please help with rescue tortoise.

[lulzy]

I rescued this little guy from someone that I met recently. After realizing how bad of shape he's in, we took him home. As you can see, his shell is cracked in the back.

I know nothing about him, including what type of tortoise he is. Can anyone identify him so I can look up what type of habitat he needs. I really want to get this guy back to health. I'm told he's around 10 years old.

the link below is to the album of him, the junk on his feet is just substrate as he has been running around in his new place and loving his new bath. From what I've read I need to clean his shell with betadine solution and then cover the area with some gauze that has triple antibiotic ointment.

He pretty much fell into our lap and we couldn't help but take him in. We cannot afford to take him to the vet but we want to make sure that he is looked after the best that he can be.


He now has a full UVB light bar, a hot side (basking spot), a hide, and a shallow bath.

http://imgur.com/a/hks4Q

 

[Tortugatron]

Good on you for taking care of him.

I'm no expert, but that looks like a box turtle to me, and a pretty beat up one at that. His shell looks pretty misshapen. Google some pictures of eastern box turtles and you'll get an idea what they should look like and if others agree that's what he is, you'll be able to find specifics on his habitat and dietary needs.

I'm sure someone on here will know also about rehabilitating turtles that are in the shape yours is, as he will require proactive care.

Best of luck to you and your new little guy.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Can you post a picture of the head and the plastron? (Bottom shell) this poor thing is so deformed it's hard to tell what it is. Certainly in need of your rescue!

 

[lulzy]

I will get another picture as soon as i get home today.

 

[Killerrookie]

You have there is my favorite specie and that is a Ornate Box turtle. I'm sorry to hear and see how bad his condition is and I hope he makes it. Best wishes to you and the little guy.

 

[Killerrookie]

You can barley tell he is a Ornate Box turtle form the little yellow stripes he had over him and that most have a grey looking skin.

 

[lulzy]

OMG! Thank you so much for the info! Reading up on him now.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Good luck with your research and if you have any questions when you're done, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your little box turtle needs a nice, big soaking pool in its habitat. It could also stand to have some good food with vitamin d3 and calcium. Take a look the pictures of ornate box turtles and you can see that your turtle is very deformed from the poor care it received previous to you. He might not live as long as other box turtles, but he can still have a good life with you. You will just need to give him more attention and keep a good watch on him throughout the rest of his life.

 

[Gillian M]

Thanks a lot for rescuing the tort. Very sweet of you.

Ask ALL the questions that you may think of and you'll hopefully get all the help you need.

And a very warm welcome to the forum.

 

[lulzy]

Thanks so much for all the help everybody. He is currently loving his new place that actually has UVB, correct humidity, correct heat, and a pool! We are still exploring his diet and so far he has appeared to want to eat the earthworm we gave him... but he seemed sketchy about it. He would go in to bite and then back off, he then just proceeded to lay on top of the worm and not eat it.

He also did not bother with the carrot and apple that we gave him after he refused his protein. Tonight I plan to give him a proper meal with variety, hopefully he will at least like one of the thinks we got him. Also waiting on a cuttlebone in the mail.

The few Questions we do have though is how deep should his bath be? Are there any oils or vitamins that we can put in his bath to help heal his shell? There also seems to be little bugs flying out of the inside of his shell What can I do about this? I plan to get betadine solution today to get him cleaned up really well and give him some triple antibiotic cream. Is there any more I can do for him?

Thank you all again for the help and positive comments!

 

[Alaskamike]

Thanks so much for all the help everybody. He is currently loving his new place that actually has UVB, correct humidity, correct heat, and a pool! We are still exploring his diet and so far he has appeared to want to eat the earthworm we gave him... but he seemed sketchy about it. He would go in to bite and then back off, he then just proceeded to lay on top of the worm and not eat it.

He also did not bother with the carrot and apple that we gave him after he refused his protein. Tonight I plan to give him a proper meal with variety, hopefully he will at least like one of the thinks we got him. Also waiting on a cuttlebone in the mail.

The few Questions we do have though is how deep should his bath be? Are there any oils or vitamins that we can put in his bath to help heal his shell? There also seems to be little bugs flying out of the inside of his shell What can I do about this? I plan to get betadine solution today to get him cleaned up really well and give him some triple antibiotic cream. Is there any more I can do for him?

Thank you all again for the help and positive comments!

Normally, you want the tort to sit in the water without having to lift his head up to keep from drowning So up to bottom of his shell. Warn water gently sprayed onto the opening, a flow, will clean it out. Keep water warm. The flies will leave as soon as you apply betadine to it.

