Cyphinitar
New Member
Hi! In late March, an elderly man fell off the sidewalk while hanging up signs. I was driving down the street back to our house. When I helped him up and made sure everything was alright,(he was unharmed, just shocked.) he told me he found a weird looking turtle in his front yard that morning and was looking for it’s owners. Interested, I followed him back to his home. I have family in NC and visit often so I knew he was a EBT at first sight. He had him in a Tupperware box filled with water and carrots, so I took him out and examined him. His shell looked like he has been in a few fights, and was a vivid orange color. I offered to hold onto him until the man found the owners. He agreed and I took him home. He hasn’t contacted me since. I even went up to his house recently and still nothing. So, I did some research. The setup back then was a 50 gallon glass aquarium with eco earth and spaghnum moss substrate. I estimated 70-80% humidity while keeping the tank 75-80 as the ambient temp and cranking it up to 85 midday. He had a heat lamp and uvb lighting. When I first had him he would eat pretty much anything you gave him: Tomatoes, lettuce, bananas, etc. His staple protein is super worms. So about two months in, he starts banging his head against the glass, and I’m terrified. Since then he lives outside (no official enclosure, just my front and back yard.), and on hot days roams the house. He stopped eating anything other than super worms and I have to put him in his water bowl for him to rehydrate. I’m worried about him and have yet to take him to the vet. I feel like I’m neglecting him and started handling him more but he’s a turtle, so he doesn’t like that. I don’t know what to do at this point and surrendering him to a better home occasionally crosses my mind. Any tips or advice? If you notice anything in the pictures, please let me know.