Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Two days ago my husband found an RES with several large rubberbands wrapped tightly around the shell about an inch behind the head. This had caused the turtle to grow very deformed, looking like some sort of hooded prehistoric creature. The turtle had apparently escaped for some time judging from the alge growth on the shell and the bands were so tight that we had to cut them off with wire snips. He seems in good health despite this horrid treatment but I'm sure these bands wrapped around him would eventually ended in a slow miserable death. I've kept rescued box turtles for years but am not sure how to care for a water turtle, especially with winter coming up. I'm not even sure what to feed him. I fed him some raw chicken yesterday and he ate like he was starving (which he probably was) and right now I have him in a large tupperware type container with water deep enough for swimming and a large flat rock so he can get completely out of the water. I put in some leafy branches on one end for hiding, and other than that, I'm not really sure what to do for him. I read that water turtles hibernate under water in the mud but I don't know if his health is good enough to hibernate him this winter. Can anyone advise me on how to care for this poor little creature? He's had a tough life and I want to make sure that the rest of it is a good one. I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas! Thank you!
Roxy

He doesn't have to hibernate. Mine never do. I can't believe
someone would do this to any living creature! Thank you for
taking him in. It sounds like you are doing many things right.
I would get him a heat source and a UVB bulb. Go on here and
print off a caresheet. Sliders are not picky eaters. I
use Reptomin floating turtle sticks as a staple and then add
all kinds of things for variety. Lean turkey, soaked dry
cat food, frozen, thawed shrimp, veggies, squash, the list
goes on and on. I just rotate things on different days but make
sure they get the turtle sticks at least 2x a week. You
can contact some rescue groups to see if they could take the
turtle if you cannot keep him. Just keep him in the house
and warm and well fed.

Hope this helps
Linda

Thank you, Linda, this does help. I do plan to keep this turtle because my heart went out to him the instant I saw him and I am going to make sure he never has to suffer again. I don't have a clue who was cruel enough to do this to him, but I hope they've outgrown their stupidity and don't hurt any more helpless animals. I will go to my nearest Petsmart this weekend and buy some of the food you recommended and a UV bulb. I live in SW La. and the temps are still warm here, reaching the 80's during the day. I moved the turtle's container out onto the back porch yesterday and the minute I put him in the sun he stretched out on his rock, neck and legs completely out, and basked like that for most of the day. It made me feel good to see him happy. I'm sure he can breathe a lot easier without those tight bands around his shell. The good thing about where I live is that we have a lot of warm days, so I figured with a rubbermaid container for his winter living quarters, I can move him out into natural light when the weather permits. I already have plans for an enclosed pond for summer and may take in a few more RES rescues, particularly those that have been mistreated. I want to post pics so that everyone can see what has been done to this poor little guy, but I'm almost hesitant, because even though I'm sure no one here would even think of it, I'd hate for some nut to happen upon the pictures and get any crazy ideas. Thank you again for the very helpful info. Have a great day!
Roxy

Putting rubbermaids or any plastic, metal or glass containers in the sun will increase the heat astronomically and boil it to death. ALWAYS INCLUDE SOME SHADE, IF YOU DO, OR MAKE SURE IT'S NOT IN THE DIRECT SUNLIGHT FOR LONG LENGTHS OF TIME.

NEVER FEED RAW CHICKEN OR PORK!!! ONLY COOKED!

Best to stick to this, for now, and what Linda suggested. ReptoMin, I've heard and found, is the best. Worms, crickets, and fish will keep it eating well.

As long as his internal organs aren't hurt its shell could grow back to normal and would be an interesting experiment. I had three juvenil yb's that had there shells bit off and they almost grew back. But I lost them in another way.

