Rescue box turtle very unhealthy need some help

Rachel1998

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I rescued a box turtle from a neglectful home. His skin is pale and pretty crusty. His nails were very long. So I took him to get them cut today and the guy at the pet store said that his eyes were puffy and his tail is missing, but he has a strong shell. So now I'm going to take him to the vet and see what they say, but is there anything I can do at home to help him get better quicker?

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LaLaP

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Poor thing! He does look a bit rough. He's going to need a beak trim too. Hopefully you have a good vet who is experienced with turtles. If so the vet can trim the beak.
In the meantime soak him. Nice long warm soaks. Water should be in the 80-90 degree range and keep it warm by continuing to add warm water.
Do you have a heat lamp and a UVB light? What substrate do you have him on? His puffy eyes could be due to either a coiled type UVB bulb or an inappropriate substrate. Send us pics of your set up and we can help you get it dialed in.
So glad he's in your hands now!

Oh I'm curious to see his missing tail too. Can you take a photo?
 

Rachel1998

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Waterford MI
Poor thing! He does look a bit rough. He's going to need a beak trim too. Hopefully you have a good vet who is experienced with turtles. If so the vet can trim the beak.
In the meantime soak him. Nice long warm soaks. Water should be in the 80-90 degree range and keep it warm by continuing to add warm water.
Do you have a heat lamp and a UVB light? What substrate do you have him on? His puffy eyes could be due to either a coiled type UVB bulb or an inappropriate substrate. Send us pics of your set up and we can help you get it dialed in.
So glad he's in your hands now!

Oh I'm curious to see his missing tail too. Can you take a photo?


He does have a heat lamp and a uvb I'm not sure what type it is but i was going to switch to the all in one bulb that did the heat and uvb. How often should i be soaking him? I know he was dehydrated when I got him but I soaked him two days ago and today he also has a soaking bowl in his tank. For the substrate I just some jungle mix from petsupply and but some sphagnum moss and sprayed the tank to keep the humidity up IMG_6010.jpg IMG_6010.jpg IMG_6013.jpg
 

ColleenT

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i would get some Vitasol bird vitamins and add one drop in the container you soak the turtle in. should be over an inch but not over 2 inches of water. not hot, but very warm water for about 20 minutes. The vitasol will help if turtle has a vitamin A deficiency, which can present with puffy eyes. it won't hurt and it might help. The substrate can be dowsed in water as well. just enough to make it damp.
 

LaLaP

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He does have a heat lamp and a uvb I'm not sure what type it is but i was going to switch to the all in one bulb that did the heat and uvb. How often should i be soaking him? I know he was dehydrated when I got him but I soaked him two days ago and today he also has a soaking bowl in his tank. For the substrate I just some jungle mix from petsupply and but some sphagnum moss and sprayed the tank to keep the humidity up View attachment 262224 View attachment 262224 View attachment 262226
Ouch! His poor little missing tail!

If he is dehydrated you could soak him daily if you have time. I rescued a very dehydrated tortoise and just soaked every day that I could for awhile.

So one thing I see is that your uvb bulb is sitting on top of the mesh top of the enclosure and that will filter out most of the benificial UVB.. same with glass tops.
The thing I've heard about the combo heat/UVB lights is that it is difficult to position them at a high for optimum heat and optimum UVB. Most UVB lights need to be pretty close (12 inches or so) to the tortoise to be effective but the height of a heat lamp has to be adjusted to create a proper basking temperature (95-100 degrees).
But some people have success with them so just something to consider.

Also that temp gauge you have is notoriously inaccurate. Digital temperature gauges are the best and a temp gun is a great tool for spot checking the basking spot, cool side, soaking water etc. Both are pretty cheap and can be purchased at a hardware store or online.

Hope this is helpful.
 

Rachel1998

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Waterford MI
Okay I'll try the vitamins and soak him as often as I can he just buried himself under the substrate so I'll have to go find him haha but thank you for all the info I'll look into the new thermometer
 

Yvonne G

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You see that tail thing a lot in mis treated box turtles. It goes along with the long curly nails and overgrown beak. It must have something to do with the lack of UVB and improper diet.
 

LaLaP

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You see that tail thing a lot in mis treated box turtles. It goes along with the long curly nails and overgrown beak. It must have something to do with the lack of UVB and improper diet.
Really?! So it's not an injury? I figured he got his tail stuck in something but it happens due to poor care, huh? So interesting... and sad of course.
 

Yvonne G

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Yup. I see it a lot in box turtles that come to me from indoor care with no outside time.
 
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