filter will also be necessary.

As for the injuries. I would recommend a trip to the vet if you are really concerned. (I don't know much about what to do for a crack in the shell, others might have some ideas.) There is a list of vets by state in the urgent care section. Make sure the vet that you call is a herp vet for better care. Water temp at a steady 82 degrees will help boost the immune system.

[buttrflydreams06]

i get my check on friday and thats when i plan to by all the nessesary things untill then do you think its ok to leave my baby in his set up or should i put it in my friends tank with her two res's????

[missibsu]

There is a quarantine period of at least 90 days before adding any new res to an established set up. This is to help prevent the spread of disease from one turtle to the next. Since you don't know what all might be wrong with your turt, I wouldn't advise putting him/her in your friends set up.

[buttrflydreams06]

thanks for your help in this matter. another thing ive been reading in other topic's and i keep seeing that your not supposed to sell turtles this small. the place i bought it from had about 20 res's in one tank all about this big. some were just barely 1 1/2 inches long. they were in a 20 gallon tank with 1 floating rock. the sign on the tank said red ear sliders *turtles under 4'' sold for educational purposes only. what does that mean? is there something i should do about this???

[buttrflydreams06]

i forgot they also gave me my turtle to bring home in a paper bag. stapled closed. how are they supposed to give them to you??

[missibsu]

There really isn't anything you can do about it. The eduactional purposes bit is a loop-hole that allows them to sell you an RES. Technically it is against the law for them to sell you one, but it isn't illegal for you to own one. There are shops like this all over, from the Florida beaches, to Myrtle Beach, and china town in New York...as well with the west coast. These shops don't care about the well being of the turts and the conditions in which they live is cruel.

If you are interested in doing what several people on here have done, you can report it to your local humane society, or agency in charge of enforcing that type law. It seems to not make a lot of difference, but I am holding out hope that one day they will wake up and see the problem.

If people come to this site prior to owning a turtle, we recommend not purchasing from these type store, because all it does is feed the problem. Some people buy with the intention of saving the poor turts, but in reality all they are doing is providing the funds for the store to buy more...I understand all of this because my two turts came from one of those less than desirable shops.

Sorry, that was kind of a long winded rant. It's past my bed time. Keep us posted on your turt, and I'm sure others will be on in the morning to add to the earlier problems mentioned.

Edit: They can give them to you however they please, although most people end up getting them in these little plastic lagoons (death bowls). I suppose for transportation reasons, the paper bag wasn't a half bad idea.

[buttrflydreams06]

thanks i'll keep you posted