Can you tell me why raw chicken shouldn't be fed? I bought some reptile sticks and so far he has shown no interest. Also I tried dandilion greens and romaine lettuce, which I feed my box turtles, and he has also shown no interest. The raw chicken is the only thing I've gotten him to eat so far. I was thinking about adding some feeder fish and water snails or maybe some small crawfish that could swim around in his container. He wouldn't eat earthworms, which really surprised me, as my boxies really love those, but I'm thinking that whoever had him before probably fed raw meat or maybe cooked meat and that is what he is used to. I will try boiling some chicken for him today and see what happens. I know a varied diet is best, but I was just so glad that he was even eating that I fed him what he accepted. We had a cool front that blew in last night and the temps dropped from the 80's to the mid 50's and even though I have a lamp warming his enclosure he seems very slow this morning, hiding under his cave of leaves. Also, in reference to your other post, I do realize that the plastic containers will intensify heat so I block off half of it to make shade where he can get out of the sun if he wants to, but as long as he has a sunny spot, he never moves from it. He stretches out and basks there for hours. Thank you for the reply to my post. If he wasn't so badly deformed I would be a lot less worried, but I'm sure he is at least somewhat malnutritioned. I know his shell won't grow back normally because it is just too severely misshapend, but now that the bands have been removed, he may have a chance to grow a little more normally. With the way he is shaped, I'm sure that his insides have to be at least as partly deformed as his outside. Again, thank you for the replies. I need all the help I can get!
Roxy

>>Can you tell me why raw chicken shouldn't be fed?

Raw chicken could cause bacterial infections to flourish.. like Salmonella.
Meat sold for human consumption in general isn't good turtle food because it doesn't contain total nutrition for them. It's just a fatty chunk of meat that should really be used only as a treat now & then. Meat like that shouldn't be part of their regular diet.. that's not what they'd eat in the wild.
Live feeder fish would be better because that is something he or she would be eating in the wild anyway.
Insects- same thing, well fed (gut loaded) crickets, a variety of live worms would be good foods.
My own turtles won't eat Reptomin anymore. They used to but they turn their noses up at it now. My painted really goes for the Jurrasi-diet pellet foods which IMO are better anyway because they don't contain soy. The colors in my painted have really brightened up since he started eating it.
Variety in diet is best for turtles.. so just keep trying to feed as many different foods as you can.

Here's a couple of caresheets that might help you:
http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/trachemyscare.htm

btw bless you for taking in this poor turtle. What a horrible thing someone did to it! YIKES!
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PHRatz

What was said before me by the other poster is true. Stay away from raw chicken and for the most part, raw meat. Yet I've had great success feeding mine raw hamburger/steak, which are fine.

THE REASON IT MAY NOT BE EATING, HOWEVER, IS BECAUSE YOU NEED AN ELECTRIC HEATER!! TEMPS BELOW 70F WILL CAUSE IT'S APPETITE TO GO KAPUT.

Try putting a heater in there with it, perhaps one attached to an extension cord-if you have it outside. Make sure it doesn't get too hot, however, so find one suitable for your cage. Nonetheless, A HEATER IS ESSENTIAL IF YOUR GOING TO KEEP IT THROUGH THE WINTER! Otherwise, it'll eventually starve if temps don't get below freezing for any length of time.

What you're doing is following the road we've all followed, so don't be frustrated!! As for food, a little raw hamburger wouldn't hurt. And when you get a heater, you'll be amazed!

This weekend I tried more live foods, and boiled chicken. Well, he ignored the live foods, which are a bit of a problem as I change the water in his container daily. But he did eat the cooked chicken, so I am assuming that it's what he is used to being fed. I am going to try and stuff a couple of pellets into the chicken to see what happens and continue trying different things to add more variety. The live foods have presented a bit of a problem as I change the water in my turtle's container daily. It tends to get smelly even though I remove the uneaten food within a few hours. I wonder why the water fouls so quickly? I also am now using an electric heater along with my lamp and it has made a difference. My problem with this is that I work all day and I'm afraid of a fire.
I saw on the net this weekend a turtle that had been rescued that had spent part of it's life caught in a plastic 6-pack holder and it was formed a lot like my turtle. I also saw replies from someone who said that it looked "cool" and that they were going to try that with their young turtles. That is why I'm hesitant to post pics of mine because there are a few sick, cruel people out there who I was afraid would intentionally do this to poor innocent animals. Anyway, thanks again for the very helpful posts. You guys have really helped and I very much appreciate you!
Roxy

>>I saw on the net this weekend a turtle that had been rescued that had spent part of it's life caught in a plastic 6-pack holder and it was formed a lot like my turtle.

