My turtle bites himself 🥺

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Good morning,
« My Florida Turtle » is Tosca !
a male of 37 years old,😎
When he’s stressed, he becomes agressive against himself, and all fit in his beak ( stones, platform, hiding-places, heater, filter..my fingers 😅 )
He bites his front legs as if it was another male.
Derterminated to hurt.
One of his fingers has been removed by his vet, he bited it so hard. 😓
Now I had to remove everything as he attacked a stone so hard he hurted his tong to blood. 🥺 Usually he’s living in liberty, with a total accès to water tank of 30 galions with hiding-places under the water and platorm for the sunbath on the balcony and inside a UV lampe, another small tank to eat in the apartment with a house if he wants to have a nap or rest in dry and dark. All his access free absolutely whenever he wants… Normally.
Now, for almost 6 month, I removed everything, all was a source of agressivity for him ( even stone he love to climb on and the heater which has been here forever.
And we don’t let him in the water without supervision to help the wounds to heal.
He is eating each 3 days fresh meat or fish/ granules for aquatic turtle / boiled pumpkin or Zukini …Flour worms are snacks.
Please,
Does anyone has an idea of what I can do to make him feel better ?!?
It’s torture to see him like that.
Things can change from a second to another…
Thank you very much for your advice. 🐢❤️

( His vet is a reptile specialist, but has no clue )
 

TammyJ

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Welcome! Yes, can you post some pictures? That will help the experts here to help you!
 

Tom

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Good morning,
« My Florida Turtle » is Tosca !
a male of 37 years old,😎
When he’s stressed, he becomes agressive against himself, and all fit in his beak ( stones, platform, hiding-places, heater, filter..my fingers 😅 )
He bites his front legs as if it was another male.
Derterminated to hurt.
One of his fingers has been removed by his vet, he bited it so hard. 😓
Now I had to remove everything as he attacked a stone so hard he hurted his tong to blood. 🥺 Usually he’s living in liberty, with a total accès to water tank of 30 galions with hiding-places under the water and platorm for the sunbath on the balcony and inside a UV lampe, another small tank to eat in the apartment with a house if he wants to have a nap or rest in dry and dark. All his access free absolutely whenever he wants… Normally.
Now, for almost 6 month, I removed everything, all was a source of agressivity for him ( even stone he love to climb on and the heater which has been here forever.
And we don’t let him in the water without supervision to help the wounds to heal.
He is eating each 3 days fresh meat or fish/ granules for aquatic turtle / boiled pumpkin or Zukini …Flour worms are snacks.
Please,
Does anyone has an idea of what I can do to make him feel better ?!?
It’s torture to see him like that.
Things can change from a second to another…
Thank you very much for your advice. 🐢❤️

( His vet is a reptile specialist, but has no clue )
There are many turtle species native to Florida. What species are we talking about?

30 gallons is way to small for any adult turtle. Are you sure of that size?
 
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There are many turtle species native to Florida. What species are we talking about?

30 gallons is way to small for any adult turtle. Are you sure of that size?
There are many turtle species native to Florida. What species are we talking about?

30 gallons is way to small for any adult turtle. Are you sure of that size?
Hi Tom,
Thank you for your answer.
He is a Trachemys scripta elegans. ( as far as I know 😅 )
I think it’s called Red Eared Slidders but not sure.
He used to have them but the color left totally for more than 25 years…
His shell is 16cm.
His outside tank is 120cm x 60cm x 20cm full filled.
I know it should be bigger…
I do my best.


Picture of him baby like 1 year old
And within the last 5 years
 

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Hi SinLA,
Thank you for your reply.
I posted pics of him, can you see them ?
And for the tank, he has a big one outside ( 1,2 meter x 0,6 meter x 0,2meter full filled of water but I can’t let him go by himself anymore.
( he used to have free access but not since a few months cause he’s attacking everything and himself )
Now he goes on water when he wants to go ( even by night ) but in the little tank where he eats , but I have to stay around and remove him when he try to bite himself…
Bienvenue! Can you post photos of him and his enclosure? Not clear what type he is from your description...
Bienvenue! Can you post photos of him and his enclosure? Not clear what type he is from your description...
 

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Tom

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Hi Tom,
Thank you for your answer.
He is a Trachemys scripta elegans. ( as far as I know 😅 )
I think it’s called Red Eared Slidders but not sure.
He used to have them but the color left totally for more than 25 years…
His shell is 16cm.
His outside tank is 120cm x 60cm x 20cm full filled.
I know it should be bigger…
I do my best.


Picture of him baby like 1 year old
And within the last 5 years
This is not a Florida turtle. Red eared sliders are extremely invasive and now have population all over the entire world, but Florida is not part of their native range.

The enclosures you are using are okay for starting a little baby, but they are way too small for an adult.

Does the turtle have a dry haul out area with a heat lamp and UV?
Do you brumate the turtle in winter?
Does he stay outside in summer with access to a dry dock area and direct sunshine?
What is the water temperature?

The loss of color is interesting. That is usually due to diet or something in the environment. Your diet sounds okay and the commercial turtle pellets should be making sure the turtle is getting a balanced diet when combined with the other items.
 
