Urgent Care :: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:21 am   Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

On my way home from the store to prep for weekend visitors, I found what I believe to be a large red eared slider (based on Internet image searches. He/she(?) was in the middle of a highway overpass in the near 100°F sunlight, dry as a bone, parchment or sandpaper looking skin, layers of very dry mud flaking off the shell, and not moving. Cars were swerving to avoid him. The shell is 9-10" long. I scooped him up in a moving blanket I keep in my car and placed him in a milk crate that I also keep in my car (for a small trash can, tennis balls for my dog, a box of tissues, umbrella, etc). I drove him home (5m drive) and had 20 minutes before guests arrived.
I put a VERY large Great Dane size dog cage from the attic in the backyard, removed the tray so he'd be on grass, added a large Rubbermaid lid filled with water, filled a large dog bowl with water, and hosed him down quite a bit. After an hour or two, he was moving all over the cage. Before bed, I put a 12" square stone tile in one of the corners and put two pieces of broccoli and three dry grain-free dog food kibbles on the tile. (I'm not sure about the broccoli, but I found multiple sources saying that high quality dog food can be used in a pinch...) I'm not keeping him, but want to keep it alive and as healthy as I can until I find a person or place to take him. Animal control says to find a rescue org or similar.
I live in Ohio, but the Ohio Department of Natural Resources say RES don't live in my county, so I'm guessing he was a pet that got too big for a tank and was dumped. The overpass where I found him is near a "pond" (more like a trash swamp where when it rains, gets deeper resembling a pond) and I've heard that people dump fish that outgrow their tanks in that area. It's illegal here to release pets into the wild and since he's not native, that's essentially what I'd be doing if I took him back there.
I read that they only eat underwater and that lid isn't deep enough for him to submerge him/herself. With guests here, I cant spend the weekend calling everywhere or driving around to find someone/someplace to take it. I also don't want to spend money buying a habitat or building a habitat for an animal I'm not keeping. I'd like to spend time with my guests, but I don't want the turtle to suffer or die until I can solicit a new home for him.

I'd extremely appreciate:
0. any opinions or ideas on where to take it or who would want it.
1. advice or ideas on how to put something together with things I already have? Rubbermaid bins, flagstone, tile, etc. The cage he's in is maybe 3ft by 5ft (large enough that my bf's 10yo daughter and I can fit inside it at the same time). I'd be fine with going to buy turtle pellet food so it's not starving, but not an adequately sized aquarium, lamp, filter. I'd imagine I can find a place for the turtle by the end of next weekend, hopefully sooner.
2. options for food
3. knowing if it's too hot to keep it outside during the day or too cold at night. If so, where do I keep a 9-10" turtle, in what type of container, and what things it needs in a container.
4. If I do bring it inside, can my dog (80lb german shorthaired pointer) or the people here get salmonella?
5. Can it hurt my very, VERY curious dog. He won't hurt the turtle, but I know next to nothing about turtles, other than that it would have become roadkill quite soon if I didn't stop and grab it.
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:29 am   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

There's not much in Ohio for help from what I see But call these places they may be able to help or offer some advice to where you can.

http://www.anapsid.org/societies/ohio.html

Sounds like you are doing the best you can and thanks for the rescue. Wish it was native to Ohio I would say place it back in that nearby pond , no telling how long it may of been there. That is solely up to you ? If female she may have just looking for a nesting site.
Take the body part of tote and put 8" water in it , set turtle in it for an hour twice a day so it will not get dehydrated. Keep the lid with water as you have it , could cool down some on it and get a drink . Turtles have to eat in water to get food down so while in the water bath give it some red lettuce or romaine or kale anything in that family you may have in house. If not look in yard for Dandelion leaves and use that.

And yes that turtle will be very scared and at that size could bit your dogs nose causing inquiry. Salmonella problem is mainly for children putting turtles in there mouth's , sure that won't happen here.

Here in Louisiana my Humane Society is a great help , try yours.

Best of luck for the both of you !
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 5:14 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Thanks litefoot! I can easily get some red lettuce, romaine and kale. Do I cut it up at all? Do I put the food in with the turtle during its swimming times, put it in the water bowl in the cage, or do both?
Do I need to sit and watch the turtle to make sure it doesn't drown in the Rubbermaid while swimming?

Update: the turtle's head and skin look much better than yesterday. The yellow stripes on the legs and head actually look more like the pictures I see of these turtles. Yesterday, it was kind of sickly looking (color-wise), but now that it's out of its shell and moving around more, I can see that the eyes look clear now too, rather than the kind of foggy look it had yesterday. The red "ears" are very bright as well. The shell is still covered in dirt (more muddy now), but didn't clean that off in case it was helping the turtle to stay cool. I can try to clean it off if that's better for the turtle.

The turtle is moving around and staying out of the shell a bit more than it was yesterday, and I noticed that when it's staring at me, it's neck is ballooning up a bit, then deflating(?). What does that mean? Is it mad at me, warning me away, smelling me, just breathing? I'll try to add some pictures as well. With visitors, it's more difficult to give it as much attention as I know it deserves, but with the traffic on that overpass and the dried, non-moving state of the turtle at the time, I think it'd be dead by now otherwise. :'(
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 6:07 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

You do not have to cut it up , apiece the size of its shell is good. If that lid you have as a water dish is about 2" deep you could also put a pieces of lettuce in it , my be able to get enough water to get it down. Turtles do not have tongue action as we do or have slava glands to wash it down. That why they have to eat in the water to help wash it down. I would offer it lettuce also when in tote to hydrate itself and you do not have to watch it , turtles love water and can swim great ! Bottom line offer all the veggies it can eat. If you have it after a week then we can start with cricket , worms ...too for the protein. But for now the red lettuce is good.

