Found her

[Alex Z]

Very young ybs...her shell is deformed. I go by central park to the local pond and feed the turtles there. As I was leaving, I heard rustling in the grass. There she was. Immediately put her in my duffel bag. She lives currently in a 40g breeder with all the trimmings. A fluval fx4 is doing the cleaning. Very alert and eating too. Is there meds or a treatment to help correct the curvature or is this it? She has been with us since Thursday.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Ah geez. You can't fix metabolic bone disease, but you can certainly give the little guy a better life by providing the right amount of calcium and UVB it needs to absorb the calcium. MBD may also stunt this guys growth.

How awful to ruin an animal's life and then just dump it near a pond...I'm glad there are people like you out there to notice and change their life for the better.

 

[wellington]

Very poorly kept turtle, just to be dumped off, very sad.
@Anthony P might be able to give you some more help.

 

[TammyJ]

Good rescue! I have a RES with a similar problem and although the shell will always be deformed, he is doing just fine now with me and getting the right care.

 

[Markw84]

Alex. Not that young! Looks to be several years old. The upward curving is the combination of being raise too dry and exacerbated by MBD which keep the bone way too pliable. IN tortoises, dry conditions cause the edges of the scutes to force growth downward, creating valleys. In aquatics, as they continually add new keratin along the entire underside of a scute, the inbalance of too dry on top will cause the scute to bend upwards along the edges of the carapace. If you could take a good quality picture of this and post, I would like to add it as a classic example in my files.

So this was a long term captive that was released in that lake! If acting healthy, it can go on to live a good life with you. No meds will help. Think of it just as you would a severely pyramided tortoise. Get it on a good diet, and good UVB exposure (although diet will provide most of the D3 for aquatics) and you will have a "unique looking" but grateful pet!!

 

[Maitaimommy]

Sad indeed but maybe the person who "dumped' this poor turtle was trying to give it another chance. Inxperienced turtle/ tort keepers make mistakes. No one knows exactly why he was put there. The important thing is that Alex Z found him and can give him another chance

 

[Alicia Hoogstra]

I'm so glad you found this little turtle and hopefully he's future is bright!

 

[cdmay]

Very poorly kept turtle, just to be dumped off, very sad.
@Anthony P might be able to give you some more help.

Agree. A dumped off turtle.
On a positive note, she should be just fine with TLC, good lighting and a proper diet. Won't ever be a movie star, but can have a nice life.

 

[wellington]

Sad indeed but maybe the person who "dumped' this poor turtle was trying to give it another chance. Inxperienced turtle/ tort keepers make mistakes. No one knows exactly why he was put there. The important thing is that Alex Z found him and can give him another chance

There is absolutely no good reason to dump an animal of any kind! Wanting to give an animal a better life then what one can give is a good thing. So, you take it to an animal/reptile rescue, you don't dump it! Dumping an animal is animal abuse and neglect period!!!

 

[Alex Z]

Good rescue! I have a RES with a similar problem and although the shell will always be deformed, he is doing just fine now with me and getting the right care.

Glad to hear that!! Where do you keep it housed?

 

[Alex Z]

Alex. Not that young! Looks to be several years old. The upward curving is the combination of being raise too dry and exacerbated by MBD which keep the bone way too pliable. IN tortoises, dry conditions cause the edges of the scutes to force growth downward, creating valleys. In aquatics, as they continually add new keratin along the entire underside of a scute, the inbalance of too dry on top will cause the scute to bend upwards along the edges of the carapace. If you could take a good quality picture of this and post, I would like to add it as a classic example in my files.

So this was a long term captive that was released in that lake! If acting healthy, it can go on to live a good life with you. No meds will help. Think of it just as you would a severely pyramided tortoise. Get it on a good diet, and good UVB exposure (although diet will provide most of the D3 for aquatics) and you will have a "unique looking" but grateful pet!!

Beautifully worded!! And ty...I will when I get back home later today..

 

[TammyJ]

There is absolutely no good reason to dump an animal of any kind! Wanting to give an animal a better life then what one can give is a good thing. So, you take it to an animal/reptile rescue, you don't dump it! Dumping an animal is animal abuse and neglect period!!!

I agree that an animal should not be "dumped". However, it is possible that the person (maybe a child?) did not think of his/her action as "dumping" the animal, but rather, as "freeing" or "releasing" it from an unfortunate or untenable situation in the best way that he/she was capable of. It could be that the person who did this did it with the best interest of the animal at heart, albeit that it was done in ignorance, and should not have been.

 

[Maitaimommy]

Well stated! I would use the word inexperience instead of ignorance though

 

[Maitaimommy]

Knowledge is power!!!!

 

[TammyJ]

Glad to hear that!! Where do you keep it housed?

In a big plastic tub in my garden at home.
I will look for some pics of "Alfie" and post them in here so you can compare him with yours.

 

[wellington]

I am very glad your helping it out though. Great for the turtle. Hope he can finally find some peace and a good life.

 

[Stevieturtlelady]

You tell em! Your turtle is adorable!

 

[Stevieturtlelady]

Goodnight!

 

[Maitaimommy]

Goodnight as well!

 

[Shaif]

What an AWESOME story! Good luck, Alex. I hope you have found yourself a shelled friend for life. And he/she is so lucky to have found you!