 

[Killerrookie]

Thanks so much for all the help everybody. He is currently loving his new place that actually has UVB, correct humidity, correct heat, and a pool! We are still exploring his diet and so far he has appeared to want to eat the earthworm we gave him... but he seemed sketchy about it. He would go in to bite and then back off, he then just proceeded to lay on top of the worm and not eat it.

He also did not bother with the carrot and apple that we gave him after he refused his protein. Tonight I plan to give him a proper meal with variety, hopefully he will at least like one of the thinks we got him. Also waiting on a cuttlebone in the mail.

The few Questions we do have though is how deep should his bath be? Are there any oils or vitamins that we can put in his bath to help heal his shell? There also seems to be little bugs flying out of the inside of his shell What can I do about this? I plan to get betadine solution today to get him cleaned up really well and give him some triple antibiotic cream. Is there any more I can do for him?

Thank you all again for the help and positive comments!

Apply betadine only once because it's known to stop the turtle from growing. I hope you the best wishes!! My tortoises also like to lay on their food and keep us updated!

 

[sapphira80]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and have been reading and studying about about tortoises for a while but I don't know much about turtles.

can anyone tell me what happened to this poor little guys shell? Is it MBD? Or lack of humidity? I'm not the OP, just curious to learn more about it for the sake of knowledge.

 

[lulzy]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and have been reading and studying about about tortoises for a while but I don't know much about turtles.

can anyone tell me what happened to this poor little guys shell? Is it MBD? Or lack of humidity? I'm not the OP, just curious to learn more about it for the sake of knowledge.

This is due to basically everything about her enclosure being wrong. She came from a home with no UVB light, no humidity, improper heating, no bath, and not structured diet. She was getting more foods that inhibit calcium abortion than actual foods with calcium.

 

[lulzy]

Hey all, Here is an update album on our new box turtle Latte (we picked her up at a Starbucks). We are also assuming she is a female based off eye color, short tail, and her plastron is lacking a dip.
She seems to love her basking spot and stretches out her neck to get warm. Next step is trim her toenails once we get brave enough. I would also like to plant some fresh greens and add cod-liver oil to her bath. Not sure if these are good ideas.

http://imgur.com/a/eD8Op

 

[Tortugatron]

Hey all, Here is an update album on our new box turtle Latte (we picked her up at a Starbucks). We are also assuming she is a female based off eye color, short tail, and her plastron is lacking a dip.
She seems to love her basking spot and stretches out her neck to get warm. Next step is trim her toenails once we get brave enough. I would also like to plant some fresh greens and add cod-liver oil to her bath. Not sure if these are good ideas.

http://imgur.com/a/eD8Op

That is awesome! She already looks like a different turtle than the one you first showed.

You're really doing a great thing. I hope someday if you're ever in trouble a giant human comes along to save your butt like you did for Latte.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Definitely box turtle, like stated previously. I am so glad to hear you were able to save her. That is some bad pyramiding going on. I doubt she can properly close her shell like a boxie is supposed to. One thing I would suggest is not using that food bowl you have pictured in the last group of photos. It's most likely very difficult for her to be able to reach in and eat her food. It would be better to feed her on a flat lid/plate, or on a flat stone, or just on the ground. The flat stone will help to keep her nails filed and possibly help her beak from becoming overgrown, and feeding on the ground will make her swallow a little bit of the dirt as well, which I have read to be a good thing. I tend to feed my box turtle on a small red lid because boxies like bold colors like red and orange, so it draws his attention to his food. I'm contemplating getting a really flat red brick and using that as a food plate to help with his nails and beak while still having him associate the red with his food being ready.
I'm unsure if the crack in her carapace is actually a crack from an injury, or if it is simply a fold in her shell from the severe deformity. I can't really tell from the pictures. I've seen severe deformities that create deep indents/folds in the shell that look like cracks, which is why I say this. If you like, I can post example photos?
Another thing; while what you have her in now is good while she is healing, when she gets better and is healthy again (besides the life long issues she will have from the shell deformity and other possible life long issues from improper care) I would suggest putting her in something bigger. I don't know if I would suggest an outside enclosure because of the fact that she cannot close her shell up therefore leaving her vulnerable to possible predators that may or may not figure out how to get through an enclosure, and because I don't know if she can walk/run properly (can she?) so it could make it extra difficult. But I would suggest something like a tortoise table or giant sized Rubbermaid container.
You are doing excellent so far. She looks so much better already when I compare the first set of photos with the second set.