Solid Snake
Avid Member
Its super cool!
I have actually wanted a turtle for a bit now. Maybe Ill keep her.
Thanks again.
I have actually wanted a turtle for a bit now. Maybe Ill keep her.
Thanks again.
Turtle people, HELP
- Thread starter Solid Snake
- Start date
reptilover
New Member
Its super cool!HTML:
I have actually wanted a turtle for a bit now. Maybe Ill keep her.
Thanks again.
That is precisely wat I would do no questions asked
And jdog would be....?
CamiGirl89
New Member
Great job, Solid Snake! Maybe put some Neosporin on those wounds or something. They are truly amazing, I found one while I was out running last summer, it had a flattened back end, as if a car or bike or something ran over it when it was younger. Got around the trails just fine without a care in the world! These animals are amazing! Glad you found her!
Glad you found her!
Solid Snake
Avid Member
Me too!
I cleaned her up this morning with some diluted peroxide, and gave her a nice soaking, then dried the wounds, and applied some ointment. Im going to pick up some betadine tomorrow, as I think that would be a much better thing to use on the wounds. She ate some worms, with calcium on them, but have not got her to eat any vegetation. She seems to be doing well, and is very active! Shes quite the little ninja actually, always trying to escape ;/
I cleaned her up this morning with some diluted peroxide, and gave her a nice soaking, then dried the wounds, and applied some ointment. Im going to pick up some betadine tomorrow, as I think that would be a much better thing to use on the wounds. She ate some worms, with calcium on them, but have not got her to eat any vegetation. She seems to be doing well, and is very active! Shes quite the little ninja actually, always trying to escape ;/
Trillian
New Member
How is she doing?
At my (effing AWESOME) vet visit last week he showed me a box turtle he had (he takes in reptiles for boarding and hibernation, and a box turtle laid a clutch and the owner told him he could keep them) and they are amazing. I had no idea how odd they are, they are like half tortoise half turtle. Tortoise shell and front legs, fishy turtley back legs. And gorgeous. If he didn't smell so much like a fish I'd definitely want one.
At my (effing AWESOME) vet visit last week he showed me a box turtle he had (he takes in reptiles for boarding and hibernation, and a box turtle laid a clutch and the owner told him he could keep them) and they are amazing. I had no idea how odd they are, they are like half tortoise half turtle. Tortoise shell and front legs, fishy turtley back legs. And gorgeous. If he didn't smell so much like a fish I'd definitely want one.
Solid Snake
Avid Member
She seems to be doing well.
Thanks for asking!
They are pretty cool huh?
I keep her wounds cleaned, and she stays in an outdoor pen I made for here.
The wounds seem to be healing well, and it seems new tissue has started to grow over the areas where the shell was dmaged.
I catch snails, slugs, and earthworms for her, Im not exactly sure how much she eats, but she poos a LOT almost every time she gets a soak. lol
So she is eating.
She spends most of her day hidden in long grass. I believe she waits for insects to come to her there, where she snags them up. This is behavior I did not expect. Apparently they dont eat much vegetation in the wild, and are mostly carnivorous. I offer here turnip and collard greens anyhow, but so far I dont believe she has eaten any. ;/
She may be eating the other grasses and plant materials that are in there though.
Ill get some snaps of her up soon
Thanks for asking!
They are pretty cool huh?
I keep her wounds cleaned, and she stays in an outdoor pen I made for here.
The wounds seem to be healing well, and it seems new tissue has started to grow over the areas where the shell was dmaged.
I catch snails, slugs, and earthworms for her, Im not exactly sure how much she eats, but she poos a LOT almost every time she gets a soak. lol
So she is eating.
She spends most of her day hidden in long grass. I believe she waits for insects to come to her there, where she snags them up. This is behavior I did not expect. Apparently they dont eat much vegetation in the wild, and are mostly carnivorous. I offer here turnip and collard greens anyhow, but so far I dont believe she has eaten any. ;/
She may be eating the other grasses and plant materials that are in there though.
