My boyfriend found this turtle at work and decided to bring it home. I'm not exactly sure what kind of turtle it is, but I am worried about what to do about it. Her scales are starting to fall off... not a lot, but one at a time. Is this bad? And what kind of turtle do I have? MY TURTLE PICTURE

From that angle it looks like a slider, are there red marks along the side of the face, then its a red-eared slider.

Where are you from?

I'll stick with slider, as the shell doesnt have the markings of a cooter.

As far as the scales falling off, it could mean different things. A) its a normal part of the turtles life and is growing and sheddings its current scales or B) it is malnutritioned somehow, over or under feeding, not the right types of light for food digestion, too hot or too cold, or the turtle is sick.

Its not the greatest thing to take a turtle out of the wild, it could actually be illegal depending on where you are located.

There are many types of turtles out there, but after having a sliders for about 9 years, the one in your picture looks like mine.

But next time you want a pet, please leave the wild ones in the wild and buy a captive bred turtle... there are also turtle adoption agencies that find homes for unwanted pets. sometimes people get turtles and dont realize they are more than a "put them in a tank with some water and feed them" kinda pet. I dont mean to sound like i am giving a lecture or anything.

oh yea, there isnt enough water in that tank... if you take the turtle and stand it up lengthwise... the water should completely cover the turtle. Sliders are aquatic (yes they come out to sunbathe and breathe) but they love to swim and hang out in the water.

I am from North Carolina. I think it is illegal to have him, but I've had him since he was the size of a quarter and he was all alone in the middle of a concrete plant where he could have got squished. Thats the only reason that we brought him home. I could take a few more pictures of him and add them in my next post. And I know that there wasn't enough water, thats why i put more water. I really don't know anything about turtles so if you could tell me more about what i am doing wrong that would help a lot. Thank you, Jenna Baker

you should give the turtle away to a preserve. they should be kept in the wild and you could have moved it when you found it.

approximately how big is the turtle, hard to tell by the picture, and how big of a tank is she in. It looks like a girl, going by the claw length. full-grown females will can get really big... probably a foot or more in shell length... i caught one while fishing once....she was so big, she broke the line.

Robyn has some good information on her website about turtles. Just feed them some commercial foods/pellets and vegetables/fruits and some meat products and live foods.

On a comparison, it could be a yellow-bellied slider as well.

Are there red markings along the sides of the face?

I feed my turtles commercial pellets, various vegetables like lettuce and zuchinni/squash, fish, meat (vary sparlingly they may get some grilled meat scraps like brisket THEY GO CRAZY for it)

Most turtles, mine too, are beggers, mine will follow you around and swim to you looking for some food, if i fed my turtles as much as they could eat, they'd either be dead or weigh 50 lbs :)

Nope there are no red markings on her head so thats how I knew it wasn't a red eared slider. I feed her ReptoMin floating food sticks, but how many should I give her a day. I also have some ReptoTreat gammarus 100% natural shrimp that I give to her seldomly. I know what you mean about the being 50 lbs thing. She follows me around all the time scratching at the glass like she is starving lol. But I know she isn't cause I feed her good. I'm worried that I feed her too much, but how much is too much? She is in a 10 gallon tank, and yes I know its a girl because she is flat underneath. Speaking of her underneath... it is starting to look a little pink, as you will see in the photos. Why is that? :unsure: Is she sick? Wow... I didn't know turtles were so much to take care of. I would give her to someone else, like a reserve or whatever you were talking about, but she isn't mine, she's my boyfriends and he would never get rid of her... he loves her to death and he's wanted a turtle his whole life. Anyway... here are the pictures. A FEW TURTLE PICS

you should buy a turtle instead of taking one. they are healthier and not taken from the wild.

I can't just put the turtle back into the wild now... I mean, she wouldn't know how to live out there would she?? Oh yeah, and this is Jenna, I just registered.

kk, yes it probably wont survive in the wild but you give it to a wildlife rehabitator and they teach it how to be wild or something. ask robyn about ti. she raised a young snapper and brought it to one.

ok those are better pictures, i'd say its a yellow bellied slider. i dont know about the pink on the belly, maybe robin could shed some light on it.

