Hi everyone. So here's the scenario: I have 4 turtles (2 razorback musks, 1 mississippi map, and 1 yellow belly) currently in a 55 gallon. They're all about 4 inches and do great together. My gf and I recently adopted an abused adult red ear. Is it too soon to mix my 4 with the red ear? The red ear is missing its entire shell except for it's nuchal and one marginal on each side. It is also missing digits on two legs, has partial digits on one, and it's back left leg is good. I will be setting up a 110 and eventually upgrading to a 200+. Will this be an ok community scenario or should I just keep the red ear by herself?
Need help with combining turtles
- Thread starter Stevie G
- Start date
I would put the Redear in a hospital tank with some medication and definitely not risk spreading something to the rest of your turtles if he's contagious and wash your hands with antibacterial soap in between tanks and don't cross-contaminate. Do you know anything about this RES or where it came from or why it is missing body parts?
Keep it FAR away from the others under quarantine until you find out what's wrong with it 1st.....and wash your hands constantly and/or use Hand Sanitizer. Don't use ANY of your tools for your other tanks on it and if you have, submerge them in boiling water or scrub them with 3% bleach - 97% water solution to sterilize them, rinse THOROUGHLY in dechlorinated water and wait a few days before using them on anything again.
Put him in a tank by himself with some properly measured salt - 1TBSP for every 5 gallons of water and we will talk about Mela/Pimafix in a few days. Keep the tank in the upper 70's and don't let the water level go higher than it's CHIN. If he lives more than 2-3 days, you might be able to save it. Keep a 5.0 UVB light on it 12 hours per day and give it plenty of calcium dust with and without vitamin D3 on it's food (a dozen crickets in a clear plastic bag or even a plastic cup with a sprinkle of the dust to turn them white will do just fine). I would start every other day for D3 in this case.....there is at least a severe calcium deficiency, probably MBD. You can also fill a NEW spray bottle with saltwater to get the top part of the shell that will not be submerged. Try keeping it moist at all times if possible with SALT water. Use dechlorinator of course as instructed.
Allow him a good few hours in clean fresh dechlorinated water to hydrate himself before adding the salt.
EDIT: Might be more than just calcium deficiency.
Last edited:
The red ear is in its own tank right now. We've had her for maybe 2 months now. I give her anti bacterial medication orally everyday. I do know the story about her. She was seized in a cruelty case in Philadelphia (I see you're from PA too) where the owner left her outside in the winter and she was practically frozen to death. Terrible situation for her but we have her now and are trying to give her the best life. She's actually doing really well; she eats like a beast and is very active despite being severly handicapped.
a.) I edited my post, refresh.
b.) Have you tried everything I mentioned already and/or contacted a Vet?
c.)
Charney
is a Vet and might be able to help out here. I'm just a fan/keeper, I don't have a VMD/MVD.I thought this was all just happening now.....I must have missed something somewhere....
Yeah man, medically we have it under control. My gf is a Vet Nurse Supervisor and we get all the medication and testing needed. Yeah I left out those details lol my bad. She's fine and recovering well. Since we decided to keep her we got a bigger tank donated to us. Was just curious if I could put my other turtles with her in the larger tank without any issues since she's so much larger and lacking shell.a.) I edited my post, refresh.
b.) Have you tried everything I mentioned already and/or contacted a Vet?
c.)
I thought this was all just happening now.....I must have missed something somewhere....
You mean she has the under layer of scutes but all you see is white, no green color nor outer-layer of scutes? It almost looks like hardened, dried marrow? If you're SURE it's not contagious, it's your choice, but beware RES are highly carnivorous and will cannibalize if not fed constantly.....if she had RES tankmates before, that may explain her missing digits.
Yup you got it. I can post pics if you'd like to see. Her missing digits are from frostbite. She was frozen in a tank left outside in the winter. I've read how carnivorus they can be that's why I was wondering what a minimum size would be "safe". I want to play it cautious and wait for my guys to be at least 5-6 inches. I do feed her everyday but it still seems risky and 5 turtles is a ton of bio load but I do constantly do water changes (2x weekly)
