urgent help red eared terrapin

mask-of-sanity · #1 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 09:16 PM

long story short ...i was asked about the above last night he belonged to a mates neighbour i was asked if i knew anyone who could rehome hm as their son didnt want him anymore..today i went to have a look now i have never owned one before but was shocked at what i saw . the terrapin has a shell of a good 8 inches and i was told is about 10 yrs olld he was being kept in a tank 24x12x12 (inches) with only a small filter and heater ...he had no uv or basking and noo place to get out of the water

i couldnt leave him there now i have set up my only tank that was in the shed its only 48x15x15 but bigger than he was in i will add a uv in the morning ..the problems are that he has only ever been fed on whitebait.no vegies at all and as didnt have uv will obviously lack calcium ect .
he is active enough but he isnt right (now i have only kept fish so will liken it to them ) he seems to be shedding its mucus from its skin
i need all the advice i can get to help this fella and also someone who can rehome him permanantly and get him back to proper health although i will try my best for him
sorry for the essay

Graham · #2 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 09:43 PM

Well the previous conditions sound absolutely disgusting, how anyone could think it was OK to keep a turt of that size in such a tiny tank is beyond me, but then I've given up being surprised by these things.

You've made a good start by getting it into a bigger tank, this mucus on the skin sounds very much like skin fungus which will need immediate treatment, otherwise it could turn into something much more serious, assuming it hasn't already.

Treating skin fungus is something that you could do yourself, but TBH I would take it to a herp specialist vet and have it checked over, skin fungus if left untreated can lead to septecemia and that's something you can't treat yourself.

In the meantime I would actually take it out of the water and put it in a dry tank, you can put some sphagnum moss in there or just a damp towel to make it a bit more comfortable, set up a spotlamp to raise the temp to around 30°C, and keep it there for 24 hours.

If you have any iodine in the house you can dilute it and use this to swab the skin, then put the turt in the warm tank to dry out completely, leave it there until tomorrow then let it hydrate for a couple of hours in the water. Then take it out and repeat the treatment.

mask-of-sanity · #3 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 09:50 PM

thanks for that i dont have any iodine but can get some in the morning ...i dont have another tank to let him dry out in..will it be ok to just drop the water level for now till i can sort something out .i have put a basking light over the tank with a place underneath that he can get out the water on to

Graham · #4 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 09:55 PM

He really needs to get completely dry, do you have a plastic storage box, or even a cardboard box would do for now?

Can you post some pix? It may be possible to give a better diagnosis having actually seen it.

mask-of-sanity · #5 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 09:56 PM

[quote=Graham;1852794]He really needs to get completely dry, do you have a plastic storage box, or even a cardboard box would do for now?

Can you post some pix? It may be possible to give a better diagnosis having actually seen it.[/quote

yep i can sort some pics out very soon and i do have a smallish toybox i could put him in ..will that be ok

mask-of-sanity · #6 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 10:46 PM

having real problems with photobucket cant upload any pics

Tina · #7 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 10:47 PM

Email them to me if you like and I'll do it for you.

mask-of-sanity · #8 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tina

Email them to me if you like and I'll do it for you.

thanks tina give me 5 mins

twodogs · #9 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 11:09 PM

excuse the quality but thats the best we can get atm

mask-of-sanity · #10 (**permalink**) 27-05-2008, 11:12 PM

the pics are best i could get the bits near his face and his feet that look like shadows/fluff is the mucus i am on about its all over his skin on the neck legs tail ect

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