Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please, can anyone help me. My husband brought home a baby turtle that was left in a plastic container at the dumpster where he works. He picked him (don't know if it is a boy or girl) up Friday (11/10/06) morning and brought him home that night. I took him to Petsmart on Saturday and Sunday to talk to their reptile expert but missed him both times. He wont be back in until Friday and I'm afraid to wait that long to get help. I did the research and found out that he's a RES (as they are called). I've never owned a turtle before so I'm doing as much research as possible. The problem is that he hasn't eaten since my husband picked him up and his eyes are shut. He likes to bask a lot and when he's in the water he tends to rub his eyes and tries frantically to get out of the water. He has opened his eyes only to very small slits a couple of times. When he's on the basking area he just lays there. His shell is only one and a quarter inches long. I kept a light on him and tried to keep the water warm, but I guessed at the temp because I didn't have a thermometer. I wasn't able to get a heater for the water or a thermometer until tonight. We have him in a 12 quart plastic tote. The thermometer is for a 2 - 5 gallon tank. I have two gallons of water in there but the water is close to the top. Oh, he's also getting a small white spot on each one of his front feet. Can anyone help? Thanks.

Reduce the water level to just about 2-3 inches. This baby
sounds sick. Make sure you have a basking area where he can
dry off and put a heat source over it to get the temp to
85 degrees. I wouldn't worry about it not eating yet. It
is stressed and most likely ill. Try to find a qualified
vet who can look at it. In the meantime get your info here.
From experience I know that most of the people who work
at Petsmart, Petco, etc really don't know what they are doing
but give wrong information so they can act like they do.

Right now, keep him very warm and try some worms and different
things. From what you describe it good be a Vit A deficiency
or a respiratory problem. A good vet is your best bet.

Keep us updated
Linda

Okay, thank you very much Linda.

I want to reply to Linda's post & just say in a big way...
ditto.

This one needs to see a vet & in my personal experience with the local chain pet store, they talk the talk as if they know ALL about (pick an animal species) but in reality they are clueless.

You can find very accurate info on the web for daily care of any turtle but this one needs to get help in getting healthy right away.
Good luck, I hope this baby pulls through.
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PHRatz

Would releasing him back into his natural habitat be better for him? Since it would be his own environment and not an artificial one.

>>Would releasing him back into his natural habitat be better for him? Since it would be his own environment and not an artificial one.

No that wouldn't be a good idea because he's sick already. Being in the wild would just send him over the edge & he wouldn't make it. Also...
A sick one can spread disease to healthy wild turtles so for his sake & theirs it's best to keep him captive & try to get him well again. If he doesn't make it in an artificial environment then at least he has not spread disease to wild turtles.
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PHRatz

That's true, I didn't think of that. Thank you very much for all of your help.