Urgent Care :: Baby RES impacted?

[SpotsMama]

I'm so happy things are looking better! It's very kind of you to care for the little guy like you do. I hope it all works out.

[marisa]

Ammundy, if you think he can't be more than a week old, look at his plastron. Does it look like there used to be something in the middle of it about 3/4 of the way down? This is where his egg sac would have been. If he truly is newly-hatched, the egg sac (which would be absorbed) would be giving him nourishment, and he probably wouldn't be that hungry yet. But if after a few days he's not eating pellets, try some live food (that pieces of that earthworm, for example). It would also be good to keep some anachris (aquatic plant) in the tank with him.

The usually hide their nests really well and they can be really difficult to find if you actually didn't see the eggs being laid.

[ammundy]

Good morning.

Well -not bad but not good news this morning....Kurtis is still alive and looks quite normal when he is not moving. This morning I was really excited because he was sitting on the submerged rock and his back right leg was out...but when he went to swim away when he saw me, he dragged it out behind him until he was fully in the water and then pulled it back in and swam without either back leg or tail extended. I also touched the back legs and feet and he responds to touch and can move the claws so he has feeling and some control over the legs..... I also gently extended them slightly and then stroked the feet. He moved his claws and then would withdraw them back to the body so again - he can at least pull them back.

It also looks like he may have munched on the veggie leaf last night but no pellets. I will give him another day and then try some live food ( well once live food).

I do have some pictures but do not have a way to upload them - I would be happy to send them to a moderator if they wouldn't mind posting them for me.

I looked for something that would indicate an eggsac and didn't see any but his color is bright and he looks great and isn't lethargic so I am not too worried about the eating yet.

I also searched the yard again last night. I didn't find anything but my dogs were sniffing around the sandbox this morning so I looked again and will look again this afternoon - would hate to think of someone being left out there!

While I still hope that it is too early to draw any conclusions regarding his back legs - does anyone have any experience with handicapp turtles?

Should I try some live live food ( like guppies) to see if I can't motivate him to use those legs? Maybe wait until next week?

[jenaero]

send them to me ... jenaero@redearslider.com and I'll toss them up there for ya.

If he is indeed handicapped, the only thing you'll have to do differently is keep him in water that's shallower than normal.

[jenaero]

Ammundy's pics

[DavidY]

Aww he's a beautiful turtle!

I think you should just give him time for his leg to heal and not do anything that would force him to use it. Did you notice any visible injuries? Probably the worst thing to watch out for at this point is any infection if he has a cut inside where his leg is tucked in. But you also don't want to pull on the leg incase it's broken. I'd say just be patient and try to look closely at his legs when he's relaxed in his tank (if you can).

[grey goose]

It doesn't look like he has any shell damage. I would just keep things quiet around the tank and try to tempt him with some shrimp or worms.
I hope he makes it, poor guy, He's very cute.......

[SpotsMama]

He's a beautiful little turtle, isn't he. So round and green!

[marisa]

So cute and green! I'd love to see a pic of what those hind legs. If he truly turns out to be disabled, aside from shallower water, he's going to need to have things "easy"---a basking area he can get on with little effort, for example.

[DavidY]

Are you positive that's a RES?

[ammundy]

Hello again!

To answer DavidY, I wondered that too but he finally extended his head out far enough for me to see the "red" so yep - pretty sure.

This morning all his pellets were gone! Whee! I put a few more in and came back a few hours later ( we are off school today) and they were gone again so he is eating. I also got him some water lettuce and some dandelion greens in case he is interested.

He had his back right extended when I came in and dragged it along the rock before pulling it back up when he got in the water. It did almost look like he was using his left back leg though - if only to steady himself on the rock (the one partially submerged)but pulled it up too when he swam. He has shown no interest in basking at all at this point.

So I guess since he is eating and looks good - I will take that and be happy for now. I'll just have to be patient to see if his legs heal...dang - not a talent of mine!!!!

[SpotsMama]

Gosh I hope it all goes well! He's so sweet.

[DavidY]

That's great that he's eating his pellets! That's a very good sign and an important step towards recovery.

[ammundy]

Kurtis update:

Friday when I was in to check on Kurtis I brought with me a few starter fantail goldfish and a pleco to throw into a 75gal that I had redone....only to find that I forgot to turn on the heater....so into the tank with Kurtis they went.

This morning 2 of the fantails are alive along with the pleco and Kurtis. THe water level had dropped some this weekend and he had fallen into between the a rock and tank wall and was a bit dry on top but I don't think that he had been out too long.

I put about 5 pellets on his rock and wet them down and he ate immediately so I gave him a few more - which he also ate. His back legs were out slightly when I pulled him out of being stuck but he pulled them back in to swim and has kept them there since.

So - he is doing well but it look like I will have to really watch to make sure that his tank set up is prime since he will not ( at least at this point) be able to get out of awkward situations.

Should this thread be moved since it appears that he is no longer "URGENT"? I would still like to keep people posted on how he is doing if people are interested.

ANything else I could possibly do for him?

[octpusgirl8]

I think you are doing all the right things, just make sure his setup is free of cracks and crevices that he could get stuck in. If you post a picture of his tank i'm sure we could all help with ideas on how to make it just right for the little guy. Definitely keep us updated!