Anyone have native turtles as pets

[LowBuckX]

I rescued a small wild turtle from a horrible death about 8 weeks ago. Seams the Asians at work are terribly afraid of bugs and they thought it was a large beetle. (yes they are that dumb) Well the asians tryed to stomp it but it wedged its self in a crack in the black top. I saw them stomping the ground and went to see what was up. I shooed them away and pulled out this tiny about 1 inch turtle. It was very hot skin looked dull and mis colored and it had no energy. So I took it home to nurse it back to health.

Well now the turtle seems fairly heathly Ive been feeding it dry food from the pet shop but the turtle seems to be hungry all the time. Like a little pirana. So here are a few questions I have.


His shell is sunken in a little on the bottom. could this be a sign of malnutrition from before I got him?

What is a better diet for him to help him grow strong. Anything else you can tell me to help this little guy.

[Project69]

Everytime i go to the pet store i see the turtles munching on lettuce leafs, and there under a light, not meant to be a heat light but enough to warm the water up for them.

As for the indention on the stomach, i cant really tell you whats up with that.

[go-fish]

I know they like Gold Fish. We had put one in with our fish. A few days later the fish was swimming funny. The next day we noticed 1/2 the fish tail gone. Eventually, we found the fish dead and had to scramble to get another because my 2yo helped feed it everyday. So now the turtle lives alone in another tank.
I would say keep feeding him as best you can. Turtles only grow to the size of it's environment.

[ponchopwr70]

My dad and sister rescued one, we feed it turtle food and worms from the yard. He loves to eat all the time. He actually likes to be held, kinda wierd.

[LateNight72]

I personally wouldn't feed it goldfish. I would be feeding it feeder guppies and grass shrimp (both available from most Pet/Fish stores). Depending on genus, they may actually eat vegetables. Best thing you can do is present a variety of foods and see what the turtle eats.

The underside of the shell, the "stomach" area is depressed because he is a he, and needs to breed and reproduce. It is depressed so that he can mount a female. :squint:

[Patrick]

What kind of turtle/tortoise you have will dictate what it wants to eat.
You'd be pretty safe with meal worms or small earthworms and try some chopped up veggies.

Pet stores sell a turtle food that is like a gelatin...It is probably the easiest.

Do you have any photos?

[StRacerDuke]

"The Asians"? Dude, you might be a redneck...

You may want to consult your doctor about turtles as pets. There fecies usually contain salmonella and you want to take caution after handling them or their cage.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[LowBuckX]

"The Asians"? Dude, you might be a redneck...

You may want to consult your doctor about turtles as pets. There fecies usually contain salmonella and you want to take caution after handling them or their cage.

I could have said MON people but who would know what I was talking about then.
This is a western Painted/
Salmonella in herps is only present if they are exsposed to it. Ive had Iguanas Beared dragons and snakes. Just never a turtle. The wife made me give the lizards and snakes away..

[StRacerDuke]

Only Turtles and Salmonella from what I hear. Wife's a Pediatrician and warns all parent about getting a turtle as a pet if is brought up. Never heared anything about any other reptiles.

[Scott Parkhurst]

[quote=LowBuckX]I could have said MON people but who would know what I was talking about then. quote]


We might have if you'd have spelled it Hmong, as in Hmong Chinese.

Odd they wouldn't know a turtle on sight...turtle soup is common there.

I'm glad you saved this one. Post pics when you can.

Now your car has a mascot... :razz:

~Scotch~

[dylanCamaro582]

I had a Red ear Slider Tuttle and I feed her cat food, guppies, and sometimes goldfish.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Only Turtles and Salmonella from what I hear. Wife's a Pediatrician and warns all parent about getting a turtle as a pet if is brought up. Never heared anything about any other reptiles.

Turtles under 4" in diamater are prone to transmitting salmonella. It is illegal to sell baby turtles under 4" in most states.

That being said, I've owned at least 20 "baby" turtles (under 4") in my day, and I never contracted salmonella poisioning.

[shmoov69]

Hmm, I have never had turtle......What do they taste like? Chicken or something?!?!? LOL!:dunno:

[LowBuckX]

[quote=LowBuckX]I could have said MON people but who would know what I was talking about then. quote]


We might have if you'd have spelled it Hmong, as in Hmong Chinese.

Odd they wouldn't know a turtle on sight...turtle soup is common there.

I'm glad you saved this one. Post pics when you can.

Now your car has a mascot... :razz:

~Scotch~

Hmong and Mon are not the same. Mon are Bermeese decent forced to Thailand as political refugees . Now a large portion live here in Akron Ohio. Hmong people are known for helping our soldiers in vietnam

FYI link http://www.albany.edu/~gb661/ Note: Mon is not the same as Hmong. Mon people come from southern Burma and Thailand. Hmong people come from northern Laos and Thailand.

2 differant people.

pic of the little guy in my gnarled hand
In the pic I can make out some stuff I can see normally making me beleive he is an eastern Painted.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Damn True]

Tiny little buggar, cute too. But, I'm of a mind that says stuff like that belongs in the wild, not in the living room. I'd feed it whatever it's normal diet would be so that when you release it (you are going to release it right?) it knows that turtle food dosen't come out of the orange shakey can.

[LowBuckX]

Id like to but I dont want the coons getting it like in that other post. I may have to build a pond inthe back yard of my new house for it. And a new dog to protect it from critters.... lol

[Damn True]

Somewhere a turtle survived the racoons long enough to breed and make your little guy.

[boodlefoof]

Looks like an Eastern Painted to me too. Good job on rescuing the little guy!

I have had a few aquatic turtles over the years. I currently have two Mississippi Map turtles and used to have an Eastern Painted (had him for about 8 years then released him into the wild when I went to college). I pulled the Eastern Painted out of a pond in which it had gotten itself tangled up in some plastic wrap. It was about the same size as that one you've got.

I fed mine mainly Tetra Repto Min (the sticks). He seemed to like them. I gave him a live fish every now and then, but sometimes he wouldn't go for it. My current Map tutles really love the dried shrimps that you can buy at the pet store. I have noticed that in the winter time, all of my tutles have exhibited less interest in food.

Good luck with him. Get him a nice half-full fish tank with a nice rock for him to perch on and he'll do well. The Eastern Painteds are very hearty turtles.

[jy211]

I bought my kids 2 african spur thigh tortoises earlier this year....

[baz67]

Lowbuck,

That is about the size turtle I got my daughter when she was about 3. Damn thing would not stop eating and got about 8" in diameter. I was able to feed it by hand after a while.

[robyrd]

Hmm, I have never had turtle......What do they taste like? Chicken or something?!?!? LOL!:dunno:

At the camp I worked at we had a good ol' gal as our cook and she cooked us up some turtle stew after we caught one one day. I tell ya, it actually was really good! :yum: and maybe even a little like chicken haha