Caring for a Turtle

I went over to my friends house to swim In there pool and when I got in there I went Into change and saw this turtle in a .5 gallon tank with no filter or anything just water gravel and a turtle i knew this wasn’t right so I asked her if I could help care for it and she said yes so I took it home she said it hasn’t been fed in a while and she didn’t know what kind of turtle it is I already have a cycled 10 gal tank at home but I have feeling that won’t be big enough the tutles shell is bending and peeling on one side I know nothing about turtles I’ve only ever had fish I wanna do more research on it but have no clue what it is does anyone know what kind of turtle this is and what the tank requirements are for it does it need a heater and filter what do I feed it anything would help also I’m on a budget but will do whatever I need to save this turtle

 

I have no idea but I really admire you for doing that for this little turtle. I’m going g to start researching and see what I can find.
Okay I’m going to tag some people who I have seen give info on other threads about turtles and IDing them
Passionfish
mimo91088
Cheesecake
Spudsssy
Kribensis27

 

Looks like a young red eared slider, by far the most common captive turtle. These are large turtles, with the females capable of reaching 12” in shell length, and the males typically getting 6-9”.

Because of their size, they need large tanks as they grow older. The commonly accepted rule for tank size is 10g per inch of shell. For example, a turtle with a 10 inch shell would need a 100 gallon tank. The 10g will likely work for now, with frequent water changes, but he will need something bigger at some point.

The shell bending is likely caused by a combination of issues. Lack of UVB, stunting from a small tank, improper diet, etc. The peeling is probably just shedding.

They require a basking area that is fully above the water, where they can completely dry out. They need a heat source, and a source of UVB. The warmest area should reach 95-105 degrees, depending on your room temperature. You might see those little coiled bulbs at a pet store for UVB, but these don’t really emit very much. Certainly not enough for a turtle. The best option for UVB is a tube bulb with a hood fixture. You can find those at many stores, and online.

For diet, they need quite a lot of variation. I prefer a ratio of about 70-80% animal matter, with 20-30% plant matter, mostly different leafy vegetables. Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Pellets are a good staple food, with other sources of protein and plant matter supplemented. I dust the vegetables with Repashy Calcium Plus whenever I feed them to turtles. Insects like mealworms, crickets, dubia roaches, and superworms are all good.

They need heavy filtration, and produce a LOT of waste. Canisters work well, although I’ve managed well with multiple strong HOBs.

This turtle might be stunted, and probably has metabolic bone disease. This will effect its appearance and mobility long term, but should get less severe with proper care.

Honestly, a big tub pond is usually easiest for RES.

 

Looks like a young red eared slider, by far the most common captive turtle. These are large turtles, with the females capable of reaching 12” in shell length, and three males typically getting 6-9”.

Because of their size, they need large tanks as they grow older. The commonly accepted rule for tank size is 10g per inch of shell. For example, a turtle with a 10 inch shell would need a 100 gallon tank. The 10g will likely work for now, with frequent water changes, but he will need something bigger at some point.

The shell bending is likely caused by a combination of issues. Lack of UVB, stunting from a small tank, improper diet, etc. The peeling is probably just she

They require a basking area that is fully above the water, where they can completely dry out. They need a heat source, and a source of UVB. The warmest area should reach 95-105 degrees, depending on your room temperature. You might see those little coiled bulbs at a pet store for UVB, but these don’t really emit very much. Certainly not enough for a turtle. The best option for UVB is a tube bulb with a hood fixture. You can find those at many stores, and online.

For diet, they need quite a lot of variation. I prefer a ratio of about 70-80% animal matter, with 20-30% plant matter, mostly different leafy vegetables. Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Pellets are a good staple food, with other sources of protein and plant matter supplemented. I dust the vegetables with Repashy Calcium Plus whenever I feed them to turtles. Insects like mealworms, crickets, dubia roaches, and superworms are all good.

