Other Turtle Discussion :: found baby turtle

[imnothardcore]

I was mowing my lawn today and looked in my pool and there was a baby turtle in it....

I pulled him out since the chlorine im sure is horrible for him and looked at him and he was pretty motionless. I kinda assumed he was already dead but I decided to rinse him off and put him in a decent sized bowl (since i did not want to put him in the same tank as my other tutle)

After alot of rinsing and changing his water every 15 or so minutes(i figured this would be best to get all the chlorine off his skin) his skin color is pretty light, like a really soft green(im wondering if he was bleached a little from the chlorine). he looks alot like my red eared slider.

anyway i put some hatchling or w/e turtle food in there with him as well as some tiny scraps of lettuce and such so he would hopefully eat something. I havent noticed if he has eatin any lettuce yet but i know he has not eatin any of the turtle food yet. His shell has a couple big bumps on it in the middle back. not sure what this is/how it was put there. I live close to the beach so we were wondering if a bird dropped him or something, or maybe he just wandered in.

anyway... i was just wondering if there is much else I can do for this little guy hes actually QUITE active and is walking around and exploring ALOT. he doesnt really hide from me or anything either. he is however extremely small his shell is about the size of my thumb, probably a little smaller. its not too much larger than a penny i guess....

i cant really afford to take him to a vet or anything either..

so any help is greatly appreciated...

[iac637]

Can you post a picture of him?

[imnothardcore]

not a great pic i just took it with my webcam i dont have any batteries for my webcam



but you can kinda see the bubbles i was talkin about

[octpusgirl8]

wow he's incredibly cute. i hope he's doing well!

[rocketright]

Hmm, Do you have a lake or stream near by? That would be the best.... to release him.

[iac637]

He doesn't seem to have the head of an RES have you found out what kind of turtle he is?

[SpotsMama]

Keep him warm and his water clean. If you can put him in distilled or dechlorinated water. Make sure he's got a place to rest on in case he gets tired of swimming. Give him plenty of peace and quiet so he doesn't stress out.

He doesn't really look like a slider to me. The little sliders I've seen are perfectly round, whereas this ones shaped like a teardrop. Then, like you say, he's grayer rather than green. To tell you the truth his shape looks to me like a sea turtle although he's extremely tiny. And I guess he has feet rather than flippers. Are there sea turtles where you live? What's the climate like where you are?

(edit to original post) Well, I just looked at images of hatchling sea turtles and they all have flippers in the front instead of feet, though they are often kind of grey, have bumpy shells and teardrop shapes. So I guess he's not a sea turtle. Does he have any stripes at all?

[imnothardcore]

i live in cocoa beach, florida. its pretty hot outside right now (except at night), but yeah im like a block from the beach......

its been pretty quiet where he is and yeah hes got alot of space to rest and i have been giving him bottled water instead of it from the tap.

i have no idea how long he was in my pool though... hes still running around alot though and its been about 7 hours....

and uhmmm.. i dont think releasing him into the wild would be such a good idea because of how small he is and i have no idea if something is wrong with him... from the weird shell thing to soakin in the chlorine for who knows how long......

theres really no lakes close to my house at all and theres no way he could of "wandered" to my house from th beach...(fences, neighbors fences....etc... and a road)

[iac637]

I was thinking that as well. I also thought of a terrapin because of the color of the head.

[megcornell]

I'm thinking you have a sea turtle there as well.
this is the # the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 1-888-404-FWCC, you should call them.

[steve]

It looks like a Diamondback Terrapin. If it is a hatchling and you are willing to accept the commitments, then it is your decision if you want to keep him (provided that it's not illegal in your county).

Taking him to a wildlife rescue or to the nearest natural habitat are other options. A local herp organization might also offer you ideas.

[jenaero]

I don't think I'm ready to say it's a diamond back terrapin just yet. Can you get clearer pics of the head, front feet and shell?

[Turtle addict]

My first thought from the white of the head was Diamond back, but I'm checking my books now....that's the only one we have that should be that color. Don't worry about the chlorine,they breathe air and the chlorine is gone now. You did right by rinseing it off.

You cold have anything, if someone had their pet outside and a bird grabbed it then dropped it in the pool who knows.

[imnothardcore]

it looks alot like a diamondback terrapin, i went to alot of websites and compared pics. i will try to post a more clear pic of the little guy when i get home. im in class right now so i hope hes doing ok still when i get back, he wasnt moving too much this morning so im hoping all is well.......

[marisa]

Without a clearer picture, it is a little hard to tell what the turtle is...