I found a baby painted turtle,it seems to have a soft spot on the bottom of its shell..is that normal?

Question

The turtle is a little bigger than a half dollar. We cut up some wax worms and nightcrawlers for it. It ate some. It is outside in a aquarium...I have a small dish w/ water, rocks and some grass. Is there anything else it needs??

Answer 1

Please listen to Lee, he is right, you are absolutely not keeping him in a correct setup, if all he has for water, is a water dish, then obviously you are not keeping the turtle right since they LIVE in water, they are not tortoises! Lee covers everything, you need to switch your setup immediately for the turtle to survive.

Answer 2

Could be a number of issues.

Fungal infections” are fairly common among red-eared sliders, especially younger ones. If you notice what looks like a light layer of cotton on your slider’s shell or eyes or in its mouth, this is most likely some form of fungal infection. Although their appearance can be alarming, most infections in their early stages are fully treatable at home. If a fungal infection remains untreated, however, it can spread across the entire body and cause serious harm to your turtle.

To treat a mild fungal infection, immerse your red-eared slider in a warm saltwater bath for about half an hour each day, using a soft sponge to gently scrub the infected regions. You can also treat patches of fungus with topical applications of a mild antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine. As long as the problem isn’t severe, you should notice signs of recovery within a day or two, and a full recovery in about 10–14 days.

If your turtle has a persistent fungal infection that home treatment isn’t curing, take it to the vet for treatment. Several medications are available that can address a fungal infection if it hasn’t spread too far.”

Respiratory Infections *****Sliders, cooter, map, painted, yellow bellied and other aquatic species are susceptible to respiratory infections. Many respiratory infections that can affect sliders are mild and easily treatable in their EARLY stages, but there are also some particularly virulent infections that can kill a turtle very quickly without veterinary attention. Sliders usually develop respiratory infections when their tank is too cold. Symptoms of an infection include a runny nose, wheezing, lopsided swimming (an ailing lung changes the turtle’s buoyancy), lethargy, and a refusal to eat. If you identify the illness in its early stages, you may be able to treat it by removing the sick slider from its quarters into a new, clean tank (especially if you keep multiple sliders, since the majority of respiratory infections are contagious) and keeping it a few degrees warmer than normal. Warmth is the most crucial factor in treating respiratory infections in the home. If the condition persists for more than a few days or worsens, bring your slider to your veterinarian, who will treat the infection with antibiotics.”



The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and worked great.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always. These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear in a few days!

This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes,  foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass.

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves only as a treat.

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose.

**Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet /  rescue in your city and state.

I wish you luck.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

Answer 3

the turtle needs its freedom.  wild-caught turtles do not make good pets.  

Answer 4

it has soft shell syndrome that means it needs more calcium and protein. heres the website to learn how to take care of it http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/mbd.h... hope i helped!!!!

Answer 5

Babies often have soft shells so that is fine.  BUT the care (both food and tank) is inapropriate for painted turtles which are an aquatic species that only leaves the water for basking and laying eggs.  They CANNOT eat out of the water because they can't swallow properly.  They are also really uncomfortable out of the water because that is where they are in danger.  Once in the water they are safe.  Even newly hatched babies are very good swimmers and need many gallons of water-NOT a small dish.

The aquarium has to be INSIDE.  Never have an aquarium outside or in direct sunlight as it will cook the turtle.  Use a kiddy pool filled to within 4" of the top with water instead if you are going to keep it outside.

An aquatic turtle needs 10 gallons of water per INCH of shell-painteds can reach a foot in length rapidly, requiring a 125 gallon tank for only one turtle.  For a cheaper option, use a large plastic storage bin from Walmart, even the largest in under $20 but make sure it isn't one with wheels which can cause it to crack and leak.  Fill the conainer to within 4" of the top with water-it does not need to be treated unless there's heavy metals or other contaminants.  Chlorine doesn't bother turtles and the older ones can even deal with normal pool chlorine levels (but there are other reasons to not to let one be in a pool).

***Keeping turtles in a too small tank won't keep them small-that logic only works for goldfish and even then they don't stop growing until they're too big.  Anyone who says that an animal will only grow to the size of their enclosure is either lying or was fed wrong info.***

The tank also needs a basking spot (don't have it so it cuts down the swimming space) where the turtle can completely dry off (the turtle docks are great but make sure you don't use the bottom two suction cups). A heat producing light bulb needs to be focused on the basking spot so that the temperature is 95-105 degrees. You also need a UVB specific lamp over that spot so that the turtles can metabolize calcium and make sure that there is not glass or plastic in the way because UVB can't travel through it. I use a mercury vapor bulb that produces both heat and UVB, it's more esxpensive but costs less than two separate bulbs and fixtures.

You also need a water heater to keep the water 75-85 degrees but make sure it is sheilded (pvc with lots of 1/4" holes works really well) somehow or the turtle will burn itself on it (they don't know it's too hot until it's too late). Petstores usually carry one specifically for turtles that is preset and already sheilded. If the water isn't above 70, the turtles can't digest their food and it will rot in their stomachs.

Filters are good, make sure you use one raterd for 2-3x the capacity of the tank as turtles are messy.

NEVER use rocks or gravel smaller than the turtle's head. They are known to swallow them occasionally and it will kill them.

Feed your turtles a good commercial food (reptomin is one of the beat and you can get even it at Walmart) in a volume equal to the turtle's head for EACH turtle at each feeding. For turtles over 6" long you should only feed them once every other day (twic daily if under 3"), if you can't stand the begging, give them veggies. Overfeeding is very bad for the turtles' health as the shell can't grow fast enough and they can suffocate. Veggies and fruits are freebies, again, only feed RES while they are in the water. Live food should also be fed regularly: blood worms, blackworms, feeder guppies, rosy red minnows, ect. Shrimp (alive, frozen, dried, ect) is too salty for anything other than occasional treats. Goldfish will slowly poison turtles.

***If you can't provide the needed care for the rest of its 40-50 year lifespan, please return it immediately to where you found it.  It will have a higher chance of surviving in the wild (if it can reach water) than it will in captivity, especially if you can't provide it with everything it needs (in which case it will probably die with a few weeks).  Do not keep a turtle with the idea that you can rehome it when it gets too big or you no longer want to care for it.  Shelters and zoos get far more turtles given to them than they can handle and will either refuse them outright or put them to sleep as soon as you leave.  It is illegal to return them to the wild even if it is to the exact place you got it from.

Don't release any animal that has been keep in captivity for more than a week or two. It is illegal and very irresponsible and have destroyed many habitats (RES are notorious for this, they are a highly invasive species).

Answer 6

I am assuming that it is a hatchling, in which case a soft shell is normal.

Rocks and grass are nowhere close to being an appropriate environment. The turtles chance of survival is much better if you release it.