Look what a bird dropped at my front door

[mike taylor]

Only good o mother nature can make them that beautiful. That is one lucky turtle . Of all the places that bird could have landed it landed in a fellow turtle lovers yard and lost it's snack . Them birds need to stick to eating worms. L. O. L.

 

[AustinASU]

Hahaha yeah I'm so glad i have him in good hands now. Here are some new updated pictures of his enclosure. I had got rid of all my larger tanks so he is in a temporary 20gal at the moment. The first few pics are the first night I had him in his enclosure and the last few are of all the new plants and lighting. Note the plants came out of the concho river ( all have been cleaned off thoroughly). Hope you enjoy it.

 

[pam]

Great set up That is one very lucky little turtle

 

[ScottishFish]

Looking good! Keep the pics flowing


'Or like the snow falls in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever'
~Robert Burns - Tam O' Shanter

0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

 

[WillTort2]

When he gets large enough will you be able to release him or will he be unable to be self sufficient?

 

[AustinASU]

Haha yeah he's a little spoiled and Will Tortoise their are legalities to that. If he/she grows significantly in the next few years (i want to make sure it's at least 4-5 inches if released), plus I wont be doing the releasing I would give it to a local wildlife guy I know who has the license to release animals into the wild again....i'd like to avoid up to $10000 fine if you know what I mean. I'd like for it to be released in an unpopulated area, people around here shoot water turtles whenever the fish stop biting. So by all means I want to make sure he/she does well, who knows i may end up finding a mate and start breeding these guys. All to new right now to tell what the outcome for this little guy will be, i just want to insure his safety and well being for now.

 

[Anthony P]

Good for you Austin. He looks great..

 

[AustinASU]

Thank you anthony!!! I was wondering if you knew their natural diet consisted of, i'm looking high and low and still can't find a viable source.

 

[mike taylor]

He looks like he's got a nice home.

 

[AustinASU]

he seems to enjoy it.

 

[Anthony P]

Hmm. Tough one. I will try to look into that. "Turtles of the United States and Canada," will have that information in depth, and I have the book, but can't access it til tomorrow. I will try to remember and look for you then.

I would start by offering smelly and worm like food items just to get the little one going, like reptomin, bloodworms, freeze dried krill/shrimp, etc. I would assume they are generalists, like all other sliders, who's diet may consist of a ton of different things. Also, like all other sliders and other pond turtles, I would strive to provide a diet higher in animal protein early on and progress towards a more herbivorous diet as time passes. I wouldn't use reptomin going forward though, since there are many better pellets out there, especially for sliders. Pellets with more vitamin E and with better calcium to phosphorus ratios will serve you better.

 

[AustinASU]

Yeah he hasn't been to found of pellets so I've switched to live and he is doing well.

 

[AustinASU]

Not sure what the plant is called that I put in the tank but he loves eating it.

 

[AustinASU]

The little is settling in nicely, he's not taking to pellets to well so i give him all fresh foods and he loves it. He also has a new friend Try to guess what it is

 

[AustinASU]

no guesses?

 

[diamondbp]

100% positive Texas cooter hatchling