Hello -

I have ended up with a turtle that had been attacked by some kind of animal. He/She (I refer to it as a him) now only has one eye and is missing part of his upper jaw. What ever got it put a 1 1/2" fang mark on his shell along with some other tooth marks. I have had him for a few months and feel that he is healed. I have been feeding him "turtle" food from the pet store that he has now mastered the act of eating with. I have him in an aquarium with a basking area and a basking light. I think I'm doing right by him, however feel guilty that he is alone in the tank. I am afraid he is now unable to live free in a pond because of his jaw and eye issue. I know it sounds silly at this point, but I'm really not sure what kind of turtle he is, the man at the pet store told me he is a red eared slider and I have been treating him as such, but I'm not sure. I've looked at pictures on the internet and I don't think he is but could use some advice. Bottom line is I really wasn't sure he was gonna live and I wanted to do what I could for him and he is healed and is doing great but I want what is best for him. I really only had the intention to heal him and then release him, but I just don't think that is a good idea. What do you think?

Dorothy

Hi Dorothy and welcome to the board. :)
Glad to here that you rescued the turtle. Sometimes we rescue animals, then they get well and we aren't sure what to do with them. :blink: Sounds like you have done a good job!
I don't know a thing about turtles but there are folks on the forum that do. Robyn for sure will be on tomorrow and will be able to give you some advice.
Is there anyway you can get a picture of your turtle? That would help her.

Good luck!

Tia

Good for you Dorothy, congrats on your new house pet. :) I agree with you that with that much damage it'd be rough on him to get food. And also easier for predators.

Hello, Dorothy! Thank you for helping out the turtle. Red-eared sliders are easy to identify because they have a red mark on their cheeks. If the turtle doesn't have that, it's not a red-eared slider. If you send photos of the turtle, top, bottom, and side of the head, I can give you my opinion on what it might be. Sometimes I know for sure but not always as there are a lot of similar US turtles (I assume you're in the US; I'm not very familiar with species in other countries).

Since the poor turtle is missing an eye and part of the jaw, he/she is not a good candidate for release. Not only will predators get him/her more easily but he/she will have more trouble finding foods. Plus, he/she has gotten used to some commercial food by now. How big is the turtle? If he/she is over 5" long, I may be able to sex the turtle for you if you can send a photo of the front nails. Males have much longer nails.

My turtle pages are indexed at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/index.htm and would cover most of what I would say if my time was limitless. If you really want to release or find a good home for the turtle, then I suggest contacting your local reptile or turtle organization. If you tell me what state you're in, I may be able to find one for you. They are better able to ascertain if the turtle can be rehablitated or released.

Good luck!

P.S. Make the turtle's day and get him/her some live mealworms! When I buy mine (for my turtle and chickens), I often toss the store red-eared sliders a few. They go nuts.

Well, Last summer I found a snapping turtle that only had one eye, well more like one half of a face, He had half of his face missing but it had healed and he lived fine as far as I know. I would go to the lake and I would see him walking on the bottom so he seemed to get along fine.