Rescued RES "Simon"
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 8:37 pmAgain a big thanks to all that have contributed to this forum - such good information shared to help us all.
We picked up our RES last night, it has the features typical of males, his shell is 6". Prior owners had him 5 months, did not know how long previous owner had him - very little history for us to go with.
His tank condition was terrible and undersized (about 20 gallons), he had no basking area. Owners stated they'd occasionally suctioned the water low enough to expose his shell. They did have a semi-functioning UV type light in a shattered housing. They did feed him feeder goldfish frequently though.
Our 12yo son has had his heart set on getting a baby RES (first timers) but this fellow was local and we thought would be a good test for him (and us). Shipping, plus cost of a baby RES is about $80.00 to our location. We got this one with the tank, excellent powered suction hose, quality food and a few odds and ends for $100.00. I have thrown away everything but the tank (now empty), suction hose, air pump and the food so still seemed an okay deal w/the turtle. Our son took one look at this poor fellows habitat and went into "rescue mode". He couldn't get me to get him out of that place fast enough. He named him Simon.
His shell was very slimy and dark, we used damp towels to gently clean him up. Our original, pre-visit plan was to house him in his original tank while we completed the set up our much larger one. That plan vaporized when we saw the conditions he was living in, amazed he is still alive and I am not a turtle expert. So we did the quick fill and super basic prep on our tank just so he'd be out of the filth.
The good news is that immediately upon entering his new tank you could just tell life was getting good for him, maybe for the first time. We have a makeshift basking platform that presently has a clear, 60 watt bulb in a clip on flange type holder and a nice smooth basking rock. Temps are just about 90 at that level. UVB bulb is on its way as we know how critical that all is. Water is a bit cool yet at 70 but we have a heater ordered as the local shop literally marks up about 50%. The whole set up is not perfect but I must say Simon seems to be doing well and he's only been with us 20 hours.
He basked heavily. The smooth semi flat rock we have allows him to dangle all his legs completely, he even had his necked stretched all the way out. First time his belly and legs etc have been able to dry in who knows how many months or years.
He's not really eating yet, although he did snack a bit on some fresh Romain lettuce a few hours ago. His shell on the outer edges is flaking, maybe because we removed all the slime and he can finally bask, no signs of the white fungus. We can only hope he does okay, we have absolutely no idea just how young or old he is or what type of care if any he has had.
Unable to post pics at this time but hope to soon. If any of you have had similar events like us and have some pointers we sure appreciate it. Like I said, his age is anybody's guess. We just want his life to be easy and safe for however long he can go. We are limited in our location on vet care and especially turtle accessories. Thank goodness for Amazon.com
Thanks again for the forum, it has been very helpful to us so far.
We picked up our RES last night, it has the features typical of males, his shell is 6". Prior owners had him 5 months, did not know how long previous owner had him - very little history for us to go with.
His tank condition was terrible and undersized (about 20 gallons), he had no basking area. Owners stated they'd occasionally suctioned the water low enough to expose his shell. They did have a semi-functioning UV type light in a shattered housing. They did feed him feeder goldfish frequently though.
Our 12yo son has had his heart set on getting a baby RES (first timers) but this fellow was local and we thought would be a good test for him (and us). Shipping, plus cost of a baby RES is about $80.00 to our location. We got this one with the tank, excellent powered suction hose, quality food and a few odds and ends for $100.00. I have thrown away everything but the tank (now empty), suction hose, air pump and the food so still seemed an okay deal w/the turtle. Our son took one look at this poor fellows habitat and went into "rescue mode". He couldn't get me to get him out of that place fast enough. He named him Simon.
His shell was very slimy and dark, we used damp towels to gently clean him up. Our original, pre-visit plan was to house him in his original tank while we completed the set up our much larger one. That plan vaporized when we saw the conditions he was living in, amazed he is still alive and I am not a turtle expert. So we did the quick fill and super basic prep on our tank just so he'd be out of the filth.
The good news is that immediately upon entering his new tank you could just tell life was getting good for him, maybe for the first time. We have a makeshift basking platform that presently has a clear, 60 watt bulb in a clip on flange type holder and a nice smooth basking rock. Temps are just about 90 at that level. UVB bulb is on its way as we know how critical that all is. Water is a bit cool yet at 70 but we have a heater ordered as the local shop literally marks up about 50%. The whole set up is not perfect but I must say Simon seems to be doing well and he's only been with us 20 hours.
He basked heavily. The smooth semi flat rock we have allows him to dangle all his legs completely, he even had his necked stretched all the way out. First time his belly and legs etc have been able to dry in who knows how many months or years.
He's not really eating yet, although he did snack a bit on some fresh Romain lettuce a few hours ago. His shell on the outer edges is flaking, maybe because we removed all the slime and he can finally bask, no signs of the white fungus. We can only hope he does okay, we have absolutely no idea just how young or old he is or what type of care if any he has had.
Unable to post pics at this time but hope to soon. If any of you have had similar events like us and have some pointers we sure appreciate it. Like I said, his age is anybody's guess. We just want his life to be easy and safe for however long he can go. We are limited in our location on vet care and especially turtle accessories. Thank goodness for Amazon.com
Thanks again for the forum, it has been very helpful to us so far.