Urgent Care :: My Female RES has what appear to be scabs

[Mobat555]

My Female RES has what appear to be scabs on her neck and head. Can you please look at the picture and tell me if this could be form the male 5" RES in the tank that looks like he is attacking her.

Also there is seems to be a very large gap around the bottom of her eyes. This is not something I have noticted before and made me uneasy. Is that natural ? I was not bale to get a decent picture of it.



How big is your turtle? 7"
How long have you had it? 1 year

What is the water temperature? 75
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 125 Gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? XP3

What is the basking temperature? 90
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Wood / Turtle Dock
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Pellets / Gold fish
When was the last time your turtle ate? Unknown

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 150 gallon
Is the tank near a window? Yes ( No direct sunlight)
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? No

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? No

[marisa]

To me, they do look like bite wounds. Male RES can get quite aggressive if the female is uninterested in their advances. The one on the neck looks very much like something I'm positive one of my eastern painteds did to another (male). You're putting betadine on the affected areas (I'm looking at the brownish tinge to the skin)?

I don't see the gap you're referring to, but I don't think there should be any gaps below the eyes. I do know that one of my guys liked to go for the eyes, specifically the eyelids. And, it seemed to me that once an area was injured, the turtle would always try to go for that area (perhaps they smell the wound, especially if there's any bleeding).

It would be good to separate the female to give her some peace and before she really gets hurt.

[Mobat555]

This be on going for sometime with Him attacking her (since I got them a year ago), though after geting them into the big tank it seemed to mellow him out and now he is back at it. Sadly I think I may have to take him to a shelter since I cannot afford another habitat.

Thanks for your time, if I can get better pics of around her eyes I will post them.

[Kallistos]

You could put a tank divider up, there's a shelter in Colorado that's called COHRS. I'm sure they'd take it and then you could volunteer there as "compensation" Say like 20 hours or something..

[Hoooneylynn]

can you post a better pic of the eyes?

[Mobat555]

RESowner34 - there's a shelter in Colorado that's called COHRS.

Thanks I sent them an email after I say Marisa's reply. We wills ee what they say. I would be happy to donate time and money to help my turtle and others.

[Kallistos]

That's what I was hoping. Instead of being like, yeah their fighting you take them. You could give him to the shelter and help them out a little bit. We all know how much those $15 turtle's habitat costs!

[Mobat555]

COHRS has responded and informed me that my turtle will be euthanized if taken to them. There water population is 100% full and only 3 out of 45 turtles have been adopted in the last year. So new room is unlikely.

Do I leave her in pain and being attacked?

Do I let them put him to rest?

Do I spent another $500 investing in a habitat for him?

Do I attempt to try a tank divider and build a second dock?


I really am at a loss, after putting so much into these free turtles its wearing on me.

[jenaero]

If it were me, I'd spend the money and set up another tank or find it a good home with someone who knows how to care for turtles. Only you can make that call. Good luck.

[Mobat555]

Got a line on a 55 gallon tank for $75 with a stand. $150 on filtration lighting and etc. Hopefully have a new home for him in under a week or so. I cannot kill him just don't have it in me.

[Hoooneylynn]

thats awesome, way to go!

[SpotsMama]

Good luck! Keep us posted.

[marisa]

I'm glad to hear that you're going to give him his own tank---I would do the same rather than letting him be put to sleep. Good luck. If you have any questions/concerns, just post.

[Mobat555]

I took a closer look at my females left eye and he has done some pretty bad damage to it. Im glad I figured this out when I did.

Anyway $250 dollars and 24 hours later I have a acrylic 55 gallon tank an XP3 , light , light blub, heater and using one of my old docks.

[cam722]

That's fantastic

Is the light you got a UVB light?? Not sure if you know this but you can use a regular bulb for the UVA/heat source for their dock.