General Care Discussion :: How do i introduce new foods to my RES

[Oscar Doscar]

My poor RES was rescued from the most horrific conditions. She was sadly kept in a small tank with no landing, not fed properly, she was only ever given left over Burger King burgers, and her tank was never cleaned out.
Which breaks my heart.
Her living conditions have sadly led her to fungas on her shell, ulcers on her feet, under weight, soft shell, and a calcium deficiency.
We have had Oscar for about 8 months now, had regular trips to the Vet to try and treat her shell for fungas, and not having much luck with it. We have done the Iodine on her shell daily which didnt work, and now are onto a high concentrated solution called Malachite Green, which i appy daily, which sadly isnt clearing up the Fungas either.
I have to inject a calcium serum into her food, for the last month this was on a daily basis, but have been advised by the vet to cut this back to twice a week now.
Because of her unhealthy living conditions, and her previous owners lack of knowledge and cruelty to her, she didnt know what food was.
She has no idea what an insect is, a worm, a tadpole, a fish, a vegetable or fruit, or an aquatic plant is, and as a result of this, she lacks in all the nutrients that she needs.
I have, or am trying really hard to persevere by introducing things to her, but she just wont budge.
I have added spinach to mince and rolled up into small bite size balls and put in the freezer, she took one little nibble and turned her nose up at it.
I feed her frozen turtle food, which she just loves, and turtle pellets which i believe is the highest quality turtle food you can get her in little New Zealand, but not the sufficient amount of calcium recommended for her health.
But because of her past, she is not getting all the nutrients she needs, as i belive they need a lot of calcium and the calcium comes from the green vegetables she needs to eat, but she does not eat!
Can some one suggest anything her to help me.
She is due to go back to the vet next week, for more bloods and faecal samples, as we're at a loose end as what to do re the fungas.
the vet said the last resort is an oral medicine, but this can cause Liver damage, and i really dont want to go down that path.
She is now a happy little girl, she shows no sign of ill health, in her blood test results, and faecal samples, just the spots on her shell from the fungus.
We put a big pond outdoors for her, and she seems really happy.
Her previous owner thought she was a boy, so he named her Oscar. I have still called her Oscar to this day, as i think she knows her name.
I was thinking of changing it to a more girly name? If anyone has any suggestions, id be happy to hear of a new name for her.
I would love to get her a female mate, as i would imagine she must get lonely??
But i dont think i can because of her fungal infection on her shell.
I get so upset to hear of people that ill treat these beautiful animals.
I will never give up on my Oscar, i will do what i can for her, so please if anyone has any input on my matter, i would love to hear from you.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story

[ataraxiamb]

Sorry to hear about all of the health issues Oscar is having. She may not be eating as a result of her illness. Some people dip the food in tuna water before putting it in the tank to entice turtles to eat.

My suggestion for a new name for Oscar would be Olivia.

[Oscar Doscar]

Thankyou My work colleague Olivia will love it if i call Oscar Olivia

[Into_the_Mystic]

Stay away from spinach and best of luck with getting her back to good health.

Get some cuttle bone and cut into bite size pieces and give that to her at least 3 days a week.


What size tank do you have her in?

[Oscar Doscar]

Oh really? the vet told me to give her lots of spinach?? As this is high in calcium and nutrients that she needs.
She is in a big out door pond.
Thanks for your post

[ljapa]

Oh really? the vet told me to give her lots of spinach?? As this is high in calcium and nutrients that she needs.
She is in a big out door pond.
Thanks for your post

There are many references online that the oxalic acid content in spinach can block calcium absorption.

I'll be honest. My turtle gets some spinach, but it's a small amount mixed in with larger greens (I steal from my wife's organic garden salad mixture, and make sure the spinach amount is limited.). However, from what I've read, I don't think I'd make spinach the primary vegetable.

[steve]

Would you be able to get dandelion leaves for her?

Fungus is also usually a product of environmental conditions, not diet. Fungus can cause scutes to retain and thereby creating greater chances of secondary infections which are far more dangerous.