As of last Saturday, I am the proud owner of Pepe, a 4-year-old red-eared slider. Although, now that I have read more about sliders, I think Pepe might actually be a girl!
Pepe has had a bad life, and I am amazed that he (or she?) is still alive. A girl I work with knew someone who had this turtle and she was not taking good care of him. He is seriously underfed, his tank is far too small, and now that I have read more about the needs of sliders, I see his water was too cold, he had no place to bask, his water was far too shallow, and when he was fed, he was fed foods he should not have been fed.
The girl I work with could see the turtle wasn't being taken care of, but her friend claimed she was too attached to him to let someone else have him. She found out I had owned other reptiles in the past (a bearded dragon, an iguana, newts, frogs, etc., though it's been about 5 years since I've had a reptile as a pet) and told her that she knew I'd give him a wonderful home if she gave him to me...and she did all this without asking me first! So, the girl finally agreed that if I would take him, she'd be willing to give him away. So, the girl I work with approached me and explained that this turtle would probably stay with her until it finally died if I didn't take it and promise to provide him with good care.
I love animals and am amazed and fascinated by reptiles, so what else was I to do????? So, last Saturday, I drove to her house and got him and his equipment and I've been reading and reading about red-eared sliders all week and am working on getting him back into shape...I'll have questions about the next steps posted in another section.
One thing that has been awesome, though...I read how extremely important it is that sliders have a place to bask in around 90-95 degrees...the poor guy has NEVER had a place to bask at all. he had a little spot to get half way out of the water, but not near a light or anything. So, that was my first priority. I got him a turtle ledge for now and I already had a lamp with the proper kind of basking light, so I dug that out. I had that thing on for 5 minutes, and despite the fact that Pepe had never seen another turtle bask or even had the chance to, he climbed right onto that ledge, stretched his head out, lifted his back legs in the air...he looked like he was in heaven! It was so precious.
Anyway, that's how I got him, and I am looking forward to many years with him, assuming I can hopefully get him back to good health...I think I can, he doesn't have any signs of infections or anything.
I'm a neurobiology student in my 7th year of school, and I work on a research team aiming to improve the lives of children and adolescents living with spina bifida. I have 2 wonderful dogs...one who enjoys watching Pepe swim around and one who wants NOTHING to do with him, haha. I guess that's about all I have to say!!!
Lots of turtles are kept in poor condition, and it warms me to know that there's one less animal uncared for. I've taken in unwanted/uncared for animals myself (cats, a dog, turtles), it's good for the soul. There's a lot of turtle-specific stuff needed, let us know how you're coming along!
