my son ownes a PAINTED TURTLE ans shell is going soft what do we do.?

Question

many people are referring to the turtle as a red ear slider. it is not. it is a PAINTED turtle.found in a river his shell is turning soft. i know know what to feed him but could u tell me what is D3 and where to get it. i have a heat lamp a heater to keep temp at 80-85%and a uv lamp. what else do i need to do

Answer 1

Shell softening in water turtles usually signifies a calcium absorption problem; either because there isn't sufficient calcium in the diet, or because the calcium/phosphorus ratio is off. It's always a husbandry problem, however, and simply focusing on proper care is by far and away the best method for not only clearing up existing problems, but keeping new ones from forming. If you tend to feed your turtle mostly lean meat sources (scraps of hamburger meat, beef, chicken, fish fillets, and the like) focus instead on offering whole foods: Feeder goldfish with bones and gut intact (alive or dead--dead ones can be cut up if the turtle is small, making the morsels bite-sized), earthworms (in my opinion, there is no single better food for a water turtle than good old fashioned earthworms), snails, sow bugs... turning over rocks in your yard reveals a treasure of food for these guys--just make sure you know there is absolutely NO chance these insects have been exposed to pesticides, which can poision your turtle. Some turtles will take canned dog food from off of a plate, which you can set on their basking area. But please don't put a whole lot of reliance on packaged foods--truth be told, these foods are mostly sold because they are convienient, not because some scientist developed them to be nutritious (most pelleted turtle sticks are actually formulated for feeding fish, not turtles). Crickets and mealworms aren't much of an answer, but can also be offered on occasion. Shake up the diet! Keep it as varied as possible! Some will even nibble on leaves of spinach that you allow to float on the water.

Normal younger turtles only need to eat two or three times per week--but with an animal that's showing deficientcies, feed him every bit as often as he'll accept food. You can worry about the added bodyfat later--it won't hurt him to fatten up, anyway.

It's good that you're focused on temperature, since these guys aren't worth much without it! Too low a temperature, the food they eat simply decomposes in the stomach rather than get digested--which adds to the problem. Make sure, of course, that your basking area is large enough for him to completely get out of the water to dry off.

If your vet recommends a vitamin/calcium supplement, then by all means use it. I'd rather see the nutritional emphasis placed on food variety over sprinking powders around, since it's very easy to oversupplement (there is such a thing as vitamin toxicity) while using these things.

Good luck to you! Water turtles are pretty amusing pets, and should be with you for a good 20-25 years.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, the best thing to do is to release the turtle back into the wild... It has developed a mineral deficiency, probably due to malnourishment. Vitamin D3 can be gotten at a reptile specialty store, or from a vet (which I strongly urge you to see). Once a reptile gets used to a wild diet, it is very hard for their bodies to adapt to domestication. Oh, as far as red-eared sliders vs. painted turtles, if it has red patches behind its ears it's slider. If not, it's a painted. I've included links to photos for reference...

Answer 3

Most pet stores will cary a calcium/d3 supplement for reptiles. Giving it a varied diet close to what it would get in the wild -might- help, but I've seen turtles taken from the wild simply die for apparently no reason. Stress, anorexia, all kinds of stuff. Would have been better to locate one through a breeder or reputable reptile dealer than taking it from it's natural habitat. I know some areas highly discourage it and even have laws against it. (just for future reference.)

Good luck.

Answer 4

Does he have a uvb lamp to bask under??? Please tell us if you do. A soft shell is mainly caused by insufficient vitamin D and calcium, a turtle neds to bask in the sunlight or under a UVB lamp to keep its shell nice and hard I had this same problem with my sisters baby Red Eared Slider, we went to SUPERPET and bought a 'turtle water conditioner', we put about a 1/4 of it into the water, and over the next week its shell's hardness inproved very much.

Answer 5

Since its a wild turtle it isn`t use to being fed by people and having paint on it its use to its type of water and finding its own home and food i belive its best to take the turtle back where you got it brining a wild animal form its natural habitat can cause it to die,its sad but there wild things that do there own thing..take it back to the river...its for the best..sorry.