Your set-up looks real nice and looks alot bigger than a 10 gallon :)

Mine are in a 100 gallon outdoor pond.

If you are set on keeping it, which your boyfriend seems to be, you should take it to a vet that has experience in reptiles/turtles and see what you are dealing with.

You need to be giving her some variety of foods, other than the commercial pellets.


If you feed her too much, her skin will become dry and flakey looking, the actual skin, not the scutes on the shell... the skin will start to peel and come off, kind of like after you have a sunburn. this is a sign of her eating too much and growing too much, also this will lead to her scutes coming off on the shell too early.

A Turtle her size, id throw in a couple fingertips full of the reptomin sticks.

If you want to keep her tank cleaner, you can feed her in a seperate container so you wont have food particles floating around.

This isnt a bad idea if you dont have a strong filtration system, to feed her in another container, turtles are messy and voracious, especially when they eat live foods and meaty foods, they will tear them up :)


oh yea... dont take anymore turtles out of the wild, just by some from a nice breeder :) :D

good info jarrod! :D :lol: .

Well I am glad you liked those pictures better. I won't take any more turtles out of the wild... I promise. But you can't buy them here because it is illegal. And I hope she isn't sick because I would cry if anything happened to her. You know so much about turtles... how old are you? LoL I would think you'd have to be old to know so much, unless you were a specialist. What other foods should I feed her? I fed her a grasshopper once. Can she have live animals? Yeah its a 10 gallon tank... at least thats what it said when I bought it. I'm gonna get on here every now and then with my questions and hopefully we can keep in touch.

i'm 22, i've had a RES since 8th grade and now i have 3 (2 girls and a boy; Roxie, Rosie, and Rufus)

I just read up on them, when i first got it for good grades, me and my mom didnt know what we were getting into. We started out with a little 2 gallon, then moved to a 10, then a 20 and now a 100 gallon outdoor pond.

she can eat live animals, but buy the crickets, wild ones may have pesticides or other chemicals on them. you could put real small live Rosy Red Minnows for her to eat ( i know Robyn will hate that advice, us turtle owners call them "feeder fish").

She can also eat vegetables like carrots shredded, squash, lettuce (mine dont eat lettuce, because they look at me like i am stupid for giving them some leaves)

i give mine some meat, not raw, but cooked, because i dont want to pass on infections or salmonella. today they had some stew meat and baked ham... just a little bit, not too much.

She looks young and turtles move from carniverous to more omniverous as they get older. some days my turtles will ravage fish like a shark, as soon as they touch the water the chase is on, other days they ignore them like they arent there. i have learned that if you put a turtle in a pond, they like to eat expensive fish and not 10 for a dollar fish :) my turtles have expensive taste.

Wow... you know a lot about turtles for only being 22. I'm 18 and I don't know squat about them. Except what you have told me on here... and what is common sense. My turtle loves lettuce, hell she even tries to eat her gravel sometimes. I saw some skin conditioner or something at Petsmart that you're supposed to rub on her shell and skin, but is that stuff good for her? :huh: I guess I shouldn't ask you so many questions... sorry lol.

i'm sure its safe to rub on her, i've never used any skin conditioner or anything like that. does she have access to UV light, as in sunlight or a UV lamp? the UV light is essential in the digestion process, if you put a light and heat lamp, you will see her basking on the ledge of the dry part of the tank, not only does she need the UV light, she needs the basking light as well, as you know turtles are cold-blooded and their heat is regulated by the sun, which also helps digest the food.

i am in the process of putting up a site for my pictures of the turtles and fish and ponds... i also have a picture of a yellow bellied slider, full grown that my sister and brother in law helped across the road into the pond he was heading for.

