Mistreated box turtle

Lala18

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I adopted a baby box turtle approximately 7 years ago and when I say "adopted", I mean plucked from her natural habitat without any consideration for her. I realize just how ignorant a mistake that was and have rivers of guilt for it. I did not do enough research on how to properly care for my turtle, as a result she never really grew. One day it's like I woke up from this blind slumber and realized just how badly I had treated this poor baby. Since releasing her outside would basically be a death sentence, I have done hoards of research on how to care for her in captivity. Right now she lives in a glass aquarium, which I know isn't ideal. I've put paper on the outside of the glass as "walls" so she doesn't spend all day trying to walk through glass. There is a UV light above her cage as well. She has a log to sleep under and a cuttle bone for calcium. I have one food bowl and two water bowls, ( one for bathroom and one for drinking). I keep rotating her diet with various greens and fruits and give her one red wriggler a day. Since I have changed her conditions, she comes out daily and enjoys herself a little more. I have trimmed her toenails carefully and soaked her in water while gently brushing her shell with a toothbrush. There is not a reptile veterinarian anywhere near me. I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has. As far as Shelby's health goes, I'm worried about her size. She is also breathing with her mouth open and blowing snot bubbles. Her skin is pinkish grey too. I am doing everything in my power to correct my bad choices and to give her the quality of life she deserves. Please do not respond with hateful messages. I just desparetly need advice for how to best help her. Also thank you for taking the time to read this super long post.
 

ColleenT

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well i would first tell you she appears to have MBD=Metabolic Bone disease. this is generally from not getting the right amount of calcium as she was growing. I would see if you can google anything on helping her condition, or maybe someone here can advise you, bc i am not that familiar with treating it. It is sad, but thankfully, you are willing to try to help her, now. A vet would be a great thing to have, so i would keep looking.

Also- she needs a lot of room. How large is the tank she lives in?
 

zovick

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I adopted a baby box turtle approximately 7 years ago and when I say "adopted", I mean plucked from her natural habitat without any consideration for her. I realize just how ignorant a mistake that was and have rivers of guilt for it. I did not do enough research on how to properly care for my turtle, as a result she never really grew. One day it's like I woke up from this blind slumber and realized just how badly I had treated this poor baby. Since releasing her outside would basically be a death sentence, I have done hoards of research on how to care for her in captivity. Right now she lives in a glass aquarium, which I know isn't ideal. I've put paper on the outside of the glass as "walls" so she doesn't spend all day trying to walk through glass. There is a UV light above her cage as well. She has a log to sleep under and a cuttle bone for calcium. I have one food bowl and two water bowls, ( one for bathroom and one for drinking). I keep rotating her diet with various greens and fruits and give her one red wriggler a day. Since I have changed her conditions, she comes out daily and enjoys herself a little more. I have trimmed her toenails carefully and soaked her in water while gently brushing her shell with a toothbrush. There is not a reptile veterinarian anywhere near me. I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has. As far as Shelby's health goes, I'm worried about her size. She is also breathing with her mouth open and blowing snot bubbles. Her skin is pinkish grey too. I am doing everything in my power to correct my bad choices and to give her the quality of life she deserves. Please do not respond with hateful messages. I just desparetly need advice for how to best help her. Also thank you for taking the time to read this super long post.

Where in GA do you live? You could take the Box Turtle to the UGA Vet School in Athens for treatment if you live near enough. Failing that, tell me your home city/town and I will try to find you a reliable vet near you through other resources which I have available.
 

Yvonne G

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The only thing I see is a slightly overgrown beak.

The turtle needs to be in warm, humid conditions. The diet of greens, fruit and the occasional animal protein is good, but you should also sprinkle a tiny pinch of calcium powder on the food three times a week. Place her into a shallow bowl (that she can't climb out of) of warm water every morning and leave her in there for about 15 minutes.

I think once you warm up her enclosure and give her a humid environment, she'll start to grow.
 

ColleenT

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The only thing I see is a slightly overgrown beak.

The turtle needs to be in warm, humid conditions. The diet of greens, fruit and the occasional animal protein is good, but you should also sprinkle a tiny pinch of calcium powder on the food three times a week. Place her into a shallow bowl (that she can't climb out of) of warm water every morning and leave her in there for about 15 minutes.

I think once you warm up her enclosure and give her a humid environment, she'll start to grow.

You cannot see her spine? and the concavity in her shell?
 

wellington

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I think if you once you get everything improve as mentioned you will see improvement over time. I would get her a bigger home too.
I rescued a leopard that was not in a small enclosure and was undersized for his age. With room to roam and proper diet and light/heat, he caught up to the size he should be.
 