Ill get some snaps of her up soon
Synapse
Member
Oh wow, can't believe I missed this thread. Looks like our chamforum vet Ferret already got you covered though. I've seen some banged up turtles over the years (I have a few rescues of my own), but don't worry they are extremely hardy animals and will rebound quickly if cared for correctly. Lucky we have some great people on this forum to get advice from!
Solid Snake
Avid Member
Oh wow, can't believe I missed this thread. Looks like our chamforum vet Ferret already got you covered though. I've seen some banged up turtles over the years (I have a few rescues of my own), but don't worry they are extremely hardy animals and will rebound quickly if cared for correctly. Lucky we have some great people on this forum to get advice from!
Indeed! I never recieved a response from anyone else I contacted.
Had the info I needed here in a flash!
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
I owned a box turtle and they are amazing escape artists
Solid Snake
Avid Member
Lol
Thats my excuse...I actually think this is a turtle I had found before, a few weeks prior. I had amakeshift pen around it, in the same place I found it, to observe it for a few days. It escaped that pen in an hour or so! LOL The turtle was uninjured then though.
So even just delaying it for a few hours, and not moving it from where it was, I feel a little responsible. 
Yay glad to see she's doing well with you so far! Earthworms are a huge fav for box turtles, and they are primarily carnivorous, especially as juveniles. If you'd like to try some more herbivorous things though they love the color red, so strawberries are usually a hit with mine! They also love mango. Mango has good calcium content so I like to give the that. I've also given mine dusted gutloaded crickets. As babies they went crazy for them! You just have to put them in a box where crix can't escape while they're eating.
As for waiting for food to come to them, you should see mine! When I come outside both baby ornates run out of thir hiding places and crane their little necks straight up into the air as high as they can, eagerly awaiting sky food (I drop in the food)! It's kind of the cutest thing ever! All 5 of my adult 3-toed also come running when they hear me scrape the shovel into a rocky area of soil always super populated with earthworms. They know that sound means chow time!
Betadine will be much better as you only want to use peroxide in the first few days. Peroxide will actually damage the delicate new healing tissue so once healing begins you don't want to use it anymore. Dilute Betadine won't hurt the new tissue and has better residual effects for fungal and bacterial agents.
I use a big terra cotta pot saucer for a water bowl since those are nice and shallow so they can climb in and out easily and still drink easily. Box turtles love water, and that's where they prefer to poop (as she's shown you). Stick one of those in her house and you'll probably see her in and out of it several times a day. Mine love theirs.
As for waiting for food to come to them, you should see mine! When I come outside both baby ornates run out of thir hiding places and crane their little necks straight up into the air as high as they can, eagerly awaiting sky food (I drop in the food)! It's kind of the cutest thing ever! All 5 of my adult 3-toed also come running when they hear me scrape the shovel into a rocky area of soil always super populated with earthworms. They know that sound means chow time!
Betadine will be much better as you only want to use peroxide in the first few days. Peroxide will actually damage the delicate new healing tissue so once healing begins you don't want to use it anymore. Dilute Betadine won't hurt the new tissue and has better residual effects for fungal and bacterial agents.
I use a big terra cotta pot saucer for a water bowl since those are nice and shallow so they can climb in and out easily and still drink easily. Box turtles love water, and that's where they prefer to poop (as she's shown you). Stick one of those in her house and you'll probably see her in and out of it several times a day. Mine love theirs.
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Solid Snake
Avid Member
That does sound like the cutest thing ever lol
I know a little about first aid
so I did only use the peroxide the first two days. I use a soft (new)toothbrush to clean uff all the dirt she gets on herself then she gets a soaking, then another gentle scrub, then a coating of the betadine on the wounded areas. She refuses to stay in her shell during this process So its a pain to treat the areas around her head, as I dont want to get it in her eyes. She seems to enjoy a good misting also, she reaches her neck way out, and looks like she is cleaning her eyes.
I dont have a water dish in there for her atm, so I will add one.
Sorry I have not put update pics of her up, Ive been terribly busy
I will soonish though, I hope
Thanks again for the info ferret
camimom
New Member
Just read this thread!
