Urgent Care

A co worker of mine got a call from her brother today. He was mowing his lawn and saw something move out of the corner of his eye. There was a red ear slider in the drainage ditch at the front of his lawn. WE have no idea how long he was there but can only assume that someone grew tired of caring for him and chucked him. Since I am a passionate animal lover and I have experience with aquariums, I agreed to take him. His shell is approx 6 inches or so in length, he seems alert and is moving around okay but his shell is very brown and some of the "squares" around the edge of his shell have layers peeling off. I have no idea whether this is normal or not. Right now I have him housed in a plastic container with enough water to almost cover him and some rocks for him to climb up on. I know this is not exactly what he needs but was the best I could do on short notice. I really just need some advice and information. PLease help! I want to help this poor turtle so badly. :mrgreen:

I recommend trying to find a local water source that already has turtles in it and re-releasing him back into the wild.

For information on caring for him, read over the main site. It has all the information you need.

http://www.redearslider.com/

Basically though, you need to raise the water to at least 8'' this will give him more room to swim around and it will prevent him from drowning if he gets flipped over accidentally. You should try and provide at least 10 gallons of water per inch of shell though, so right now you're looking at 60 gallons minimum. The cheapest way to provide this much space is to purchase a stock tank from a local tractor/farm supply store. They aren't as pretty as aquariums but they provide the room you need without charging an arm and a leg.

Remove any rocks from the tank that are smaller than the RES's head. He can and will eat them if he can fit them into his mouth, this can result in impaction which can be fatal. To provide the most swimming space, look at getting a floating basking area. This will allow you to remove the rocks instead of continually having to stack them up.

Make sure and read through the lighting section on the link I posted. You need to set up a heat lamp and a UVB lamp over the basking area. To heat the basking area, use just a regular incandescent house bulb. UVB bulbs need to be purchased from pet stores. Read the label to ensure it has the proper UV rays and to ensure you are placing it far enough away from the basking area.

Get some turtle pellets. Reptomin is a very good, popular, and readily available brand. Also look through the nutrition section of the link to find which veggies you can offer him everyday.

Make sure and get a filter that is either rated for three times the SIZE of the tank or one that filters 5X the amount of water you have (ie get a filter rated at 300gph for 60 gallons of water). The best/cheapest way to accomplish this is by purchasing a canister filter.

Then make sure you have a submersible heater for the water and thermometers for the water an the basking area. I don't recommend using glass for either of these as the turtle can break them.

thank you so much........ he definetaly isn't a wild turtle. there is no way that they would be able to live in the wild here in newfoundland. The weather is too horrible. But thanks, we are hoping to get everything he needs tomorrow. I have the Reptomin so he is eating, thankfulyl. I am more worried about the condition of his shell right now. Off to the pet store that has some as "store pets" in a big pond for advice. Thanks

if you post a pic of his shell someone should be able to help.

Didn't realize you were in Newfoundland, you're probably right about the weather

thanks, we are hopefully getting a 55 gallon tomorrow for him, and I had a great talk with the manager of the pet store and he gave me some great info.
so far St. Phillip is doing great

What part of Newfoundland are you from? I'm also from Newfoundland, and theres no way he's wild, haha

Can you post a pic of the shell dry? From what you wrote, it sounds like the brownness of the shell is due to conditions he had been living in (assuming he was someone's pet, although their shells do get darker as they age) and that some of the scutes may be shedding.

When you say "some of the squares around the edge of his shell have layers peeling off" it sounds like it's about to shed, or it is shedding - that would be okay. We'd need pictures to be sure, but they shed as a normal part of their growth. Just don't pick at the scutes (the sections of shell) or try to help them along in anyway... let nature do it. It's a slow procress, and only good conditons and good diet can help. Now - if this turtle's shell is 6 inches "or so" as you say, and it's currently having a growth spurt - "he" just might be a "she"!

it sounds like you're doing good so far. If at all possible though, I'd go for a 75 gallon or better yet, a 90 gallon tank. (if it is infact a female or undetermined sex) A 75 is just a little deeper front to back, which give a more usable floor space anyway. A 90 gallon would just add a few more inches of height. A 75 or 90 would not be too much. Many keepers don't fill their tanks all they way anyway (so their turtles don't get away) but you still need a lot of water - so you could eaily use a 90 gallon tank for 45 gallons of water to house a 5" turtle. Others will advise filling the tank up all the way, but then you have to put some sort of a fence around the top to keep the turtle in and usually get more creative with the basking area.

Filters - 5x - like 300 gph for 60 gallons of water is a minum. I use 375 gph on 40 gallons of water. It's not too much.

Not enough water, or not enough filter, will mean very frequent and time consuming cleanings... or a constantly stinky house.

Thanks so much for all your help!

Zeper30, I'm in Mt. Pearl but St. Phillip was found in St. Phillips

Marisa and TurtleKeeper48, It is definately scutes that he is shedding, a few have already fallen off. I have put a shell conditioner on him, VitaShel I think. And he seems to be eating his pellets okay. Tried him on some romaine lettuce tonight but he didn't seem interested

We lucked into a 60 gallon pond form for only $32 and splurged on the filter. Got a filter for 70 gallons and 260 gph. This will give us time to save up and get a really good tank for as he grows. Of course for now we have to build a cover to keep him in and the cat out

He is quite the little Houdini. Had him outside yesterday for some sun and next thing I knew he was out of his container and on the deck. By tomorrow night he should be all settled and happy.

I will keep you posted.

I'd skip the Vitashell---it's been known to cause shell problems because it's oil based and doesn't allow the shell to breathe (which it needs to do).

thanks, I will discontinue use of vitashell. We just put him in his new home and he can't seem to get back on his floating basking area. I am not going to be able to sleep tonight.

Here's a pic of St. Phillip :mrgreen:

(Phil)

if you just put him in the tank, give him some time. It normally takes a few weeks for turtles to get comfortable and bask in front of their owners. Just make sure the ramp to the basking area isn't too steep and that there's something for the turtle to grip onto. If it's one of those commercially made ones, then have no worries, your turt will figure it out.

He has been in almost 24 hours now and when I got home about an hour ago he seemed really tired. I put him up on the rock and got the big rocks I had in his smaller pen and put them just under the floating platform. Hopefully that will help him to get up. AllI can do is worry and hope for the best.

Urgent Care :: just got an abondoned RES..... Please HELP!!!!!

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