Oh my! Rescue #28

[Yvonne G]

Are you ready for this? I think this is about the worst I've ever dealt with. I'm not a water turtle person, but I THINK this is a Yellow Bellied Slider. Note the beak. All that fuzzy-looking stuff behind the head is loose, fluffy skin, sort of like a loose wart. This turtle was raised from about 3 years of age until now, 10 years, in a plastic tote with a very small amount of water, and in the house, no light, no heat. All he was fed, the whole 10 years, was:

 

[DevilsLettuce]

Breaks my heart.
I thank you for having such a big heart and taking it in

 

[guille24]

That makes me angry ! I feel really bad. For that little guy :/

 

[luvpetz27]

That poor precious guy!! I feel so sick right now!! I cant even imagine how much pain he has went thru. He is very luck to have you Yvonne.

 

[Yvonne G]

The people who brought him to me couldn't find a bigger plastic tote, and their daughter (who's turtle it was) didn't live there anymore. They had no idea that there was anything wrong with the turtle. They tried to find him on the 'net to know what he was, but couldn't find another picture that looks like him.

For his size, he's very heavy. And he pooches out around his legs (overweight).

I haven't decided what to do with him yet. It would be nice if I could find him a home where they can use him as an example of how to NOT care for a water turtle...like school presentations, etc.

I suppose I could set up another water trough and make up another biological filter and keep him, but I really don't want to.

If there is anyone in the Fresno/Clovis area who wants this turtle, he's up for adoption and its free.

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

Poor guy,horrible what some ppl do.

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[kanalomele]

Ugh! It is amazing what people will tell themselves is normal.

 

[ShellyTurtlesCats]

Sooo sad

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[Baoh]

So sad.

Your dobi sure is beautiful, though.

 

[mike taylor]

Man that's terrible I have never seen one that bad .

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[SpdTrtl]

This breaks my heart. In this day in age with access to the internet "I didn't know" is simply not acceptable. Even people who get bad advice on the internet get at least one or two things right. Geesh!

 

[WillTort2]

Ouch! Remarkable that the turtle even survived.

Do you think the biggest factor was lack of UV or the diet?

 

[lkwagner]

That's awful, makes me so sad

 

[BriBri]

My dad recently was given one by a little girl with the same problem . He couldn't keep it so dropped it off at a vet . It was sad just looking at her . Thamks ton these forums I had some information and knowledge that something was wrong with her .

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[mike taylor]

You know Yvonne if you would ship him to me I would love to have him . But if you can find someone that can use him to teach the does and don'ts it would be best . I fill sorry for this guy and it needs a pampered life.

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[ILoveTortoises2]

WOW.... I am lost for words right now. Poor little guy. I hope he finds a good home. This is just horrible there is NO way someone didn't know that this is what it was supposed to look like. My 2 year old daughter would know it looks sick and not healthy. GOSH ppl these days.... Makes me wanna go huge my little torts now

 

[Anthony P]

I'm interested to see what comes of this.

It is Trachemys scripta scripta. The head looks like that of an anorexic turtle, and the legs appear obese.. It doesn't add up.

And if eating those pellets, I'm surprised to see the overgrown beak. Overgrown beaks are not as common in aquatics, and I am surprised to see it in a turtle that's been eating pellets.

I also doubt that this animal has been eating those pellets the entire time. Zoomed maintenance formula is a good food choice for sliders. Obviously no light is an issue, but if you had to feed one food item, that pellet is the best you could do, since it has a list of decent ingredients, making it more of a diet than an item.

This is really sad. Hope a lifetime of suffering for this poor creature was worth the little enjoyment they got from it. There is no excuse for poor husbandry in the Internet age. Just my thought.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Wow.... I'm at a loss for words

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[lynnedit]

Oh good grief. Poor little thing.

I hope someone can take him in your area, Yvonne.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Wow.
Bloodwork and X-rays would be very interesting on this poor little man. If you were near me I'd offer to do that for him, no charge.
Breaks my heart.

I say send him to Mike, overnight. And start a thread on his progress as he "heals" and gets healthy.

Your description of his housing makes me thing of the movie "Silence of the Lambs", being trapped in a pit.