save this turtles life!

[for36545765]

I found a red eared slider turtle was being mistreated at a nearby house and took him in, in hopes of extending his life


I don't have the means to take care of the poor guy, and I'm not 100% confident he would survive in the wild.


I need some advice from someone more accustomed to deaing with reptiles as pets.


Please, I don't want him to die..

[Bettachris]

i have had a female red ear slider for 10-11 years, and now have a 6-7 year old male.

basic care includes a tank of around 30 gallons, with 1/4-1/2 parts water(given the size of the turtle)

i did have a reptile cover and a hood.

the setup was really basic, which included and internal power filter, furval has a good internal power filter. also some rocks to allow the turtle to have an area to go on "land"


for food: tetramin makes a great reptile floating turtle food in a green/yellow container. i used this and for a treat freeze dried krill, but not an everyday food.

[for36545765]

What if I don't have the means to take care of him myself?

I want this little guy to live a relatively fruitful existance; are there any means as to which I can guarantee he is taken care of? I don't even know where to begin taking him.

[Bettachris]

most lfs will take them in. but like u said never release foriegh animals into the wild, just another example of these stupid pet owners who want things and dont want to take the responicblity for them.

you can give it to a local fish store, and they should take him in, if you cant care for him.

[for36545765]

I'm not a rich man, but I decided his was a life worth saving and did what I could within my means to give him, well, at least an apartment.

I purchased a filter and a 15 gallon tank. Right now the turtle is about 4 inches long.

What should the land/water ratio be? How much water should I fill the tank with? Besides turtle food what should I feed him?

I need all the help I can get trying to raise this guy, so please give me any advice you have in mind.

[Bettachris]

i wouldn't feed him anything other than turtle food. to be honest.

umm he is still small, so a 15 should be ok.

i would fill the tank around 3-5 inches of water, and some rock structures

[for36545765]

What about temperature?

And how big should the basking area be?

[Bettachris]

around 1/3 of the tank should be rock structures for him to come out of water.

temp i am not really sure about, my turtles are at room temp, didn't use heat lamps.

[cstrohmeyer]

Red ear sliders do not need to bask (regularly)or have heat lamps like many tropical lizards, but they do need UVB light for proper formation of their carapice. Luckily they do not need many hours of UVB per day, and during warm (70 F +) days you can leave them outside in an area where the turtle can go in and out of the sun (two hours per day). Otherwise I recommend purchasing a UVB lamp at your LPS or an online store that sells them. I believe this will help with the turtles recovery.

Carl
Aquarium and Pond Maintenance and Design since 1978
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/

[I_Love_Iggy]

First off Where do you live? you could always contact the local reptile society and never know someone could take him off your hands. Second, Heres what melissa kaplan says about their food

Feeding Your Turtle
To ensure proper nutrition, strong growth and a healthy long-lived turtle, feed a varied diet to both adults and juveniles. Just remember that adults eat less animal protein and more vegetable matter. Juveniles must be fed every day; adults can be fed once every two to three days. Do not feed more than they can eat; the excess food will go to waste and foul the water. Feed a combination of the following foods:

Commercial diets (No more than 25% of total diet)
Trout Chow, commercial floating fish, reptile or turtle food (pellets, sticks or tablets). The pellets and sticks have the advantage of being formulated specifically for reptiles and don't decompose in the water as fast as other foods.

Animal Protein (No more than 25% of total diet)
Live feeder fish--do not feed defrosted frozen fish; they are deficient in thiamin and excess consumption will cause a thiamin deficiency in your turtle. Earthworms--buy them from a reptile or aquarium store; do not feed the ones from your yard as they may contain bacteria, parasites and pesticides against which your turtle has no immunity. Finely chopped raw lean beef, beef heart and cooked chicken are okay for treats, but are not appropriate as a major part of a balanced diet for whole prey eaters. Raw chicken and beef is too often riddled with Salmonella, E. coli and other food-borne organisms. High quality dog kibble can be offered occasionally as treats, too; like muscle meat, dog and cat foods are not appropriate when used as a significant portion of a turtle's diet.

Plant Matter (50% or more of total diet)
Offer leaves of dark leafy greens such as collard, mustard and dandelion greens. Offer shredded carrots (and carrot tops), squash and green beans. Thawed frozen mixed vegetables may be used occasionally, but care should be taken as some frozen green vegetables develop thiaminase which destroys that all-important B vitamin. Fruit can be offered raw; shred hard fruits like apples and melons, chopping soft fruits such as berries. To help keep their beak in trim, let them gnaw on pieces of cantaloupe with the (well washed) rind still attached. Check out the edible aquatic plants sold at aquarium stores, too. You can drop these into their enclosure for them to free feed upon.

Vitamin Supplements should be added twice a week. Use a good reptile or turtle multivitamin. Turtles must also be supplied with additional calcium; they often enjoy taking bites out of calcium blocks and gnawing on cuttlebone, so always have some available to them.




You can read the rest of the red eared slider caresheet here

http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

[tinkerbell21]

I disagree totally on beta's care info.

I have three RES (2 yrs old, less than 4 inches each)) living in 18 inches deep of water (a 90 gallon pond) I with an area large enough to come out and sun with a mercury vapor bulb which produces both heat and uvb.

Turtle pellets are not enough for a diet, pellets are a convienience food, fast food for turtles, that should only be given once or twice at most a week. Mainly because they provide vitamins etc.

Mine eat mazuri aquatic pellets, minnows, worms, snails, dandelion greens, carrots, kale and anacharis. They eat only 3 sometimes 4 days a week but have greens available at all times.

They can live otherwise but why make them suffer. I would hate to live in a closet all my life, so I can't see making a turtle live in 3-5 inches of water in a 20 gallon tank. If the turtle flips over in that amount of water they can't right themselves, which means they drown.

Check out austinsturtepage.com or turtletimes.com/forums

Give the turtle a GREAT life or give it to someone who can. Half-butting it isn't fair.

Leslie

[I_Love_Iggy]

I disagree totally on beta's care info.

I have three RES (2 yrs old, less than 4 inches each)) living in 18 inches deep of water (a 90 gallon pond) I with an area large enough to come out and sun with a mercury vapor bulb which produces both heat and uvb.

Turtle pellets are not enough for a diet, pellets are a convienience food, fast food for turtles, that should only be given once or twice at most a week. Mainly because they provide vitamins etc.

Mine eat mazuri aquatic pellets, minnows, worms, snails, dandelion greens, carrots, kale and anacharis. They eat only 3 sometimes 4 days a week but have greens available at all times.

They can live otherwise but why make them suffer. I would hate to live in a closet all my life, so I can't see making a turtle live in 3-5 inches of water in a 20 gallon tank. If the turtle flips over in that amount of water they can't right themselves, which means they drown.

Check out austinsturtepage.com or turtletimes.com/forums

Give the turtle a GREAT life or give it to someone who can. Half-butting it isn't fair.

Leslie

Agreed, Diet for turtles and other omnivorous reptiles is more complicated than people think. And these diets that are sold in petshops shouldnt be used, they can be used kinda like a summplement but shouldnt be a staple, we use dragon pellets and put it in with the greens and veggies of our Beardie, but its by now means his staple he also gets around 10 cricks and alot of mealies too.

A tip too is freeze the greens and thaw them out that way they get mushy and easier for the turtle to eat