Viggo Mortortoise
New Member
So yesterday I took in a rescue RES. A friend of mine visited a friend of hers, and saw the baby in bad conditions. I have many pets and take in rescues often, so she reached out asking if I could take it in. I didn’t have too much information in the beginning, and assumed it was some poor Petsmart turtle that was at least the legal 4 inches.
When I went to pick it up, I saw that it was SUPER tiny. Barely 2 inches. Apparently, the family bought it from some guy selling them on the side of the road and were keeping it in a small Tupperware. No heat, no light, feeding it random scraps and apparently the water was so dirty my friend had to clean him off with a paper towel because he was covered in crud. My friend told them the proper care needed for the turtle, but the family was not willing to make changes and she then convinced them to give it away.
I have owned fish, salamanders, snakes and tortoises, but never turtles.
I have him set up in a ten gallon, but the water level isn’t even halfway up. I have two plastic plants in the water, as well as a floating basking area. I have a heater for the water that at the furthest corner the temp is 80 degrees, and a heat/UVB bulb with a basking area of 86. I am feeding him the best food I could find at Petco, “Flukers Turtle Diet”. I feed him once in the morning and once in the evening. I copied the light cycle that I have set for my tortoise, it’s on 7AM to 7PM.
He has a swollen/puffy eye. He can still open and close it, and it is not red and not weepy or any puss. I am thinking maybe a Vitamin A issue? I bought “API Turtle Fix” just in case it’s a bacteria thing, and also a just in case because he was in such bad conditions.
He doesn’t spend much time in the water. When I brought him home yesterday in the afternoon, I put him in the water, but he immediately found his floating basking area and stayed there all afternoon, all evening and slept there. Today, he went in the water to eat, but went straight back to land after and hasn’t gone back in. Is this normal?
I weighed him, and he is currently 5g.
When I went to pick it up, I saw that it was SUPER tiny. Barely 2 inches. Apparently, the family bought it from some guy selling them on the side of the road and were keeping it in a small Tupperware. No heat, no light, feeding it random scraps and apparently the water was so dirty my friend had to clean him off with a paper towel because he was covered in crud. My friend told them the proper care needed for the turtle, but the family was not willing to make changes and she then convinced them to give it away.
I have owned fish, salamanders, snakes and tortoises, but never turtles.
I have him set up in a ten gallon, but the water level isn’t even halfway up. I have two plastic plants in the water, as well as a floating basking area. I have a heater for the water that at the furthest corner the temp is 80 degrees, and a heat/UVB bulb with a basking area of 86. I am feeding him the best food I could find at Petco, “Flukers Turtle Diet”. I feed him once in the morning and once in the evening. I copied the light cycle that I have set for my tortoise, it’s on 7AM to 7PM.
He has a swollen/puffy eye. He can still open and close it, and it is not red and not weepy or any puss. I am thinking maybe a Vitamin A issue? I bought “API Turtle Fix” just in case it’s a bacteria thing, and also a just in case because he was in such bad conditions.
He doesn’t spend much time in the water. When I brought him home yesterday in the afternoon, I put him in the water, but he immediately found his floating basking area and stayed there all afternoon, all evening and slept there. Today, he went in the water to eat, but went straight back to land after and hasn’t gone back in. Is this normal?
I weighed him, and he is currently 5g.