OMG FML Please HELP!

[jfosdick]

I am a manager at the local pet store in Marquette, MI and today a woman came in with a baby tortoise. She was clearing out an abandoned house and found a fish tank in it. The only thing in the fish tank was potting soil and this little guy. He had been in the unheated house, in sub-zero or close to sub-zero temperatures for at least a week. Completely abandoned! I couldnt beleive people could be so cruel! Especially to something so cute and harmless! She gave him to me with the promise that I would make him better. His vent was all plastered over with diarrhea and he has a bit of what looks like dead skin on his head. I put him in a warm water bath right away and he seemed really happy to be warm. I cleaned his vent with some wet paper towel. His tail seems to be covered in unshed skin, but I didnt want to pull to hard so I will let him soak longer tomorrow and hopefully it will soften it enough then. Lastly I rubbed his shell down with some moisturizing cream we have for turtles.

Currently I have him in a 10 gallon tank with a UVB bulb, heat lamp, cocosoft beading, a hide box, and water and food dishes. He is only about 3-4 inches across.

I know about basic care for tortoises, but have no personal experience with them at all. I have no idea with type he is or what his specific needs might be. I currently am feeding him meal worms and baby spring mix with a little calcium on top. He is attemping to eat, lunging at the leaves, but I have yet to see him actually eat one. He seems curious about his surroundings and is really comical to watch. I just really want things to work out for him. I never thought I would own a tortoise, but this guy is something else. I would like him to stick around. In the morning we will be going to the vet. The U.P. isnt known for its reptile specialists though, so it might be rough.

Here are some pics. Sorry about the quality, my webcam is all I have. Please comment on anything! I need to learn a lot fast!

 

[brianfurtado]

Good on you! Good Luck! I'm sure you'll get tons of help.

 

[dreadyA]

Oh my. He's deformed, so i cant even tell!
He kinda looks like a box turtle though..You willget the help you need here, so dont worry!Someone else will chime in.
Good luck

 

[terracolson]

oh my, poor thing.. I cant tell what it is....

I konw one of the more experienced members will recognize it. I can tell it is very deformed, lack of calcium or high protein diet?

 

[Meg90]

What you have there is a sadly deformed box turtle, not a tortoise. Goodonya for rescuing the little guy!

How do you have him setup? Boxies like dark, warm and moist.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I'm thinking box turtle too - perhaps a three toed?

 

[jfosdick]

So many replies so fast!!! You guys are great! I can deal with a box turtle Gonna make this guy handy-capable

As for the set-up, it is just a thrown together contraption I picked up when i was leaving work. It will change as it needs to tomorrow, but I figured it would do ok for the night. I know that box turtles are cool. lol. Thats it. Let the research begin! I am huge into reef aquariums, so aside from a lepard gecko this is my first attempt at reptiles.

 

[Meg90]

You can pick up a bag of peat moss, or Cyprus bedding. I keep my boxie on a moist mixture of the two, with a red heat lamp on providing a nice warm atmosphere, with a slightly hotter end. Make sure you have a water dish big enough for him to get in and out of---they LOVE to soak. Egg comes running when I fill the dish with fresh warm water. Her bowl is deeper than my torts too. They like water. UVB would be a good idea, since its a young turtle and still growing. A 2.0-5.0 tube would be good--don't use a mercury vapor bulb, those are too hot and too bright.

Try some fruit with him, along with the greens and bugs. Eglantine LOVES earth worms, (crawlers) those are her favorite. She also likes apple, berries etc.

 

[jfosdick]

Thanks Meg!

I have a 5.0 bulb on him. What temp should I shoot for? How moist is moist? Depth on the water? Over his head? Do you know how to sex them? lol it would be nice to know if he was a he. Thanks again! Is the 10G gonna cut it for a while?

-Josh

 

[Meg90]

Moist like the dirt packs, but water doesn't squeeze out. If its deep enough, it should hold nice humidity that way. They also like to burrow. You want the overall temp in the 80s at least. You just want to keep things humid. I mist with warm water one-two times a day as well. Egg loves it.

Eglantines dish is just a little deeper than the bridge of where carapace (top of shell) meets plastron.

My advice is to go to target or walmart and get a nice rubbermaid bin, and set him up in that. Lower visibility will help him from getting too stressed. This is an old vid of Eglantine's enclosure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_VgH2sa4Q You can pick up some cheap plants from Walmart/dollar tree etc and just stick them right in the substrate--Egg is always under one plant or the other.

If you can post a clear picture of the tail area sexing might be possible. How big is he? This is how to measure http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm

 

[terryo]

It looks like a box turtle, but the pictures aren't too clear. Does it have three toes on it's back legs? Can you post a better picture? If it is a boxie....... I keep mine in a planted vivarium. The one's I keep come from the forest floor, in highly wooded area's. Low light, high humidity, substrate to bury into, some plants to hide under, and keep in the humidity, water to soak in, plenty of small bugs, worms, (meal worms, wax worms, butter worms, veggies, fruit...) I make a mixture of soaked mazuri, with chopped up veggies, fruit, and some greens sprinkled with calcium powder, and a few chopped up worms on top, some gut fed crickets too.
Does he look anything like this?

---

 

[kimber_lee_314]

It looks like it might be too young to sex.

 

[jfosdick]

Its just 3 inches at the widest part of the shell left to right. He has three toes, but 4 claws on his feet and he is just so wierd he doesnt look like any of the boxies... his beak is a little long to but I dont think that is his biggest worry. It appears he has some diarrhia that I am hoping will cure his problems. His shell deformity is caused by a lack of calcium right? Can i give him to much calcium? I guess I should just try to get him to eat first. I think the new environment will be rocking tomorrow and help him be a little more confident. I am worries about his eyes too - they look a little puffy and there is a slight tearing. Not enough to actually form a tear, but enough to notice. Is that normal? He is sleeping

 

[dreadyA]

The eye problem might be from being kept too dry. Turts and torts usually control their own intake of calcium if you provide them with a cuttlebone or pure calcium powder.
His deformity is a combination of improper diet, lighting, and humidity.
He's in good hands, now!

 

[Turtledude]

This might be taboo on this forum but I am a turtle guy myself, and looking at him/her i would strongly recomend posting these pics on turtletimes.com. My insticts are telling me this is some kind of turtle and not tortoise. his plasteron does look ornate box turtlish but the top and side photos dont line up. anyways they have a whole section for species identification of turtletimes and the guys on that forum are topnotch compared to any other turtle forum i visited. It is vital to identify what species it is in order to really know how to take care of it. in tortoises and turtles ALLOT can very from species to species

 

[Turtledude]

i couldnt edit my last post since 30 mins has elapsed but this one?

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm thinking its an eastern box turtle because of the coloration on the plastron. I'm so glad you were able to rescue this poor little turtle. Meg has given you some good advice. Keep up the warm soaks and eventually the poop will come off the tail.

to the forum!

Even though this is called the Tortoise Forum, we have many members who know about turtles. You've made a good choice to join here.

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with Yvonne It's an Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina.

Danny

 

[chadk]

http://aboxturtle.com/

Box turtle info.

 

[jfosdick]

Thanks everyone!