new turtle, trying to acclimate him

[thelub]

I just got a 3 toe box turtle off CL and i'm trying to give it a new lease on life. The girl said it was about 4yrs old and it looks to have been petty neglected. Overgrown beak and claws were my first sign.

It feels heavy so I don't think he is dehydrated. I tried feeding this morning, but I just got reading the sticky at the top of this section and now realize that might not be the best for his habits. I will leave the food in there and leave him alone to see if he takes a stab at it today.

I've had a 250w heat lamp (red lense) sitting over his tub all night and the temp has been sitting around 80 degrees or so. I put a wet towel over the enclosure to try to get the humidity up. I will be moving him off the large wood chips into a new, larger enclosure with some peat moss.

I read that soaking them is a good idea. About how warm should the water be for the bath? Is it a good idea to soak him if he's not out of his shell much? Should I give him a few more days to get acclimated to his surrounding before I try soaking him?

This looks like a very informative forum so I will continue doing a lot of research and asking a few questions here and there.

Thanks!

 

[yagyujubei]

You can soak him whenever you want. I would use 3 - 4 inches of water. Don't worry he won't drown. I don't know how long they can stay submerged, but I know mine will sometimes be under 10 - 15 minutes. Room temp water is fine. Personally, I would let him be a little cooler at night. Maybe 75. A heat emitter would probably be better than your red bulb. You can feed at any time. If he hasn't eaten, you can try canned cat or dog food. Berries are always a favorite.

 

[Irwin4530]

Welcome!!
As already stated you can soke at any time....mine like to have a saucer full of water in their enclosure at all times and they are often in there when I go in to feed/clean for them. I agree with allowing the temp to go down a little bit...after all temps go down in the night no matter how warm it gets during the day. Fruit and red worms seem to be a favorite of mine but I am sure you will read and try out a few things and learn what your new friend likes.

You will find tons of good advice on this forum and lots of knowledgable people too!!
Welcome again!!

 

[thelub]

I hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas!

Well after a couple days I think I can say he's healthy but very shy and still getting used to his new home. I've soaked him both nights now in warm water and he seems to really enjoy it. Its the only time he really comes out and start to explore his surroundings. Tonight I let him soak in the bathtub to give him more room to move about.

I'm second guessing the red light as it seems to be TOO intense as a heat lamp. I think I'm going to downgrade to 150w lamp and just run it during the day and give him a cooler night to sleep Right now with the big 250w red lamp its hard to create a basking area and it ends up warming the hole enclosure to around 90 degrees. I went out side and grabbed some wild shoots that are growing in the flowerbed area to give him some more greenery in the enclosure.

Tonight when he was soaking I thought I'd try to clip his nails. They are VERY long at are really hampering his walking abilities. I clipped one a little too short and it bled a little. I let him soak until he stopped bleeding then let him dry out on a sheet in the living room to make sure I didn't see any blood spots. I was going to put neosporin on it, but kinda forgot. I didn't cut too far into the quick as the blood loss was very little. Now I just have to find somebody who can clip his beak. It looks to be hampering his eating abilities and it looks funny. His nails still need some trimming but I'll probably leave that to whoever clips his beak.

 

[Irwin4530]

If you can post a picture of his beak and nails we can help you to decide if a trip to the vet is best or simply letting time (and some nice stones and rocks) do their job.

Glad to hear he is doing better

 

[thelub]

Let him soak for almost an hour this evening and he seemed to really enjoy it. He's definately warming up to his new place. I was holding him and he was sticking his head out letting me get a look at his overgrown beak more. His shell looks a lot healthier as does his skin in general.

Here are some pictures of his beak and claws. Hope you can see them.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75749347/2012-12-27 20.30.02.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75749347/2012-12-27 20.01.14.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/75749347/IMG_20121223_195104.jpg

I feel confident that I can trim his beak down a little. I called the only vet in town that handles turtles and he charges like $130 bucks to trim his beak and nails and i can't afford that now. I tested the technique of holding his head and I think after some more handling I can confidently hold his head and trim his beak a little. I won't go crazy, but I think it should help a lot and will hold him over until I can get him into the vet.

 

[Irwin4530]

That is a VERY overgrown beak!!

I would not attempt to file that on my own, That is years of neglect and requires a skilled hand.....even the nails require attention from an expert. Perhaps your vet would allow you to make payments?

 

[thelub]

He is improving every day. Today while I was at work he was out and about in his enclosure exploring and my GF took him out and he was scooting all around the house exploring. He seems to be eating OK. Worse case scenario I'll have to wait until tax time to get him trimmed up, but hopefully I will be able to come up with enough money to get an exam and trim sooner.

 

[Irwin4530]

I am sure he is feeling much better, he is very lucky to have you caring for him now.
After his beak/nail trim and some time in the sun this spring/summer I am sure you will have a very loving little man!!!

 

[EricIvins]

Your not going to do anything but create Turtle jerky by using a 250 watt bulb. You can achieve a 120 degree basking spot without increasing ambient temperature by using two inline 30 or 45 watt indoor flood bulbs 10" away from the substrate......

 

[thelub]

Right now until the new bulbs come in the mail I have the heat lamp set at an angle so its giving indirect heat instead a devastating direct plasma ray. It only took me about a half hour to realize that bulb was waaay too intense.

I have a zoomed UVB fluorescent bulb and heat lamp that should be here in a couple days. With the current lamp, I can soak his enclosure and in a few minutes its dry and dusty again. He'll be living the high life here soon

 

[thelub]

Last night we fed him a brick of blood worms I keep for my fish. He LOVED them. He gobbled them up and was scrounging around for more! He almost looked like he was getting frustrated because he couldn't find anymore

After a week or so in my care his shell is starting to brighten up and be a lot more colorful. Its painfully obvious that he didn't have nearly the right moisture in his previous living quarters (or the right food). I'm going to look around for some earthworms to put in his enclosure and see if he'll start foraging for them. After seeing how much he liked the blood worms I can't wait to see him try the real deal. This is the first protein I've been able to give him. I did try scrambled eggs but he didn't seem to care for it too much even when it was mixed in with some greens.

 

[Irwin4530]

Lad to hear that!! I am sure he loved them! Not sure if it will help but the Walmart by me feeds live worms (red , wax, butter and night crawlers) in this fishing section ...... Depending on where you live this may help you out

 

[thelub]

Last night I fed him some poached chicken and he loved that too. He's starting to really come alive now that he is in a good enclosure. I just can't wait until my lights come in so he has everything he needs for an optimal home. Now if I could just get some more space in my home for a big built-to-suit enclosure he would be in heaven! Just gotta get into a house first.....

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

I saw your video in another thread and the first thing I thought when I saw him was "Magnum P.I" !!! Distinguished moustache ;-)
Once in a while I drop a very small goldfish in my 9 month old boxie's soaking bowl. It's really entertaining to watch her chase the fishy around! She does eventually catch it and eats it. A meal, exercise and a show in one :-D

 

[Pameladale]

If you have a petland near you they'll do it for free and tge guy.i go to is awesome.

 

[thelub]

The only pet stores I have around here is Petco and Petsmart and a local pet store that sells fish and herps, but they won't trim his beak. I think he'll do OK until I can afford the $140 vet visit. Under his beak is clean and he eats like a horse. I have a feeling he has been dealing with his overgrown beak for quite some time and has become accustomed to working with it. I bet he won't know what to do once its trimmed