Found a Turtle !! Advice needed.

[monicatetra]

Hello everyone,

One of my co-workers found a turtle outside of my work the other day, and I was voted the one to take him home. I believe he or she is a Red Ear Slider, they sell them for pets at the big supermarket that is downstairs from my work, so my best guess is he got loose from there. I work in a mall and don't think they are native to this area so I don't think he is a wild turtle.

I would like some advice on what kind of set up he needs. I bought the biggest storage container I could find for his house and a filter and heater for the water. I read the water temp should be between 75-78 , I would like to know where I should position the heater in his house so he doesn't climb on it and burn himself. He likes to climb and broke out the little container I brought him home from work in several times the first night I brought him home before I got his bigger house.

I also found some rocks outside for his sunning spot, I would like some suggestions on how to make them clean and safe for the turtle before I give them to him.

I also bought him a UVA and UVB lamp.

 

[Tifftastic]

Normally my response would be "put it back," however, if you are certain they are not native to your area and are willing to meet the needs and long term care requirements (~30 years) of the turtle then it sounds like you are on the right track. As you have noticed sliders are very active climbers and swimmers and are generally messy.

As they can reach largish sizes a large tank is a must. I usually recommend that the tank be at least 3x as wide as the turtle is long and about 5-6x as long as the turtle. Dimensions are more important than gallons. The storage tote is probably the most economic and maybe even safest way to go. Here's some basics:
UVB: should be a 5.0 or the tropical bulb on for 8~10 hours a day and situated over the basking spot
Heat: red or white bulb, this would be the UVA, should get the basking spot tempt to roughly 85F for about 12 hours of the day or so, you can turn it off at night and leave a red light on as long as the warm spot does not drop below 70-75F
Water: should be heated to about 75F or so, can be done with a heater (made for turtles or covered with a wire protector) or heated by a red light above the water. Should be deep enough to swim in as they will only eat from the water. Will need to gravel vacuum and change the water more often than in a fish tank as the lighting is more intense as well as the waste and you will get massive algae blooms and nitrate/ammonia build up.
Basking: they need to be able to get fully out of the water and dry completely as they wish. Provide a good size floating spot to bask under the light or a sloped bottom to allow this. You can either slope the gravel, but will be resloping it regularly as they are messy. Or you can look around for different methods that people have used to provide a raised area. Pretty simple to do and lots of DIY ideas out there. But this is essential to keep the turtle from getting shell rot.
Food: an appropriate diet is essential for shell, bone and over all health. An inadequate diet can lead to shell rot, metabolic bone disease and whole mess of problems. Feed a brand of high quality turtle sticks, supplement with frozen blends, live earthworms, live crickets, or live/frozen/cut fish. Note that live foods should be given infrequently and should NEVER consist of goldfish. Goldfish have virtually no nutritional value and carry a whole myriad of diseases and parasites. Good choices are mollies/platies/guppies that come from a reliable source. Another option are frozen fish like silver sides, sardines/anchovies that are packed in water or flaked canned tuna/salmon (again in water). Feed salmon sparingly as it has a lot of oil in it. You can also do cuts of tilapia or other fish from the shop. But fish should be fed even more sparingly than insects due to fat content, maybe once a month or so. Also try to get them to eat some vegetable matter. Floating duckweed is a good option as you can leave it in the tank and it will also help keep it clean. You can offer veggies once a week or so and keep trying to get it to eat them. Leafy greens, green beans and I know some people do tomato, but be careful with how much cuz of the acidity. You shouldn't have to feed too often and turtles are gluttons and will eat more than they should. Keep an eye on its weight by looking how pudgy its legs are when it pulls into its shell. There shouldn't be rolls there. Also, I have found that feeding in a separate container, I used a large cat litter pan filled with water with a heat lamp clipped to it, will help reduce tank maintenance and feeding every other day worked well.

Again, they are a huge responsibility, live a long time and require a lot of upkeep. If this is something you can't commit to try to find out for sure if they are native to your area and find a safe place to release him. Or contact your local department of fish and wildlife for possible rehab/rescue locations. Good luck!

 

[pbeemer]

your choice of a Sterilite - type container is a good one; inexpensive and tall enough that he (probably) can't climb out. remember that the UVA and especially the UVB lamps will drastically shorten the life of the plastic. here in SoCal a Sterilite box lasts one summer outdoors before it gets hard and brittle and falls apart. you might consider painting the inside of the box to stop that.

 

[Bottomfeeder2]

A photograph of the turtle is necessary for a positive ID. Depending in your geographical location, there may be several very similar species of freshwater turtle within your range. Some may be imperiled in the wild, in which case, you should let it go, unless it's come in contact with other captive reptiles.

Without knowing exactly what species it is, it's also impossible to give specific care requirements.

 

[tricksterpup]

Trust me.. if you do not need to keep an RES.. pass it on. They are a lot of work and very Messy.

 

[monicatetra]

Thanks for everyones advice. I had a question about the heat lamp and uvb, I got one lamp that said it does both UVA & UVB and a heater for the water. The heater in the water seems to do a good job of keeping the water at 25 Celsius so far. The light that I have over his sunning rock spot is a white light, should I leave it on during the night or will it disturb with his sleep ? The room temp is no wear near the 90F without the light on. Will try to get some pics if the set up online in the next few days.

He has developed a white filmy thing around his mouth, any idea what this is and should I be worried about it?

Thanks a bunch

 

[monicatetra]

 

[Tifftastic]

I wouldn't recommend leaving the light on 24 hours a day as it will be bad for his sleep cycle. Temperature can drop a bit at night and that is fine.

 

[Bottomfeeder2]

You're gonna want to get rid of the in-tank heater when he gets bigger. He'll eventually accidentally smash it, and that could kill him.

 

[wesleydnunder]

Baby terrapins can carry salmonella. Be very careful letting children handle it. Make sure to thoroughly wash your hands and kids' hands after coming in contact with the turtle or anything in his tank.

Mark