Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went out to check on my ponds today and i looked in my goldfish pond and found a dark object on the bottom that i thought was a rock so i got a net and got it out and its an eastern painted turtle.
im pretty sure that its wild because of a lake and other ponds around my house. its missing its back left foot, it looks like it was cought in something and then it healed into a stump. anyway the turtle is very weak. when i picked it up it pulled into its shell but was slow. i thought its eyes were closed but their blurry. i took it out and put it next to the pond so it could get some sun. (by the way i life in pa, right by the PA-MD line.) the temps today are abnormally warm. its like spring, not fall. is there anything i should do for him. (its a male - about 4"

thanks
_nate

Correction - his eyes aren’t blurry, they’re closed and he’s not opening them.

well hes fine now. i brought him inside at 1:00pm and its now 12am and i check on him in his tank that i set up and he is swimming, his eyes are open, and he is very alert. i just have one question. should i put in outside in my pond (ill put a litter pan of clay in there of corse) or bring him inside for the winter?

_nate

Just to be on the safe side I would winter him inside and
give him a chance to get healthier if indeed he is sick.
When it warms up you can put him back into your pond. My
turtles go out in the summer and I keep them indoors in the
winter.

Thanks for taking him and caring for him.

Linda

Sorry for my type-o. That was bugging me. If I were to bring him in this winter and then in the spring, put him back and he go back to his pond, will he remember how to hibernate? Also, there isn't any doubt in my mind that he isn't wild so he wont be used to eating pellets, should I try greens and stuff?

_nate

I don't think you'll have any problem getting him to eat the pellets. My turtle was wild when I got saved him, and he took to the pellets within a few days. You might want to try crickets, and they can be found at most local pet stores, or bait shops if there isn't anything close. At about 4" like you said, he should be able to handle medium or small sized crickets. These should be a treat, not a staple food, so like 1 or 2 crickets a week. As far as remembering to hibernate, I'm not sure how that would work. But, you could do as other members do, and keep him in your pond during the summer. Continue feeding him pellets and suck, along with your goldfish. You'll need to have something that he can bask on as well. Make sure that the water level is high enough that he can climb out onto a warm rock or something. Then in the winter time, bring him back in and set up his tank. They're alot of fun to keep around.

Good luck,
Jordan

If you set him free in a large body of water he will hibernate
at the temperatures cool down.

I do not recommend trying to hibernate turtles if you are
new to them. The ponds must have certain criteria in order
to successfully allow them to hibernate. ie: depth or water,
etc.

If you plan on keeping this guy and your pond is smaller
I would keep him in the house in the winter and outside
during the summer unless you have done alot of research and
your pond meets the criteria.

Hope this helps
Linda

well i am against taking wild turtles out of the wild but this one is thin and wont make it if he would hibernate. i have been keeping turtles for years. (RES, Painted, and Mud) i now only have RES but i set up a different tank for the painted. i have been giving him live foods such as worms and crickets but he didn't eat any. i also offered him pellets and greens. i just started to heat the water. i didn't want to make a drastic change in water temp. from 58-68. and yes, my RES are outside all summer in my turtle pond but this one showed up in my goldfish pond. He didn't even touch the goldfish because the water was to cold. gute nacht.
danke,
_nate

>>well i am against taking wild turtles out of the wild but this one is thin and wont make it if he would hibernate.

I am against it too when they are fully healthy turtles who don't need me. For those with special needs who aren't healthy & won't make it on their own, I have no problem at all with taking them from the wild.
Missing a foot though & possible illness, if I were you I wouldn't feel one bit guilty about keeping this one inside for the winter.
Good luck with this one!
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PHRatz

yes, i am totally against taking fully heatlthy turtles out of the wild too. i dont feel guilty by taking it out of pond, well my pond. he is starting to eat alittle... im sorry if i made it sound like that. he hasn't went after any of the fish but has taken some pellets. the water is about 70*. i backed off the temp. because he'd be use to water in the 40's. do you think i should make it higher? im going to take him to the vet this weekend to have him checked out.

_nate

>>the water is about 70*. i backed off the temp. because he'd be use to water in the 40's. do you think i should make it higher? im going to take him to the vet this weekend to have him checked out.
>>
>>_nate

Nate I would raise the temp to 78-80 because he has some problems. Let us know what the vet says please!
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PHRatz

>>well i am against taking wild turtles out of the wild >>_nate

Im not against taking turtles out of the wild. Im against supporting people that sell hatchling turtles on the street corner. Im against people owning turtles that have no idea what they need or even what they eat.

If people would take the time to observe turtles in the wild and realize they live in large bodies of water, perhaps they would understand that a 20 gallon tank inst sufficient.

I am against people taking reptiles from the wild to sell them. But for my own personal pet, I will always go to the wild rather than the pet store.

I spent over $500 the first year on my wc turtle. I think people see a $5 or $10 turtle as a cheap pet. They dont realize that it will cost hundreds of dollars (or a lot of ingenuity) to maintain them properly.

I know I post some angry posts here sometimes, but it really irritates me to see so many people say- I bought a turtle in the city- what does it eat? or I bought my kid a turtle- how do we take care of it?
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