General Care Discussion :: Help! What type of turtle and is she/he healthy?

[squirtmommy1]

I saved this little guy/girl from a horrible home and am wondering what kind of turtle it is. I have had the turtle for about four months now and have been reading this forum for about two weeks. I have read enough to know that everyone here will be wonderful help to me in raising this little one.

Does the shell look okay? I think that it is beginning to shed in some places! The bottom of the shell seems soft to me! I took pics of it also. Please let me know what you think! Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/011.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/012.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/013.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/014.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/015.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/016.jpg
http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... d1/017.jpg

[duck215]

I wish I could help you with what kind of turtle it is, and the sex. But the shell is beautiful, and looks pretty healthy to me. She looks pretty young still, so that is probably why the under side of the shell is soft. Sorry I could not be more help.

[Lilsaint]

Yellow belly slider i think. Looks quite healthy

[jozzep]

It's a Cumberland Slider.The care is the same as of RES.
Seems to have a little shell curling and a domed carapace.Good news is that the turtle is still young and that can be someone improved with proper lighting and diet.
Please read through these pages

http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care.html

[squirtmommy1]

Thanks everyone! We are def coming around on the diet. Squirt is eating goldfish and lettice/carrots. Also a shrimp or two as a snack every once in a while. The water of the tank is 86 degrees and I have him/her in a 37 gallon tank with a basking area and a light! I only thing I can see that i'm WAS doing wrong is I had gravel in the bottom of the tank, which after reading this forum I have replaced with sand! Parts of his shell are starting to shed and i'm just hoping that everything will be alright with little squirt. We are already crazy attatched to him. THanks for any help in the future. this sight is amazing!

[blackforces get you]

looks like a yellow bellied. and looks really healthy too.

dont feed to much goldfish. its too fatty and can get them chunky

[LittleResQNorth]

I think it's a Cumberland Slider, definatly get it a proper UV light to stop the shell curling and make sure it has a docking area where it can completly dry off. It's still small so the shell can be a little bit soft, don't push on it. I would buy calcium dust and sprinkle it in it's food as well.

[Kemul]

Jozzep is correct. I agree with blackforces too in that you should stop feeding
the turtle goldfish. Shrimp for snack is alright, but make it once a month thing.
Switch the food to pellets and veggies. The shell shows sign of pyramiding, which
is not good. Shedding is a good start towards the right direction. Please read
more from the main site.

Edit: Littleresqnorth also gave good advice.

[mikee]

Squirt m-1 My vote is a Cumberland as there are numerous spots on the plastron and excessive yellow on the carapace. -- Your water temp is a little high. I would suggest that you keep it at about 78 to 80 at that size. The basking should be about 90 to 91 degrees with uvb lighting. Good Luck!

[squirtmommy1]

Thank you Mikee, I turned down the water temp as soon as i read that. It has been at 78 degrees all day. I do have a uvb bulb and a heat lamp. Also started him on the turtle pellets today and he LOVES them. I only gave him six of them but divided it up throughout the day, and as soon as he seen me coming he floated to the top looking for a handout. he's so cute. No more goldfish for him. I didn't realize they were fatty for him. I will feed him the occasional minnow bc he loves the chase. His shell is definatly shedding. I'm hoping that with the right diet and the UVB light that the curling of his shell gets better. Thanks everyone for all your help.

[sull324]

Just a trick about feeding,if he have an curling shell try to feed him for about 75% of his head(no neck) daily,and feed him once a day.(thats what i did with my fat one)

I did an mistake an while ago and feeds mine randomly trough the day,eventually ended with constant begging each time they saw me.
Now im feeding them every morning as soon as i wake,they get excited but they do not beg me the rest of the day. (turtle are smart )