General Care Discussion :: rescued turtle, but maybe too late...?

[odevicto]

My friend and I each bought a baby RES about 6-7 months ago, and I finally convinced her to give me hers 3 days ago because i felt so sorry for it. She had it in a glass bowl with 2 inches of water, a little rock and thats it. when i got it, i put her RES in the 20 gallon tank with mine, but it doesn't look healthy. i think it's shell might be rotting because it has 2 or 3 white spots on its shell (i'll get a picture up as soon as i can), and it's eyes kind of rings around them. he hasnt grown at all compared to mine and when we got them they were the same size. leo, my friends turtle, finally ate a few pellets this morning for the first time since i've had him. and he seems to be swimming around more, but he's just so weak from not being able to for so long. is there anyway to reverse the rotting process on his shell if that is what the spots are? does he sound sick or just weak? the only thing i knew to do was get him into a better environment, but is there something else i need to be doing? or is it too late to revive him? i really need some advice, i dont want the little guy to die

[cam722]

First off what I'd recommend is seperating the 2 turtles. If you think her turtle is sick the last thing you want to do is get yours sick too. It sounds like your friend didn't take as good of care with their turtle as you did yours. If it's possible you may want to take it to a herp vet for a good checkup and for some meds to cure the shell rot (if that's what it is). I'd not give up hope, just give him some time and keep an eye on him. Do you have the proper lights for the turtles.. uvb/uva lights and a basking dock?

Pics will help so others can see what exactly it is you're talking about with the shell and eye problems.

[odevicto]

i thought about seperating them but then i thought maybe mine would be a good influence on it...is that possible? i probably do need to seperate them just in case though. i do have both lights and a basking dock which both of them of them will sit on but leo doesn't get up there as often as mine, but i figured it's still new to him. he seems to be a little better than he was, but i'm still worried about him. thanks for the reply

[steve]

No, keep them separate. As you have noticed, a correct environment will help the turtle. Are there any other symptoms or behavioral problems?

[odevicto]

so i just asked my mom about setting up another tank, and that idea got shut down because of space...is that really bad? any other ideas?

[steve]

Frankly, you need to be creative about it. Would your mom want you to pay vet bills for 2 sick turtles? Maybe there's room in your apartment/house, you'll need to volunteer to clean up the area for more space.

[odevicto]

haha alright ill work on it...any comments about the white spots? is that a rotting shell and if it is can i do anything about it?

[marisa]

The required set-ups don't sound like they need to be that big. Could you put one set-up on a sturdy table and another one under it (use a stprage container for one of them).

Can you post a pic of the shell? It's possible the white is fungus, not rot (does it come off and what does the shell look like under it?).

[knite]

The water should be clean and a little bit warmer than the usual mundane temperature. I suppose that will raise its matabolism enough to recover quicker (but not too hot). The temperature triggers the immune system to fight off infections. Hopefully your turtle is able to pick up from there.