They need heavy filtration, and produce a LOT of waste. Canisters work well, although I’ve managed well with multiple strong HOBs.

This turtle might be stunted, and probably has metabolic bone disease. This will effect its appearance and mobility long term, but should get less severe with proper care.

Honestly, a big tub pond is usually easiest for RES.

Thank you so much for your reply I’m going to go to a pet store as soon as possible to find something for the uvb and will upgrade the tank size as soon as possible the girl I got it from has had it for 2 years in that little tank and the poor thing is like the size of a charging cube that plugs into the wall

 

Thank you so much for your reply I’m going to go to a pet store as soon as possible to find something for the uvb and will upgrade the tank size as soon as possible the girl I got it from has had it for 2 years in that little tank and the poor thing is like the size of a charging cube that plugs into the wall

Ok, yeah, that turtle is VERY stunted. It likely won’t get a huge amount bigger than that. Extreme stunting typically has an effect on lifespan, as the organs continue growing while the body doesn’t. It’s good that you’re making an effort to care for it properly though.

 

Weird, I just stumbled in here and never got an alert that I was tagged. But Kribensis27 said it all very well. Good info there!

 

I’m not good at IDs but I still have info!
Okay so I’m not on expert on about turtles but I do have some suggestions. I know you said you are on a budget, things like lighting and filtration really shouldn’t be cut down because of budget. One thing that can have cost cut on is a tank. You really don’t need to get a huge TANK. You can get a tub like Kribensis27 said. Knowing that it won’t get much bigger and is now only the size of a charger cube, the max it will get to is probably around 3-4 inches. So the max size tank it would need is around 30-40 gallons depending on how much it does grow. You can use a big storage tub as a cheaper alternate. Here is a link to a 50 gallon tub for a little under 30 bucks!

That 50 gallon tub is a lot cheaper than a 50 gallon tank would be!
Even with water displacement and air at the top I think it will be fine. I think you could also save money for the basking platform too. Get a small bin but not too short, turn it upside down and cut a big hole from the bottom of one side up and back down to the bottom like an entrance to a cave. You can then set it upside down in the bigger tub and fill everything with water. You might have trouble getting all the air out of it so it doesn’t float, just drill a hole on the bottom of the little tub/top of the cave to let air out so you can get water up into the cave bin and it doesn’t float. Fill the water up as much as you can without getting to close to the top of the cave. Then the top will serve as a basking platform, with the bottom as an underwater hiding place. You may want to make a ramp or something for the turtle to climb onto the top of the bin on, but you can probably use the leftover plastic cut from the cave or use one of the lids. Just be sure to melt or sand any edges you cut very well so the turtle can’t hurt itself. You can run cords or tubes down into the tub for the filter, and water heater depending on your room temp. Some live plants will be very good too. I don’t know off the top of my head if there are unsafe plants for turtles and what plants you should use, but I’m sure you can easily find that information somewhere.
ALSO
Now that you know what kind of turtle your little buddy is you should figure out the gender of the turtle too. You can probably figure that out yourself with an internet search and google images, but if not post a picture of the turtle’s feet, belly, and behind/ tail area and I’m sure we can help you. Then once you figure out the turtles gender you can name him/her!!!! Be sure to tell us the name, I’m excited to hear what you come up with. How is the little guy doing with his spirits, does he move much yet or show very much personality?

 

I don't have any complaints with that budget setup other than realistic size expectations. Even a stunted RES is definitely going to get bigger than 3-4 inches if cared for well.

 

Yeah, they keep growing for quite a long time. Stunting slows this growth by a huge amount, but doesn’t stop it completely. This turtle will likely never reach full size, but it will probably still get a bit bigger.

 

Oh okay, I was under the impression that it wouldn’t grow larger than 3-4 inches after being that stunted for 2 years. I agree that if it is going to get bigger than 3-4 inches the size bin I said and linked isn’t quite big enough. I think with a bigger bin it would still work well with the basking platform idea.