I saw that on the TV news when it was found. It was pitiful.

>>I also saw replies from someone who said that it looked "cool" and that they were going to try that with their young turtles.

THAT is something that I did not see. People thought it was cool & want to do that? OMG!! What is WRONG with some of these humans running around loose on this planet? SHEESH!

>>>That is why I'm hesitant to post pics of mine because there are a few sick, cruel people out there who I was afraid would intentionally do this to poor innocent animals.

I don't blame you for feeling that way about it.
I hope you can find several foods that this turtle will eat soon. Being new to your home could have something to do with this too. Turtles can take a few weeks to settle in & get comfortable in a new home. Just keep trying different things... ya never know what they'll accept.
I have a rescued box turtle who won't recognize a lot of normal turtle foods as food so she won't eat crickets & some other bugs.
Right now we have this huge influx of small black beetles hanging around all over our fence. I put a few of those in a jar, presented them to her & she ate every one of them. None of the other turtles will eat them so you just never know what one turtle will accept as food.
Good luck!
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PHRatz

Hi and thanks for the reply. I am trying many of the different things suggested here and the only thing my turtle has eaten so far is raw and cooked chicken. I'm not giving up and will continue to add variety each day. I have a rescued box turtle who had been kept in a tank for 4 yrs. and only fed romaine lettuce. When I got him he was very thin and lethargic. It took quite awhile, but now he will chase down earthworms with a vengance! He loves live foods and different veggies and fruits and is doing very well. His weight has almost doubled and he lives with my female rescue who is approx. 45 yrs. old. She laid eggs last year and after we were slammed by hurricane Rita I returned home to find a hatchling in my enclosure. I kept the baby inside last year but since it has done so well I may let it hibernate this year. Anyway, I know persistance is the key to getting them to eat variety, I am just not that familiar with water turtles.
As far as the sicko's out there who would deliberatly deform a turtle as someone did to this one, I just don't understand it. I can't imagine the suffering this poor turtle must have endured. I'm just glad we found him when we did. Thanks again for the reply! Have a great day!

RES are fairly resillient.
Floating stick food is meant to be a staple of their diet.
The occasional treat usually gets eaten with great relish.
As mentioned before, never feed raw chicken. ***Salmonella alert.***
You can really get a good setup without going to a lot of expense. ActiveUV bulbs are the cheapest way to do it, I've found. In a smallish tank it replaces the basking light, UV bulb, and heater (Provided the water isn't aerated too much and the tank is kept in a warm area.). Water temp should be something like 75-80 degreesF, and the basking spot should be 85-88, not too much hotter. They aren't desert animals.
Change the water a little bit every other day, and change it completely if it gets cloudy.
Change the water regularly. As a minimum, if you do small partial water changes every other day, change the water at least every 2 weeks. A filter helps keep the water clear, but is not a substitute for changing the water.
Make absolutely sure that the turtle can get completely out of the water for as long as he wants, the water should be at least one inch deeper than the shell is wide, or the turtle may be stuck upside down under water.
Also make sure that the turtle can sleep under water without the water moving him around. If he can't sleep underwater without moving, then he will be forced to be too active.
A too-strong filter can kill. Also make sure that the filter inlet is screened so that curious little heads aren't sucked into it.
Keep the furniture to a minimum, a healthy turtle will arrange his living quarters as he sees fit.