General Care Discussion :: found a turtle in my garage

[kimmykan]

hi! I have a situation and I need some help. One day I found a red-eared slider in my garage. I dont know how it got there, we live about 1/4 of a mile from any water. we took it in and put it in a 55gal tank and tried to make it as comforable as possible. It seem healthly. It will eat worms from your hand so i think it was someones pet. What do i do now?

[marisa]

Welcome.

"One day" is how long ago?
How big is the RES?

Are RES native to your area? A quarter of a mile from water isn't that far away...

My question for you is, what are you planning to do with the turtle? Are you fairly sure the turtle was someone's pet? Were you intending to take on the responsibility of caring for a turtle?

If you truly think the turtle was someone's pet and you think you may want to keep the turtle, it would be good to start doing some reading on the site to see what you need to buy and how to take care of the turtle. If not, and if there are RES in the water that's 1/4 a mile away, it might be better to release the turtle.

If the turtle is an adult female and is wild, she may have been looking for a place to dig a nest. There are wild painted turtles where I live and I watched one start to stroll into the garage and then back out when she was looking for a nesting site.

[kimmykan]

sorry i should have added more info. I found the turt about 4days ago. I was going to let it go but I didnt want to release one that didnt know what to do in the wild. It doesnt seem to be that shy and has taken food out of my hand from day one. my sons and I have been feeding it earthworms we find and pellets from the pet store. not so many worms now because i see they are a moderate feed. the shell is about 5in long from head to tail. I put rocks for it to get out of the water. the waters about 10in deep and most of the 55gal tank long. I want to take the best care of it I can

[kimmykan]

Oh and I thank its a male. the water thats 1/4 mile away is through traffic and up a hill. If I thought it was wild i would release it because it would be sooo hard to go from freedom to tank life. but we will give it a good home.

[mikee]

Kim-kan -- Providing a good home for a res is not cheap. You will need to keep the temps correct, the lighting correct, the filter large enough, etc. You can read most of what you want to know on this site. If you have any specific questions there are answers here.

[TheComputerGremlin]

It's a stretch, but what does its shell look like? Does it look weathered or not? Some wild RES are very friendly, too, and may take food from your hand, so don't make that assumption. RES can travel pretty far and even climb fences. I doubt that he's a family pet. You can try posting in the immediate neighborhood flyers asking if anyone has lost a pet turtle, but I'm guessing he's wild.

If he is wild, you need to release him back into the wild. Where do you live? Are RES native to the area?

I'm not trying to discourage you owning a turtle, by all means, adopt a captive turtle if you can care for one. The startup is between $400-600 or more to get all of the needed equipment. There are many RES and other turtles that need adopted and cared for. But a wild RES should be set free.

[kimmykan]

I agree completely that a wild turtle should be set free!! I just didnt want to release one if it didnt know how to take care of itself. Its shell looks shiney, it will eat out of our hands and its feet and tail wasnt scrached up at all so I dont think it traveled- but I'm sure its tuff so it might not get scrached up traveling. I just wanted some help on decideding what to do. I want it free if its a wild turtle. we do have RES in our area. I even belong to a private outdoor club that has a wonderful habitate for it to live in. But I am worried that it was someones pet and he wont make it in the wild. I need your knowledge. I have already spent $400.00 just to make him comfortable till we figure this out. I would have spent more but we had alot of stuff already from upgrading our other pets homes. I just want to be as sure as I can be. Help please!!!!!

[grey goose]

If it began taking food from you right away and is comfortable around you, it must be tame, a wild turt would never behave like that. I say hang onto him......maybe someone in your area has a pond that he escaped from?

[kimmykan]

I would really like to thank everyone who has responded. You guys are full of knowledge. Thanks so much. I just want to do the right thing. He is really growing on me. He begs for food, trys to get to us when we are by his tank. I truly think he was someones pet. So now we get to love him. He needs a name- my 4yr old wants to name him fasty because he's not slow like he thinks a turtle should be. Our dog watches him for hours, dont worry there is no way the dog can get to him. thanks again for your help. ** If I posted pics could you tell by them if he is wild? - I guess I really want to be sure he's not wild. How terrible to be captured and forced to live in a tank.

[kimmykan]

I have another question. This RES is about 5in long but I cant really get him to eat much veggies or fruit. I printed the list of foods off this site, and I have tried all of the veggie and fruit that he should eat most. He just looks at it and begs for something else. He loves earthworms but I know he should only have them sometimes. He eats his pellets ok. I think he wasnt given veggie or something. Maybe hes still young enough that he only wants meat? Thanks for helping me to make him as healthy as I can!!!!

[TheComputerGremlin]

No, there's no definitive way of telling if he's wild or not. I mean, you can tell a little if the shell is obviously weathered, but that can also be a sign of age or countless other things. The fact that he's eating pellets and begging is a pretty good sign that he might be an escapee, but nothing for sure.

Veggies have to be given over time and he'll eventually give in. You can stop feeding pellets to encourage veggie eating. Try different things, but give him a chance to eat before removing. I tend to give veggies in the evenings (with pellets in the morning), that way he's getting a little hungry and he'll eat anything, including veggies. Try the darker, leafier greens, they seem to love those, and carrot strips. Leave them in there for a few hours, but don't overwhelm him by giving him a bunch of variety at once. Just give him lettuce and carrots. And as long as he knows earthworms are on the menu, he'll only want to order them. Stop feeding the earthworms for a whole month and make him realize that they are only dessert.

[SpotsMama]

My turtle wouldn't touch most of his veggies until he was several years old. Now he eats everything in sight. The first thing he would eat was fresh basil - he would eat that when he was still quite small. Most turtles are really crazy for a little steamed sweet potato. Another thing that interests many turtles early on is water plants like anacharis.

[kimmykan]

thanks so much for the help. I got him to eat some dandilion greens and a little fresh green beans. I know its just going to take time. We are really starting to love the little guy. I have decided he is an escapee. So now its time to make his tank bigger and better. Its only a 55gal right now. thanks again. I'm sure I will be on this site all the time to get info and ask questions! I do want to know if you let your turtles lose in the house? I would love for him to run around. I do know the house needs "baby" prof. And always an eye on him. let me know.

[RES4ever]

I don't but I do let them go outside once in a while. I don't recommend that for you considering his history. Any questions and we are happy to help.

[SenorProgrammer]

I let Herc loose in the apartment in the evenings. He either wanders around usually following us, or heads straight down the hall to the bedroom and goes to sleep under the bed or in the closet (I suppose it depends on his day? . He's 15 or so and 8 inches, I doubt I'd do it with a smaller turtle that could get stuck somewhere or missed underfoot - they can be amazingly hard to see in the dark.

Dry yours off, put it down and see what happens. Worst case scenario: it heads for the nearest dark cave-like place and hides.