PJay

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I don't think I have ever seen any hateful comments here on TFO, everyone just likes helping people and turtles. At first glance I agreed with Colleen, but after looking back again I'm not sure if your turtle has MBD or not, it's a bit hard to tell from the angle of that picture. A new picture of her shell profile so we can see the shape better would help. It would also help us to help you if we could see a picture of the turtles entire home. I admire you wanting to do the best you can for your turtle, keep it up!
 

domalle

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Agree with Colleen. Appears to be more than just a slightly overgrown beak. More like developmental distortions of both the maxilla (upper jaw) and an underdeveloped mandible (lower jaw). Recommend you follow up with zovick, who is nearby you, for his gracious and generous offer of expert assistance. Best of luck to you and thank you for your willingness to work on correcting the problems with your little turtle.
 

Lala18

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Where in GA do you live? You could take the Box Turtle to the UGA Vet School in Athens for treatment if you live near enough. Failing that, tell me your home city/town and I will try to find you a reliable vet near you through other resources which I have available.
I live in Macon Ga. Thank you for your help.
 

mark1

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i agree with the follow up with zovick post , if that turtle is blowing bubbles out his nose and breathing out his mouth he needs antibiotics ....... i read a lot about improving conditions and they'll get better .... my opinion is you can improve the conditions to perfect and they still have a better chance of succumbing to their illness than recovering ............... at minimum take him to a bird vet so they can dose him with fortaz (ceftazidime) ...... if you have a yard that little guy could have a great life in a secured small garden and never need to come in your house ........jmo

his diet definitely needs adjusted .
 

zovick

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I live in Macon Ga. Thank you for your help.

Not many reptile vets in that area. Would you be willing/able to go to Atlanta? There are 2-3 good ones there and they all have office hours on Saturdays (not every Saturday, but some).
 

TammyJ

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Best of luck and stick with us here for good help with your turtle!
 

Lala18

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Not many reptile vets in that area. Would you be willing/able to go to Atlanta? There are 2-3 good ones there and they all have office hours on Saturdays (not every Saturday, but some).

My Mother just found an exotic vet in Macon. Many years back we owned pet rats (yes rats!) and we loved our exotic vet. She isn't available anymore but my Mom recalled a recommended vet named Dr Brown. She works at the Plantation Center animal hospital. I called and she isn't working this weekend but she will be on Monday. Dr Brown is supposed to be very good but if not I'll have to go to Atlanta. Thank you again for all of your help. I will update how the vet visit went on Monday.
 

zovick

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My Mother just found an exotic vet in Macon. Many years back we owned pet rats (yes rats!) and we loved our exotic vet. She isn't available anymore but my Mom recalled a recommended vet named Dr Brown. She works at the Plantation Center animal hospital. I called and she isn't working this weekend but she will be on Monday. Dr Brown is supposed to be very good but if not I'll have to go to Atlanta. Thank you again for all of your help. I will update how the vet visit went on Monday.

That is great news. Your mom just saved me some additional detective work! Good luck with the visit and with your box turtle in the future also.
 

Maro2Bear

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Check your temps, are you soaking at all? Definitely need a much larger enclosure, more leaf litter and areas to climb, dig, bury. U don't need two watering areas... One sunken dish below substrate level will provide soaking, drinking area. Food? Crickets, worms, some grubs....etc. Go take a walk in a boggy, swampy areas in your area....look whst mother nature provides, and try to replicate. Warmer temps during daylight hours (heat lamps on timers) cooler, dark areas to hide in.
 

PJay

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Best of luck on your trip to the vet! Do you have any way to measure the temperature and humidity in your tank? I've had good luck with this and it doesn't cost much: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013BKDO8/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

I would also suggest getting some fake plants to put in your tank to help the turtle feel more secure. I bought some plastic plants that look like a long ivy vine at the dollar store, my turtles love to hide in it and it helps create small areas of higher humidity. You can hang some across the top of your tank with large binder clips and leave others sprawled out on the substrate. I notice my turtles out wandering around much more with the extra cover to hide in.

If you haven't seen it yet, there are some good tips in the TFO box turtle care sheet: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/box-turtle-care-sheet.93937/ and this link has some good options for box turtle diet: http://www.boxturtlefacts.org/Feeding_North_American_Box_Turtles.pdf
 

lisa127

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You definitely need a vet for snot bubbles and open mouth breathing. Were you able to get an appt?

This turtle needs a more humid environment. Deep, damp dirt type substrate, cover the top so humidity doesnt escape, and adjust the heat as the heat will not be escaping either. invest in a temperature gun! UVB and calcium are very important. Definitely provide more cover in that enclosure.

This turtle needs more protein. Protein is needed for growth. Even an adult box turtle should have a diet of 50% protein. I disagree with "occasional animal protein" for a box turtle. Earthworms (nightcrawlers) are great for them. Other insects need to be gut loaded and dusted. Provide cuttlebone also.

Good luck. He sure is cute!
 
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