Hello,
This is my first time posting and my first time ever having a turtle. I found the hatchling outside, (well, my Mom's dog found it) and it looked a little worse for wear. It was upside down, not sure if the dog flipped it or found it that way, one eye was crusted shut and there was some abrasions on its back legs and tail. Found out through some research online that the eye was a somewhat common issue and would probably resolve on its own with the right humidity, but I didn't want to leave it outside with the injuries when it was so small, about the size of a half-dollar. I have a 'reptile room' in my house that is full of Leo's, Beardies, and Anoles, so I tend to be very soft-hearted when it comes to reptiles anyways. So I brought him inside to see if I could help him recover and had planned on releasing him as soon as he got better.
I put him in a rubbermaid tub that I had used for my Leo's as hatchlings and mixed up some Eco-earth and sphagnum moss for substrate and keep it really moist. I had an extra Reptisun 5.0 that I'm using on him set for 8 hrs a day. The ambient temperature in the room itself stays around 75 degrees at night, and peaks at about 80 degrees during the day sometimes if its warmer outside, so I didn't think an additional heat source would be necessary, however, I did place part of the tub on a 5 watt UTH just too keep the moisture on the warmer side and let the turtle choose where he wanted to go. Fast-forward a few weeks and his eye is completely open now and the cut on his legs and tail are finally all healed up. He's eating mealworms, but doesn't seem that interested in greens and such, but I'm aware of the extra protein needed for omnivorous hatchling's growth so I don't worry about that part too much.
Here is my dilemma; it's now getting cold here in Maryland. Would it be better to keep him through the winter (obviously changing to a bigger habitat) or do you think he would be alright outside? It is supposed to get up into the mid 50's this week but it has been getting down into the 30's at night. I know more about lizards then I do turtles and tortoises, so I'm not sure about their behavior and survival patterns in the wild as much. Has he missed his window of opportunity to find some place to make it through the winter? Sorry this got so long.
This is my first time posting and my first time ever having a turtle. I found the hatchling outside, (well, my Mom's dog found it) and it looked a little worse for wear. It was upside down, not sure if the dog flipped it or found it that way, one eye was crusted shut and there was some abrasions on its back legs and tail. Found out through some research online that the eye was a somewhat common issue and would probably resolve on its own with the right humidity, but I didn't want to leave it outside with the injuries when it was so small, about the size of a half-dollar. I have a 'reptile room' in my house that is full of Leo's, Beardies, and Anoles, so I tend to be very soft-hearted when it comes to reptiles anyways. So I brought him inside to see if I could help him recover and had planned on releasing him as soon as he got better.
I put him in a rubbermaid tub that I had used for my Leo's as hatchlings and mixed up some Eco-earth and sphagnum moss for substrate and keep it really moist. I had an extra Reptisun 5.0 that I'm using on him set for 8 hrs a day. The ambient temperature in the room itself stays around 75 degrees at night, and peaks at about 80 degrees during the day sometimes if its warmer outside, so I didn't think an additional heat source would be necessary, however, I did place part of the tub on a 5 watt UTH just too keep the moisture on the warmer side and let the turtle choose where he wanted to go. Fast-forward a few weeks and his eye is completely open now and the cut on his legs and tail are finally all healed up. He's eating mealworms, but doesn't seem that interested in greens and such, but I'm aware of the extra protein needed for omnivorous hatchling's growth so I don't worry about that part too much.
Here is my dilemma; it's now getting cold here in Maryland. Would it be better to keep him through the winter (obviously changing to a bigger habitat) or do you think he would be alright outside? It is supposed to get up into the mid 50's this week but it has been getting down into the 30's at night. I know more about lizards then I do turtles and tortoises, so I'm not sure about their behavior and survival patterns in the wild as much. Has he missed his window of opportunity to find some place to make it through the winter? Sorry this got so long.
