.... I "rescued" a turtle back in July from a co-worker who was given the turtle by someone in our warehouse, who had gotten the turtle from one of our drivers and I don't know where the turtle came from. I "rescued" the turtle because I didn't trust my co-worker to take care of it properly and my co-worker was teasing the turtle. I had every intention of releasing the turtle but I researched online before I did anything that stupid. I've had the turtle since, I guess it's been 3 months. It's generally a happy turtle but I really can't tell. I think it recognizes me. I'm referring the turtle as an "It" because I haven't a clue if it's a male or female, but I've been calling it a "He" and he's named Mike aka "Little Man" because he looks like a little man when he stand in the tank.
I don't know what I'm doing. I set him up in a tank with water and filter. He has a ledge for basking on and can hide underneath, which he seems to love because he will peek his head up to look around from. Artificial plants and some rocks (I've recently reduced the amount of rocks). There is enough room for him to swim around in, the water is just over twice his length (he is about 2 inches around) but has places he can perch on. I don't know how old he is or what kind of turtle he is exactly, but know he IS a water turtle and that he is probably either a map turtle or some kind of slider. I'm feeding his Reptomin floating food, Nutrafin floating food and Zoo Med Turtle treats, plus I'm getting him Rosy Red Feeder Fish which he basically ignores after the initial excitement of new arrivals when he eats about 3 or 4 in a row. I've gotten him a UVA/B light strip from the petstore and I have a desk lamp over the basking area. I'm using a gravel vacuum in his tank 1-2 times a week for waste and cleaning out his tank completely once a month. I've also noticed that I'm changing the filter cartridge every 2-3 weeks. Plus his tank is near a window so he get a lot of light during the day besides that lamps. I prefer to use the lamps in the evening instead of all day.
So far I think I'm doing right by my turtle, but I'm not really sure. I'm constantly afraid that there is something I could be doing better. I've only made one major mistake which was last week. I was attempting to make his take easier to clean and I picked up paving stones and redid his tank. He did not like it, and seemed to want to escape from the getgo. It wasn't until the next day that I realized that something was wrong. I thought I had soaked the paving stones long enough but evidentally something about the water and filter was drawing out a chalk like substance and had killed the feeder fish and my turtle was keeping his eyes closed and rubbing them. He was also lethargic and spending a lot of time hiding. Needless to say, I removed him immediately and changed out his tank, putting back the original rocks and so forth. It took him a day to recover and has been okay ever since, but has gotten really shy again. He is basking regulary, swimming nicely and eating well. I'm pretty sure I made him insecure by changing his tank and the water quality issue that is now resolved.
Does it sound like I have the basics? I'm going to find a vet for him, but I'm afraid that I might have an illegal turtle and don't want him taken away.
