General Care Discussion :: Adopted babies, shell rot

[RunninWideOpen]

Greetings!

Well, I've been searching for the info I need, which I'm sure is in a post somewhere, but I can't seem to find it mixed in with the unhelpful posts. If anyone has a link to a helpful post send it my way please!

Tonight I adopted two little ones who have been taken terrible care of. The first owner really neglected them, and the friends I got them from just didn't know how to take care of them. They told me both of them are at least over a year old.

1 is an RES, about 1'5" long. The other, I don't know what it is. It's not a slider. It's 1" long. I'm hoping someone here might be able to tell me what it is. I'll post pictures. He has the face of a box turtle, but is aquatic. He's a super fast swimmer.

Anyways, both of them appear to have shell rot. I was trying to find info on treating it. I was going to scrub them both down with some 50/50 hibiclense/water with a toothbrush, rinse them off and leave them in a dry tub overnight, then put them back in the water in the morning. I would do this for a few nights.

Is that the right treatment? I'm trying to remember what I read in here on a post that I can't find.


Also, what else should I do for them? They have been kept it shallow water, about 4 inches deep, but no way to get out of the water. Also, they had no heat, haven't been eating, and have been mostly sleeping.

I put them in a 20 gallon tank (I know better than to put them in with Crush and Squirt). I've got the water temperature at 82, one of them is already basking on Crush and Squirt's old turtle dock. The basking temp is around 95. I don't have a UVB bulb yet for them. The only one I got is on Crush and Squirt's tank. I'll get another one on Saturday. Should I take the one I have away from Crush and Squirt for the little ones for the time being?

I've also got the little turtle (the one I don't know what it is) to eat a little bit. I gave them a mealworm and green leaf lettuce. It took one bite of the worm and has just started nibling on the lettuce. I haven't gotten the RES to eat yet, it's a little more skittish and afraid of us.

Well, this post has gotten really long, so I will post those pics and wait for the great advice you all always give.


I have just named him Spike . Still working on a name for the baby RES.

[DavidY]

Spike definitely looks like a baby Map turtle. You can tell by the raised keel on the vertebral scutes. Those will become less prominent as the turtle grows.

If I were you, i'd take the UV bulb from your adult RES's tank and give it to the new babies right away since they have been without one for so long and need it more. The adults should be fine w/o it for a couple of days. When you get the new one, put it over the adults' basking area. They are already used to UVA/B and will benefit from a new bulb whereas the babies need to adjust to the radiation more gradually. The used bulb should be just right for them.

When you're looking for specific information regarding health and prevention, go to the actual web site and do some reading before searching the forum. It might save you some time. Here's the link...http://redearslider.com/index_health_2.html

[RunninWideOpen]

Wow, thanks DavidY, I definitely think you are right. I looked up some other pics of map turtles and they look identical. Is it too early to tell what type of map turtle it is? I think it might be a False Map but I'm not sure. I been looking up care issues for MAPs and they seem very close to sliders, but maybe more meaty foods than sliders. Does that sound about right?

I just switched the light over to the little'uns. Spike is basking away. I know it's late, but since he hasn't had UVB, probably ever in life, I'm leaving the light on for him.

Donny (what I just named the baby RES) has come out from the corner he was hidin in and came up to the lettuce. I don't think he's eaten yet though.

I also looked up the link you gave me and I don't think they're shell is to the point of shell rot. I think it's just fungus.