My family has neglected our turtle for years, help!?

Question

It makes me extremely sad to talk about this, my turtle has been in my family longer than I have. My turtle is about 23 years old and for the past recent years it's been in awful shape and very neglected. We leave the turtle in a corner and sometimes forget to feed it, but its still alive. I am very ashamed and I realized how much that turtle has been part of my life. I saw baby turtles the other day in the street and now I want to change how my turtle has been living, so i have a few questions...
are there vets that will see turtles or is that stupid? I know there is vets for like cats, dogs and birds but never have I seen a turtle at a vet. My turtle's water become extremely dirty in a matter of hours after bathing it, is there anything i can do about that? Should I get my turtle a heating light? Never have we used it before and my turtle continues to live, is it necessary at this point?
thanks! and also are there any tips that I can do take care of it?

and yes, my turtle is an red eared slider. my turtle is the size about a regular plate now and has a hard time turning in its tank, how big should i have the tank be...

and as for people saying to walk the turtle...thanks that is great advice but my turtle bites and has the longest claws! i have never actually touched it other than its shell and my parents usually clean it...should i still let it loose in the house? and as for having other turtle friends, is it okay to put baby turtles in with this huge one? thanks so much guys i love the information and advice i'm getting!

Answer 1

It is never too late to make things better for the turtle.

A Red-ear slider of that size should have a tank with at least 100 gallons of water to play in, heated to 75-80 degrees, filtered aggressively, several basking sites to choose from heated to about 90, and lighting that simulates the sun- including ultra-violet rays.

It takes some work and money to set this all up, but there are ways to simplify it. For example, a kiddie pool, plastic stock tank, or indoor pond liner can be used for the tank instead of a giant (and expensive) aquarium.

You don't mention the diet, but high-quality turtle pellets and a good variety of live fish food (like feeder fish, worms, shrimp, etc.) combined with some lightly boiled dark leafy greens will be great! An adult should eat a serving about twice the size of its head every three days.

Please note that changing habitats is stressful- even if the new home is a lot better, so be prepared for a period of withdrawl.

Here is a site for turtle vets around the US: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/vetlisting.htm but I don't think you need a vet at this point.

A couple other good websites are listed below:

Answer 2

I don't know too much about turtles but I once had a red eared slider. It really depends what type of turtle you have. Some turtles come from a warm climate and others from a colder climate etc... Do an online search with the type of turtle you have and you should be able to find some info. All turtles need some form of natural light though. You should get a light that emits u.v. radiation a.s.a.p because it provides vitamin D and It's VERY important to keep their shell healthy. There are vets who will see turtles but you will have to look around. The pet store has a special water conditioner that can help keep the water more sanitary. You can also purchase a water filter. I did and it helped a lot!! They can be pricy but a fancy one isn't necessary. Just something simple. Be careful when handling your turtle because turtles have salmonella a bacteria that is harmful to humans. Buy a disinfectant from the pet store that kills salmonella.
It's also important to feed your turtle a balanced diet. Try to give them lettuce and lots of leafy greens. My turtle liked meal worms a lot too.
There are vets who see turtles but you'll have to call them up see which ones do because they are not all trained for it. Does your turtle have specific symptoms? It's important to treat them right away because eye infections, vitamin D deficiency etc. can kill them. There are home remedies at the pet stores if you can't find a vet. You can also look up their symptoms online after you find out what type of turtle it is.
It's never too late to start helping your turtle live a more healthy life!!! Don't give up! You're doing a really great thing! :-)

Answer 3

Yes, there are vets who will treat reptiles such as turtles. Call around and I'm sure you'll find someone who sees exotics. I think it would be an excellent idea for him to have a check-up.

Do you know what kind of turtle it is? I'm pretty sure he would appreciate a UV bulb to bask under (use a platform level with a ramp for him to get closer to it). As far as water quality, definately invest in a good filter. I don't know what size the tank is but I would suggest gettting a good 55 gallon. I really don't know much about turtle care but I have done a little research before.

Doing a quick search I found a few helpful sites:
http://www.maturtlerescue.org/careturtlelinks.htm
http://www.turtlecare.net/
http://www.petturtle.com/care.htm

Good luck!!!

Answer 4

since you said its water gets dirty, is it a red eared slider? If so it does need a heat light even though it has went without it I am sure it would love to bask under the heat lamp. Let us know what kind of turtle so I can send you more info. I am glad you are going to try to improve this turtles life because some turtles can live double the age yours is now....

Answer 5

im not sure if its a turtle or tortoise right now. nor am i sure what type of turtle is it. you can go to the vet becuase i brought mine to a vet also once. usually a turtle is dirty in the inside of its shell. you can't really wash him totally clean. also, get him a bigger tank and some friends to chill with. get another turtle but make sure you dont put them in the same tank just yet. the 2 turtles have to get used to each other first then you can put them together. and bring some young kids that wont kill turtles to your house. they'll be interest hopefully. like me ^^

Answer 6

dont feel guilty ,i can see how that happend see turtles arn't as human like as cats or dogs so they cant just come up to you and have a way of telling you they are lonely. as weird as it might seem dont keep your turtel in a cage all day take em to the park put him in your purse or anything with air holes and go on a bike ride to a park. let him swim in the bath tub, and definally take him to the doctor no its not silly..on tv i saw you know one of those feeder mice they sell well one kid had it as a pet and something happened to its leg and his parents spend a fortune paying for the surgery.......if the vets can value an animal such as that with a life expectance of only 3 years then thery would most definally value your turtle............ok it might sound weird but its not about if its stupid or not its about the money.......you dont want to know where some people get tattos on.............ok not saying it and no one says its stupid they just pay em the money and they do that

Answer 7

if you are having cage problems get a filter a turtles cage gets dirty 7 times faster than a fish i recomand i would buy chemicals such as tutle clean aqua safe aquariam salt and a good cleaning 1 to 2 weaks i would go to petco and ask them your questions and a heating light won't do anything unles you turtles shell is turning pale or white then i would get a light and a medicon cream calles vitashel

Hope this helps sorry abought youe turtle i feel like crying also to remember to feed it put postit nots every were put it on you schedule and computsar pda everything

Answer 8

my biology class has 2 turtles and some other animals, my teacher's tank is just full of water so the turtles are just swimming all day long, u might want to do that

Answer 9

yes there are vets that see reptile and the turtle does need some sorce of heat. and food and water

Answer 10

I have a vet for all my turtles so you should have a vet for your turtle
TIPS:
*have a UVA light
*feed it lettice every week
*do some research so go on http://ask.com or http://google.com
good luck :)