Yes, she has a UV light for day and a moonlight lamp for night time. The night lamp is 75W, but I don't know what the day lamp is. Thats the first thing that we got for her, along with a tank and some food. Just yesterday we bought a filter and put it in there and we rearranged her setup. But for some reason, she doesn't like to go in the deep water... I think that she is scared to swim. Is that possible? Well I am going to bed now... gotta get up early. Talk to ya tomorrow or something. P.S. Thats cool... the site that you're gonna make. Let me know when you get that up so that I can take a look at it.

hmm, most turtles i have seen when i put them in the water go to the deepest furthest point, so they can turn around and examine the situation and they gradually come up. hence the name "slider" they "slide" off their basking areas into the water when startled

my old sliders only went in the water when it was too hot to bask on the rocks.

Wow, I leave for a day and there are so many messages and responses. JarrodRossi has given you very good advice. I will try to answer some of your questions from my view point but I think everyone has covered them pretty well.

My web page on turtles is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtle.htm
JarrodRossi when your site is up, be sure to let me know the URL so I can link to it.

I agree that the turtle seems to be a female (or maybe too young to tell) yellow-bellied slider or something similar.

Some scute lose (scales coming off) may be normal. If it's a lot, a vet should be consulted. You should probably go to one anyway.

A 10 gallon tank is too small. I suggest a 40 gallon breeder tank. She will love it. As far as being scared of deeper water, I think it's a matter of getting used to it and having various depths which you can create using slabs of rock and things.

You've had the turtle too long to have it safely returned to the wild. If you ever find you can't care for the turtle, contact your local turtle club or turtlehomes.org

Where do you live that having any turtles is illegal? I don't know of that being the case anywhere.

Live foods are best! Your turtle is probably big enough that I would try some earthworms. Just rinse them off first. Get the smaller troutworms, not the huge nightcrawlers.

I raised Snappy myself for half a year and released him. He did not go through a wildlife rehabilitator. The one we have just a half mile away knows very little about turtles and won't keep one long term (Snappy came to me in early winter and had to stay indoors until spring).

A turtle expert who lives near us once told me that the skin conditioners may not be a good idea. The ones that are greasy can clog the natural pores in the shell. If a turtles's shell is dry, then using it on occasion is probably just fine. It also depends on what exactly is in the product that you saw.

BTW, I'm 32-years-old and have only had two turtles, both for short periods of time (they were released).

Good luck with your turtle!

i had 2 red eared sliders short term too. i miss them but they are very sensative.

I love my turtles, especially Rufus, i've had him for so long, i feel towards him like most people feel towards a dog.

Turtles really brighten up a pond (as long as they arent eating everything).

They really do seem to have little personalities, even if they are reptiles.

i wish mine lived long enough to be put in my pond.

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice... I listened it you and did some of the things that you said. I don't think that we will get tired of her or get rid of her, but if we do, I will make sure that she goes to a good home. BTW Robyn, I am living in North Carolina and it is illegal to own a turtle unless it is for eduacational purposes (like in a school). Her shell is doing fine now and I am feeding her more of a variety of foods. And she has started going in the deep water now. She loves it too. I would get a 40 gallon tank, but I can't afford it and I don't have anywhere to put it. I have two dogs that would probably eat her if they could get to her and a 40 gall tank would have to go on the floor in my house. But when she starts getting bigger then I will get her a bigger tank. Sorry it took so long to write a reply, but I was on vacation in New Jersey. Hope everyone's week went well. Oh yeah... what about the gravel thing... nobody answered me about that. She eats her rocks. I stop her when I see her, but I'm sure that she does it when I'm not around.

get at least a 20 gallon long for the turtle.

I am looking for a turtle! I am responsible and would take very good care of one. I found that a lot of them are illegal though. Id like a small one though, 5 inches long(one side of the shell to the other) at the most.If you have one that you dont want which I got from the impression of your post, Id be happy to help out. If not, I was wondering if you had any information of were I might be able to find a legal turtle?
I am not a member at this site, so you would instead be able to reach me at
qtcat64@yahoo.com

I am looking for a turtle and thought sence you had them that you might be able to help me find one.(?) Im looking for a small one.At the most 5 inches from the top of the shell to the bottom. But not to small, were I live it is illegal to have turtles smaller than 4 inches from top to bottom.(picky aren't I?lol)I am not a member here, but you'd be able to contact me at my e-mail address:
qtcat64@yahoo.com

just buy one at a lfs. how big of a tank do you have? if billabong lady doesnt have room for a proper sized tank she might want to give up the turtle.