One concern being outside. Do you have any predators in the area , raccoons or neighbors dogs that run around the neighborhood. If so find a way to anchor that dog cage down securely so it can't be tipped over since you have the bottom tray out so its on the grass , don't want it eaten after a rescue.

Being a Holiday (4th) you may find it hard to get help on those numbers I gave you. But do try ! You could try some regular Vets or better yet Herp Vets in your area. You and it may get lucky and they will take it ! Hey turtles make great pets , I'm doing it over 50 years and love them.

Doing good it's moving around , one more thing !!!! Make sure it has some shade if it needs to cool down since it only gets hydration bath's twice a day. If it gets very hot offer it another hydration bath a day. But do the shade thing to !

Oh , that neck puffing is there way to take a deep breath to smell you and area better. That's a good sign.

Boy so many things to say.... watch to see if it trys to dig out the cage. If it is a female that was just looking for a nesting site it will try to dig her way out. Turtles are also great climbers too.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 6:42 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

The first swimming session went well, except she didn't eat anything. I believe it's a female based on claw length. She seemed to enjoy the water a lot. I'm a bit concerned that she didn't even seem to try eating, and you're right about not being able to find much help on a weekend, least of all a holiday weekend. The lid filled with water isn't 2", but I also put a large plastic dog food bowl of water in the cage. It's over two inches deep and I've seen her sitting on top of it as if she's the lid to the bowl. She doesn't fit inside of it, but would she be able to eat out of a water filled bowl with food in it? She should be able to find plenty of bugs too, though if she'll eat them, I don't know.
As to your question about predators, all the neighbors with dogs have fences and I've never seen one running loose. There are raccoons throughout Ohio, but I've never seen one or evidence of one near where I live. I can see the cage from nearly every room I spend time in and I'm checking on the turtle frequently. My dog can't fit a paw through the cage bars, and can only put a small bit of his nose through if he turns his head sideways.
Thanks again for the help! I'll keep trying to find her a place to go, hopefully with more luck during the next week. :)
Oh, she was lying on her back in the lid earlier but had righted herself by the time I put the dog inside (under three minutes). Is this a concerning behavior? On a positive note, she still looks much better!
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 6:56 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

:msgreen: I'm near Centerville Ohio in Montgomery county, by the way if anyone knows of a place to take the turtle or if someone can provide it with a proper home. I'm more than willing to meet up with someone who can give her a home! :msgreen:
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:47 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Last edited by duchessren on Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:50 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

The size and if claws are all even and short then female.
She may of been trying to get out and fell on her back. Most turtles can flip over with no problem but I would not let her to long that way. She did it ok (under 3 minutes) so she's not in that bad of condition. Turtles lungs are on top so all that organ weight on them make's it hard for them to take a breath.

If female with eggs she may not eat anything but I would keep offering !
Last edited by litefoot on Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 7:54 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

I'm nearly certain she's a female. She's still retreating when I move much trying to get good pictures, but is slowly becoming less shy. I'll try to upload some better pictures when I get them.
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 8:05 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Just saw your edit with photo's :

It's a girl ! Doesn't look like she's been in the wild that long. Someone dumped her ! Maybe because she was not cute any more as when a baby , for the size , but I bet when they found out she has eggs they got rid of her.

I think she looks great ! A little toothbrush cleaning and even better ! Considering all she's been through.

Hopeful you can find good home for her.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 8:57 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

You could maybe try a nature center, but they don't necessarily take non-natives. It's the same here in Massachusetts. You could look at Craigslist. Be aware that there are a lot of people who think a turtle is a good idea but have no idea what is involved. But there are also probably people who want a turtle (or another turtle) and want to get one that is in need of a home.

I imagine litefoot says she hasn't been in the wild long because she looks well fed and in good condition. The only thing I want to add to that is that in northern latitudes, RES are actually considered invasive...they do well and out-compete native painted turtles. So you shouldn't release them because they might do too well, and you shouldn't release them because they might do poorly, having been a pet. It's kind of ironic, really.

Litefoot and others, should she give the turtle some bare ground or sand in case she is trying to lay eggs?

I got the impression that duchessren placed the turtle on her back for the photo, not that she found her that way (?)
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:16 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Turtle on back earlier , 4:42 post. Also had on back for photo. Explained about lungs on top , will be ok.

In my 50 plus years I never had a turtle use a nesting site that I made , they are just to dam picky and I made a pretty elaborate one 20'x15' or so with every mixture of soil noted on the internet. My Minnie always went on the other side of yard by a bench ! Who knows what's on there mind when picking a nesting site ?
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:29 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

The picture where the turtle is on her back happened when she tried to scale the wall of the cage she's in, but it was sort of a slow fall against the corner of the crate. I snapped a photo, took my dog inside and came back to flip her over, but she had already popped herself back over... and has been roaming around just fine since then. She seemed to enjoy the water and spends half the time in the Rubbermaid lid and the other half roaming the grass. Again, I'm not trying to keep her as a pet. I just want to keep her safe until she has a place to live. The weekend, the holiday, and houseguests are making it a bit more difficult to track down a home, so I appreciate all the advice and information! I'm definitely against releasing an invasive species/former pet into the wild.
duchessren
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:03 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Oh sorry, I missed the part about her flipping over.

I guess I was just suggesting that, because they sometimes do really well in the wild, that it was *possible* she had not been a pet for a long time. But litefoot is a much more experienced turtle keeper than me. Was just throwing in my two cents.
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 10:42 pm   Re: Need temporary setup help for nearly roadkill large RES

Thanks Kingbird44, any suggestions or ideas are appreciated. I just want to keep the turtle safe and find her a home. Death by dehydration or car tires didn't seem a fair shot for the poor turtle.
duchessren
 
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