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This is not a Florida turtle. Red eared sliders are extremely invasive and now have population all over the entire world, but Florida is not part of their native range.

The enclosures you are using are okay for starting a little baby, but they are way too small for an adult.

Does the turtle have a dry haul out area with a heat lamp and UV?
Do you brumate the turtle in winter?
Does he stay outside in summer with access to a dry dock area and direct sunshine?
What is the water temperature?

The loss of color is interesting. That is usually due to diet or something in the environment. Your diet sounds okay and the commercial turtle pellets should be making sure the turtle is getting a balanced diet when combined with the other items.
Tom thank you so much for your reply 🙏
I do my best to find a solution and get him a bigger tank, but my huge problem is that he bites himself !
Usually it was during the autum season but it last since October and getting worse and worse.
So yes, he has a dry spot with a UV lampe, an access to the 30 gallons tank with direct sun in summer. Hiding spot in a water at 25° Celsius minimum all the year. He has cat house for the dry hide place and actually free access to every where whenever day and night.
But I can’t let him go by himself in the water by himself anymore as he will sooner or later bite his fingers or arms till the bone !!!
He started to attack the hide place he used to love so I removed it. Then the filter, I remove it…the platform… I removed everything except the heater ) even a huge stone he used to climb on for relax sunbathing make him mad now ant he bites it so hard that he hurted his tong or « palais » to the blood.
He has no free access to water anymore.
So when he wants to go in the water I put him and stay close. When he starts to try to bite his fingers or arms, he remove him from water …
It’s a nightmare. 🥺
He knows that if he comes to tank I will put him. If I don’t see him, he comes to pick me up.
But it’s not a life, knowing that he feels so bad to hurt himself.
We know it’s coming from inside…from a second to another !
is it hormonal ? ( we see his penis but not a frank « erection » maybe reaction because he thinks he’s attacking another male…)
Is it mental ? ( he acts like a schizophrenic… try to bite his leg and protect it and save it at the same time )

sorry, for the pavement and thank you for reading.
Samantha
 

TammyJ

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This does not look like a Red eared slider or a Florida turtle. He needs to be properly identified before he can be effectively helped. You say he is 37 years old? How long have you had him for? If he is 37, then he is a small species because he is fully grown, unless his growth has been stunted. We would really love to help!
 

TammyJ

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By the way, he absolutely must have free access to water. They cannot swallow their food if they are out of the water!
 

TammyJ

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You said you feed him every three days? Do you feed him in the water as is normal for him? Maybe he needs to be fed every day, and to have his diet adjusted for his species, whatever he is.
 
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This does not look like a Red eared slider or a Florida turtle. He needs to be properly identified before he can be effectively helped. You say he is 37 years old? How long have you had him for? If he is 37, then he is a small species because he is fully grown, unless his growth has been stunted. We would really love to help!
Good morning Tammy and thank you for you interest ! 🙏
I was 12 years old when I got him with 3 others at my parents.
When I left for studies, he started to show stress and agressivity against himself, so I took him with me in my small student room on the campus.he was 8years old.
I know he hasn’t been properly raised like a reptile. But I did my best to provide him what he needs.
And obviously yes, no doubt, I stunted is growth …
I m sorry about that. I would have love to provide him better. And if I could, I would.
The 3 others where 2 females ( like 2 kg ) and another male ( 800grammes like him )
All are dead or lost.
I will try to send you more pics of him younger so you see him across ages. But it wasn’t as easy as now to take a picture at this times…
He was green and yellow when he was baby.
And his « ears » where more orange than red.
Initially his Shell was perfect. Like the others.
5 scales on line following the spine.
13 in the center of the shell and 25 all around.
But before 2 years old he started to float on a side.. and it increase… and his scales change their place … when they fell, the new scales weren’t at the right place…and a hunchback slowly appeared ..
And since, his scale is 23 scales around and 15 in the middle !
Thank you Tammy.
 
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By the way, he absolutely must have free access to water. They cannot swallow their food if they are out of the water!
I know that, I even informed the assistant of his vet which didn’t know they only eat in the water.
I want him free as much as possible.
But I absolutely can’t not watching him go by himself in the water to attack himself on purpose. Till blood.
Should I ?
Now he even do that on the floor ! 😖
 
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This does not look like a Red eared slider or a Florida turtle. He needs to be properly identified before he can be effectively helped. You say he is 37 years old? How long have you had him for? If he is 37, then he is a small species because he is fully grown, unless his growth has been stunted. We would really love to help!
So I had him when he was baby and I was 12.
Now we are 37 and 49 😁
 
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You said you feed him every three days? Do you feed him in the water as is normal for him? Maybe he needs to be fed every day, and to have his diet adjusted for his species, whatever he is.
He is fed in the smaller tank, 8…10 gallons
 
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You said you feed him every three days? Do you feed him in the water as is normal for him? Maybe he needs to be fed every day, and to have his diet adjusted for his species, whatever he is.
His vet said he was a little bit chubby… 😅
 
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