Soft shell turtle rescue-----HELP

[Meg90]

Yup. My newest rescue. A little palm sized softshell. I think its a Spiny Softie, but I will post a pic later for a proper ID.

He's covered in green algae, and his carapace is concave in one spot.

He was being fed hot dogs, turtle sticks, and bologna. And kept in a tank full to the brim with water.

I have bought a bin, some sand, and snatched up a nice flat rock for him. I'll have a basking bulb on him, and will try to get some UVB on his little behind in the next week or so. Its hard to find those bulbs short notice.

Pictures are coming----but can anyone give me any tips?

I've got the basics down care wise, but for his problems, I don't know what to do. One site said to take a soft tooth brush to his shell to get rid of the algae---so I'm going to try that, and hope to hell he doesn't hate me after. I know these guys bite.

Also, is it the same principal to tell male from female with these guys as it is torts? Long tail vrs short?

I also bought rosy minnows and crickets to try with him tonight food wise. I have mazuri and trout chow. Will he eat any vegetation? Like Spring mix, or romaine???

This is perfect timing I guess, since Eglantine, my last rescue got her forever home. Now I have time to focus on this little squirt.

 

[dmmj]

I had a soft shell for 6 years then he got a prolapse penis and I waited to long to take him to the vet and he died, after a 120$ visit. this was pre net. This is what I did I had him, I kept him on smooth rocks so he would not scrape his shell since they are prone to infection, he ate a steady diet of EW NC and gold fish, I never tried vegatation with him, since I did not know then if they ate it or not. If they are similiar to RES then they can eat greens. And watch out they have a wicked bite. Mine did have a long tail and since he was prolapsed I did in fact know it was a male. I enjoyed him a lot and I think you will also they are a great species to have but they do get big. OMG I can't believe hot dogs and bologna, sheesh.

 

[Isa]

Meg, I am so glad you found Eglantine a new forever home, I am sure she will never forget you and that she knows all what you did for her .
Poor little soft shell, I can't believe how some people take care of their pets!!!!! Ridiculous. Thank God, he his in good hands now! Good luck

 

[Meg90]

Here are some pictures:

SLIMY--You literally couldn't see 3/4 of her shell because of all the algae. I snapped this pic after I started cleaning.

She was a very good turtle. She did not run, did not try to bite.

Belly shot (I'm thinking female?)

Here you can see her "doughnut" shape. There are scrapes---I think something fell on her.

All cleaned up:

If she is in fact, female, I want to call her Ciambella (Cham bei-la) it means doughnut in Italian. Poor girl.

So come on, turtle peeps. I need some thoughts. I'm a noob here.

 

[Yvonne G]

You can add a tablespoon of table salt to the water to kill the algae. I wouldn't brush it, even with a soft brush. Their shells are pretty sensitive and they become infected pretty easy. The salt will also inhibit any bacteria. Most important is to keep the water VERY clean.

 

[Meg90]

Yvonne---I have her on 2" of play sand, and then treated warm water---should I ditch the substrate for a while, and just have her in a bin w/ water?

As you can see from the last pics, the algae is gone. I used a very soft toothbrush, and it came off very easily.

 

[Shelly]

They are pretty aquatic turtles. i'm no expert, but I don't think they bask very much.

 

[Rhyno47]

So if I add a little salt to the water in my tanks it will kill the algae?

 

[terracolson]

saw fb posting...any bits?

 

[dmmj]

Mine was not a big basker, he preffered to hide.

 

[Itort]

It's a spiny softshell. They are carnivorous. Rosy reds and other bait minnows are good but stay away from goldfish (too fatty). They also eat alot of invertebrats. A soft substat is needed and they are not big baskers like sliders or painted.

 

[Scooter]

She is beautiful, glad she is in good hands now!

 

[t_mclellan]

Meg;
Keep the sand & add the salt. These 2 things will help the best with both Algae & infection. A captive soft shell turtle without a sandy - ish substrate to burrow into is more prone to infection than 1 with it. This will also keep the Algae off.
You can stop the salt treatment after your certain that any infection (fungal or other) is gone & you probably wont need to do it again.

 

[Meg90]

Thanks for the tips every body. She was buried down in the sand last night for bed--I think she would miss it. I will add the salt today. Iodized, or sea salt? I have both.

So far, its been no dice on the minnows. But I have trout chow, and mazuri, so I will see if she likes her food to float

 

[spikethebest]

my asian soft shelled turtles LOVE to burrow in the sand to hid. it was a requirement from the reptile humane society that i got the 4 little ones from to have sand.

 

[Meg90]

Can I buy those little snails from the pet store for her? Will she eat them? I figure they might help keep the tank a bit cleaner. I know they like oxygenated water---should I get a couple live plants to add in there?

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with Larry She is a Spiney softshell, Apalone spinifera and yes looks like a female. Not sure what subspecies yet.

Danny

 

[dmmj]

Buy the plants and the snails come for free.

 

[Kristina]

Meg, if you want to PM me your address, I will send you a bunch of Ramshorn snails for her to eat. If you just stick some of them in a tub or small tank they will continue to breed and you will have a constant supply of live food. I can give more info on that, too. The Rams that I have are reds/pinks/leopards etc, so they aren't bad looking on their own!!

Kristina

 

[Itort]

I agree with Larry She is a Spiney softshell, Apalone spinifera and yes looks like a female. Not sure what subspecies yet.

Danny

I believe she is an eastern by the size of her spots. Also snails are a great food for them if you can provide the quantity (my spotteds will go through 36 or so in a week). I'd skip the live plants (except maybe duckweed) as she'll quickly trash them. Invest in a good canister filter to turn the water at least 3 times an hour.