Hi. I visited your website in hope of finding ways on how to get a turtle. I even sent you an e-mail earlier. I have also posted three messages on this board including this one. I have asked two other people on any information that they have on how to get turtles. And just so you know in most of the U.S. turtles are illegal. Only about 2 or some states will allow them. I read that two men selling turtles at a flea market were arrested. I was at one earlier with my parents and saw a guy selling turtles. There were about 10, they were small, like 4.5 inches.(less than 4 inches is illegal here) After my father said that could be found for much cheaper at local pet stores, we were suprised to find that they are indeed illegal.(we had jut found out) So, in all, I was just wondering if you new were any small LEGAL! turtles could be found?

i dont know because i dont know what state your from. if a lfs is selling turtles just buy 1. they should know what is legal and whats not.

Calm down. 3 posts in 45 minutes isnt really enough time to answer any questions.

First, where are you from, that way someone could help you find a turtle. Most pet turtles I know arent going to stay 5 inches... they are gonna get more like 12 inches or more. so if you want something to stay small, maybe a turtle isnt for you.

They can also live 30 years.

What do you plan on putting a 5 inch turtle in?

answer those questions and i will be more than happy to help you out.

i think a 30 gallon is okay for 1 turtle.

"Guest," I have answered all forum and e-mail posts. I hope my answers were sufficient. The commonly sold turtles like red-eared sliders, painted turtles, etc. are legal in most US states. Turtles under 4" cannot be legally sold commercially but there are legal ways to have one. Contact your local turtle club (I gave you links in my other e-mail) to find legal breeders in your area. Try places like turtlehomes.org and kingsnake.com to find turtles that need homes. Most turtles are full grown at larger than 5". Those that stay that small are mostly the rare or endangered ones such as the spotted turtle. It's illegal to have a wild one but as I told you, you can buy legal captive-bred ones for $100+. I know you said you can't afford that but I'm mentioning it for others who may read this.

Here is the site on the 4" rule:
http://www.tortoise.org/general/4inch.html

sliders are good turtle, and so are painted.

sliders are probably the best for a beginner. if you feed them, give them proper lighting, enough room too swim and bask, and make sure the water is cleaned or filtered, normally every thing is going to be smooth.

i got my first RES for 8-10 dollars and my other 2 were free :) (they were take-ins like i said before)

res are great, they were my first and last turtles.

Nope... you sure can't have my turtle. I'm sorry. And I do take good care of my turtle... and I will get her a bigger tank as soon as I can. And I live in NC so it's illegal to have any turtle, not just under 4".

how big is it now?

I did a search. I can find no reference to turtles being illegal in North Carolina. I found that South Carolina has banned commercial digging up of turtle nests and collection of the more rare turtles for commercial purposes. This doesn't include pets. I couldn't find any mention in the NC DNR page either. I found this page on NC turtles:
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpc...es/turtles.html

Here is a quote from another page:

"As a matter of fact, trapping of North Carolina turtles is up 5000 percent due to Chinese demand. In 2002, twenty-three thousand North Carolina turtles were exported to China.
To respond to this threat to our turtles, North and South Carolina, along with several other states, have passed laws making it illegal to trap eleven different kinds of turtles. They are the Eastern Painted Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Bog Turtle, Eastern Chicken Turtle, Diamondback Terrapin, Eastern River Cooter, Florida Cooter, Redbelly Turtle, Yellow Belly Sliders, Spiny Softshell and that favorite of children, the Eastern Box Turtle. The Federal Government also protects Bog Turtles, making possession of Bog Turtles illegal without a permit.
Common Snapping Turtles and Alligator Snapping Turtles, while deliciously edible and commercially viable, are not protected but will be added if found to be over-harvested in the future. "

This is from http://www.bloggingpoet.squarespace.com/bl...rtle-today.html

So, it would seem that you cannot remove most wild turtles in NC. No mention is made of turtles legally obtained from legal breeders, turtle groups, etc. Commercial collection does not equal legal possession. If you can find a site that says otherwise, please post it for others.