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Found a turtle, now what?
- Thread starter hoosierdoc
- Start date
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shibumiseeker
Grandmaster
It looks like a baby snapper.
Turtle-veal equivalent?
Turtle-veal equivalent?
My first thought too, but I'm guessing the doc knows alive when he sees it. He looks kind of... petrified?
He will eat pellet fish food as well as your finger when he gets big enough, He needs water to swim and a dry area to climb on. they are hard to kill (at least harder them a hummingbird ;-) Heat lamp isn't necessary. He is used to the weather. If you can find a swampy area near you I'd toss him in. He will bury him self till spring.
hoosierdoc
Freed prisoner
Thanks for the vote of confidence snapdragon 
head as looked snapper to me but not very familiar with turtles, they hibernate??? Would it want a warming light if hibernating? Would like to keep as a pet for the boys. Shallow water dish with some sort of ramp?
head as looked snapper to me but not very familiar with turtles, they hibernate??? Would it want a warming light if hibernating? Would like to keep as a pet for the boys. Shallow water dish with some sort of ramp?
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shibumiseeker
Grandmaster
Thanks for the vote of confidence snapdragon
head as looked smapper to me but not very familiar with turtles, they hibernate??? Would it want a warming light if hibernating? Would like to keep as a pet for the boys. Shallow water dish with some sort of ramp?
They go into a torpor during the cold and survive the extreme freezes by that burying themselves in the mud. Swampy areas never freeze solid enough. Many of our turtle species do this and can live over a hundred years.
If you're going to keep him/her and not breed then it will be fine inside with a habitat setup. One common misconception about water turtles is that they don't like to get out of the water and that is totally false.Thanks for the vote of confidence snapdragon
head as looked smapper to me but not very familiar with turtles, they hibernate??? Would it want a warming light if hibernating? Would like to keep as a pet for the boys. Shallow water dish with some sort of ramp?
It may take a week or more for him to eat, but you can start him off with some minnows or pieces of meat (small of course.) Invest in a sunlight mimicking light that provides the nutrients for the turtle to grow and stay healthy. As he grows he'll need to wear his beak down on something...a plaster/egg shell/calcium pellet will help for that. The easiest setup is 2/3 water and 1/3 dry land. Do not use a rock where the turtle could get stuck under the rock and drown.
You can pick pretty much all of this stuff up at a reptile show at the Indy Fairgrounds or a pet shop.
451_Detonics
Grandmaster
and try to establish a bond with him...bathing in the bathtub with him will bring you closer together...
We had a few that we kept until they got bigger and we were worried about biting. Somebody gave them to us when my daughter was little. I'd probably let it go and get the boys a turtle or tortoise raised in captivity if they want a pet.
indiucky
Grandmaster
You are showing your age brother....Jo Lar pet shop (or K Mart) ca. 1970-1980....
Painted baby turtle? Check. Plastic shallow water dish with ramp and plastic palm tree? Check. Turtle food? Check. Little box to bury turtle in when he dies two weeks later? Check....
Mom, Dad, and Papaw buying a new turtle every two weeks and trying to convince me it was the same damn turtle...Priceless...
But seriously he went to your home for a reason...Did you ask if he/she was feeling well? Does your driveway or home give any indication of your profession?
I would get an aquarium and keep that little sucker...They are cute but he will need more water than a shallow plastic dish with the ramp and the little palm tree....I know our Bass Pro has a BIG one and it doesn't have a ramp to get out of the water...Just an aquarium where he hangs on the bottom and eats bluegill...Good work if you can get it....
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hoosierdoc
Freed prisoner
Update: now laying UNDER paper towel. Will offer little bits of meat tomorrow. I'll pick up a little habitat thing at Uncle Bill's. I'm taking kids to see Penguins so we'll be right there.
I tried to catch a little snake earlier this summer but it wanted to bite me so I left it alone. It's time the boys get some fun things in the house. BTW, that's my wife's face in the background. She wanted to be in the pic
I tried to catch a little snake earlier this summer but it wanted to bite me so I left it alone. It's time the boys get some fun things in the house. BTW, that's my wife's face in the background. She wanted to be in the pic
Update: now laying UNDER paper towel. Will offer little bits of meat tomorrow. I'll pick up a little habitat thing at Uncle Bill's. I'm taking kids to see Penguins so we'll be right there.
I tried to catch a little snake earlier this summer but it wanted to bite me so I left it alone. It's time the boys get some fun things in the house. BTW, that's my wife's face in the background. She wanted to be in the pic
Snakes that bite are bad, but turtles that bite are OK?
Snakes that bite are bad, but turtles that bite are OK?
Its speciesism, I tells ya'
It would appear that you have mud on your turtle, sir. 
It would appear that you have mud on your turtle, sir.
It happens.
We found his twin in our basement in July this year. We kept him in an aquarium, water and sand. He only seemed to want to eat live food. It was fun dropping worms beetles and grasshoppers in the water and watching him stalk and attack.
