Help _Just Rescued 3 Turtles

[fishnovice]

Need urgent identification and care instructions to keep these guys alive.I just got 3 turtles which were about to be dumped in a freezing cold dirty brackish canal. DESCRIPTION - Shell bout the size and shape of an individual steak and kidney pie, dark shells with yellow horizontal bands like tiger stripes. Head, neck and legs have thin bright yellow stripes

Figured that althugh my conditions may not be ideal, they are a million time bettter off with me and have a good chance of survival. They came with a 2ft tank and a flat piece of slate on 2 rocks as a resting platform. No idea as to their species, age , sex or how to care for them.The only care instructionsI got from owner were
1.They are coldwater and should be kept at 77degrees -that's warmer thanmy tropical tanks!!!
2.They were fed on ham and guppies (no way, I love my guppies)
3.They bite -charming

I filled the tank with warm tapwater to a depth of inches. No idea what to feed them

 

[aly_starh]

Hiya

they sound like Yellow bellied sliders.

rather than me typing out a load, it mightbe worth you googling 'yellow bellied sliders'

HTH

 

[Davo86]

Small turtles require topical temperatures, which 77F obviously is, you will also need a very good filter and ideally a uvb lamp

What condition are they in? from the diet they have been fed along with the assumption that they have lacked a basking uv lamp, they sound like they've pretty much been neglected,

Is the 2foot tank the biggest you have? do you have a filter for it? does it have mature media? if not can you spare some from another tank?

 

[star4]

Just replied on your other thread

 

[star4]

Try this site for the id, it may help.

http/www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Turtles

 

[fishnovice]

Thanks everyone. I'll try and ID from that site.Few more questions
1 How dangerous are they? What's the beat way to pick up/handle so I can check plates under shell for ID?
2Health -what signs of turtle disease should I lok out for?
3They were completely neglected -no heater or filter, let alone basking lamp (what's that, where to get from, cost?)Kept at room temp. I
I'm totally unprepared as i only had 30mins warning of their arrival but couldn't really refuse.They are in my only spare indoor quarantine tank.These turtles were an impulse rescue to prevent them ending up in canal where they would have definitely died. Need to keep them alive for a couple of months, then they can go in outdoor 4 ft tank...or rehome them

What do I feed them till I can get hold of sticks which may take a few days

 

[star4]

Ok signs of ill health would be their eyes, they should be bright and clear no puffyness around the eyes, check for any discharge from around the nose. For handling place thumbs on top of the shell and fingers underneath going between the front and back legs, keep all fingers away from the head, they will struggle, if they have long claws on the front legs they are male, if they are short they are female. Is their skin a "nice colour" not pink, bright pink skin is sometimes and indication of an infection.

Sorry I am not much help, you could get some prawns from Tesco's if they have ones with the shells on all the better, this will keep them going for a couple of days. Do they have any red markings on their heads? if they do they are red eared sliders, unfortunately most turts have yellow in their heads.

They are not really dangerous, but if they do bite the majority of the time they are just warning you, I am lucky in 30 years of having turtles I have only been bitten once, but I was giving my turtle an injection at the time . Make sure you wash your hands after handling them just common sence with them really.
Try these people there is a contact number they maybe able to help better than I can.

http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/detail62_160463.php

Edit: If they have not been use to heated water, if you do add a heater warm the water gradually, another sign of ill health would be soft or deformed shells through lack of propper nuitrition and basking, check if possible for any soft areas around the edges of the shell or any holes.

 

[Davo86]

1. tbh they will only bite you if you put your hand near their mouth, they are more likely to retreat to their shell or try to run away than anything, If you handle them regularly they should soon come round to being handled, Like any animal it just needs to be reared properly really
2. Check if their shells are hard, also check the eyes are clear, generally though if they are active and eating they aren't in too much danger health wise.
3. I guess in a warm room, they should be ok without the heater but you will really need a filter unless you are happy doing 50% water changes upto 4-5 times per week, If you can, get them some dried food, ideally Reptomin or similar as this has the vitamin D which is what they would get from the uv if it was present,

foodwise for now do you have any chicken, turkey,frozen prawns, white fish, garden earthworms, defrosted peas, small chunks of cucumber, fish algae wafers, anything like that really they should take

 

[star4]

Any luck id'ing them yet? you have done a great job rescuing them

 

[fishnovice]

TURTLE PROGRESS -thank you everyone for your help
Identified as some kind of Mud Turtle, not sure of exact species as mine have obvious stripes on their shells and don't look exactly like any of the photos on site. Mine have about 5in long shells and must be relative youngsters as apparently they grow 12in long.
SEX =Looks like I do have a pair, not sure about the smallest one
Female - short claws, thick shorter tail
Male -long thin tail and long claws

Picked up the largest and examined him. Eyes look OK, can't tell about noses as they are under water but all 3 are swimming actively and look OK. No sign of shell damage.

FOOD -website says they eat snails so will try one from garden. Also have cucumber and sliced chicken so they should be OK till I can order some turtle food from the Rescue Centre's Ebay site. Can also try algae pellets but I really need them for my plecs and weather loach. 3 big hungry turtles can eat a month's supply of pellets in 1 day!

I'm getting fond of them already and may keep them if I can provide them with the right food and setup without spending a fortune. I had a tortoise as a kid which I really loved. It's still alive at my parents home, must be over 60 years old now as it was over 20years when we got it and huge over 14inches long.It hibernates Nov-Apr, do turtles hibernate and if so how (can they survive without water)?

 

[Davo86]

If kept in a pond in a cold climate they will hibernate (underwater) but when kept indoors they will stay active all year round, provided the temp remains tropical,

 

[star4]

Glad you managed to get some sort of identification on them, I know nothing of mud turtles so afraid I cannot help any further, but well done again for rescuing them. It maybe worth giving that link I gave you a call, just in case they can offer any further help.
Welcome to the wonderfull world of turtles
Here is another good site packed full of info and turtle keepers, would love to see pics of your new arrivals.
http/www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/

 

[mixmaster jay]

if you put a puc up i could ID it for you no problem. with your description its easy for people to say yellow belly slider but many yslider and cooter turtles look very alike with only a few small differences which are ID'able. better still post pics on rfuk
http/www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/shelled-turtles-tortoise/
there is a shelled area devoted to turtles and tortoises with many caresheets and expert advice. looking around many websites will just lead to lots of conflicting advice. if you go to a website/forum that is as i say devoted to turtles you will then get the right advice and care for your turtles.