SO glad you found her and are caring for her!!!
Cant wait for new pix!
I once found a huge snapping turtle that had a 4 inch gash on its head from a lawnmower running it over.
It was inflamed.. infected.. and even had a couple maggots in it! (most disgusting thing ever)
I took it to my local wildlife rescue where I volunteered every weekend, and they got him all cleaned up...
It was an old converted house.. they kept him in the upstairs bathrub.. haha.
after about 3 months.. he was cleaned up and released!!!
SO glad you found her and are caring for her!!!
Cant wait for new pix!
I once found a huge snapping turtle that had a 4 inch gash on its head from a lawnmower running it over.
It was inflamed.. infected.. and even had a couple maggots in it! (most disgusting thing ever)
I took it to my local wildlife rescue where I volunteered every weekend, and they got him all cleaned up...
It was an old converted house.. they kept him in the upstairs bathrub.. haha.
after about 3 months.. he was cleaned up and released!!!
Solid Snake
Avid Member
First off, here is Rio, as of now:
...then...
I have found another chewed turtle.
Her name is Bigurl. Because she is bigger than Rio
This is her:
Her wounds are much less sever than Rio's, she is probably fine really.
Rio's back end is awful.
Them after a soaking, and cleaning:
For these photos and more, check out my Turtle album:http://s618.photobucket.com/albums/tt263/davidfishman/Turtles/
They both live together in the same pen. I am reluctant to release them now, as Im quite sure there is a Jersey Devil living in the woods behind my backyard, that is chewing them.
...then...
I have found another chewed turtle.
Her name is Bigurl. Because she is bigger than Rio
This is her:
Her wounds are much less sever than Rio's, she is probably fine really.
Rio's back end is awful.
Them after a soaking, and cleaning:
For these photos and more, check out my Turtle album:http://s618.photobucket.com/albums/tt263/davidfishman/Turtles/
They both live together in the same pen. I am reluctant to release them now, as Im quite sure there is a Jersey Devil living in the woods behind my backyard, that is chewing them.
Wow, 2 in such a short time? So someone with turtles in a poorly constructed pen next to someone with a chew happy dog live around you. Poor things! I love the pattern on Bigurl's head! Beautiful! They were very lucky to find you!
Solid Snake
Avid Member
The thing is, no one lives around me
Not rightly anyhow.
I have seen dead possums on the road, but these look like large teeth marks to me, like a dog yes. It would have to be a stray, or something larger living in the woods.
There is a large hole, that tunnels under the corner of my back fence, on the immediate other side, there is thick woods. I can only imagine they are coming through this hole, as that is the only way to get on my side of the fence.
How does Rio's behind look to you? Its still very fleshy, but a much thicker layering of tissue has grown over it than was there before.
What is your opinion on releasing them again? I dont mind caring for them, but I want whats best for them, and the turtle population here.
Bigurl is beautiful! She stayed in her shell for forever! I was very surprised to see how colorful she was when she finally showed herself.
Not rightly anyhow.
I have seen dead possums on the road, but these look like large teeth marks to me, like a dog yes. It would have to be a stray, or something larger living in the woods.
There is a large hole, that tunnels under the corner of my back fence, on the immediate other side, there is thick woods. I can only imagine they are coming through this hole, as that is the only way to get on my side of the fence.
How does Rio's behind look to you? Its still very fleshy, but a much thicker layering of tissue has grown over it than was there before.
What is your opinion on releasing them again? I dont mind caring for them, but I want whats best for them, and the turtle population here.
Bigurl is beautiful! She stayed in her shell for forever! I was very surprised to see how colorful she was when she finally showed herself.
Chameleonmaster
Avid Member
Maybe when you release them take them far away from
Your house so they don't get eaten by a wolf or fox thats doing it
Your house so they don't get eaten by a wolf or fox thats doing it
Solid Snake
Avid Member
Well, the issue is box turtles have a great sense of direction, and where they are. If you relocate them, they just try to head back "home". So this means they would be trying to cross roads, and other dangers, just to get back here. ;/
Thats my understanding anyhow.
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