Hey guys... As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently rescued an RES, Frankie... The previous owners were, I guess, typical in that they weren't educated as to what a RES requires. They were keeping him in a wee tank, with just enough water to cover his shell, no basking light, no rock, no heater, no filter. Its a testiment to Frankie that he survived for the three years they had him! Anyway... he wouldn't go on the basking area I provided for him, almost as if he didn't know what it was for, so today I drydocked him for a couple of hours. Put him in a rubbermade tub on a piece of slate with the basking lamp on him. The algae that was plaguing his neck area almost imediatly dried up and started to fall off. He sat there for a while with his head barely out, legs drawn in and tail curled, but sure enough, he slowly started to extend all his appendages and when I left home a while ago he was there with everything extended to its max.... I bought a 75 gallon rubbermaid tub and a 25 gallon as well... am setting up the 75 for his swimming, still not as large as I would like, but he is also having weekly bathtub excursions, and the 25 gallon as his basking area.... I am building a ramp from the 75 to the 25, the 25 being raised above the 75... I'll take pics when it is done so it makes a little more sense. He is eating great, loves crickets, turnip greens and chicken... actually, he hasn't really turned his nose up at ANYTHING yet....lol... once we have the larger tanks set up we are going to start him on feeder fish, our platties are popping out a steady stream so we almost have a home supply... Just wanted to give a little update and let you all know that I think my first "rescue" is going fine, of course, we haven't had him that long yet so alot could still happen, we are just doing our best to make sure he is happy where he is now.... Cory
Sounds good, but this may sound stupid at first but be very careful how long you drydock a turt. If you do it more than half an hour you should wet them down every 20 minutes or so. I've actually seen a map die while in drydock for less than an hour.
Yikes.... I'll be sure to keep that in mind! The drydocking seems to be really working on the algae that was on him though... much better now... Thanks for the info Cory
My Miss. Maps were prone to alge, so I would lightly brush their shells with a soft brisle toothbrush once or twice a week.
yeah... I've been doing that with a soft bristle paintbrush, seems to be working well, cept for the fact Frankie wanted to eat the brush... there's absolutly NOTHING wrong with his appetite!
Havoc- I can assure you that your map did not die from being dry dock for only a half an hour. They bask for longer than that on their own. There was something else severely wrong. I've dry docked turtles for up to 12 hours a day, and these were highly aquatic snakenecks. Moisture actually reverses the purpose of drydocking. A baby hairbrush is soft enough to use to scrub off algae from shells in case the paintbrush doesn't work.
Ok... sooooooooooo.... its better to drydock them for longer periods??? I'm just trying to get a handle on whats best.... this poor guy has quite and algae problem from being waterbound for years... would short frequent sessions or longer rarer sessions be best? I know he relaxed much quicker today, extended all his limbs and head as soon as I put him on the basking rock, as opposed to timidity he displayed yesterday...
I would consider also how much time he basks on his own. Dry docking is fine and if it's severe aglae then I'd go for about 4-6 hours a day. If he's basking good on his own, then just 4. You pretty much just have to scrub the algae off as it appears. Almost every turtle will get some at some point but having to live in water only will cause it to grow more. A fingernail brush, baby hairbrush, or any other brush that has soft, sturdy bristles will work.
i totally agree with biochic - drydocking most species of aquatic turtles is *not* going to cause any problems. IF a turtle ever did die while being drydocked for under 6 hours it was NOT because it was being drydocked - it must have been sick already or have been under an excruciatingly hot lamp or something. aquatic turtles can survive (and, indeed *thrive*) outside of water for days (although usually only 4-6 hours per day is recommended for drydocking). also, most paint brushes aren't gonna be stiff enough to actually scrub any algae off. you odn't want to use a scouring pad, though, for heaven's sake. i've found that a medium or soft toothbrush or a nail brush work the best. tough enough to actually scrub, but not so rough it hurts the animal. i've never tried a baby hairbrush, but i've heard good things about using one for this purpose.
Excellent... I will take all these suggestions and get him algae freed... As I said from the start, the poor guy was kept in water only for three years... NO basking area... I set one up and while he was nosey about it, he didn't want to, or know how to, use it... I can't believe how much he has changed in the short time we have had him, shell is glossier, very active, appetite is great... he's alot of fun to watch for sure... Thanks guys, and keep the advice coming!
oh that sounds SO great! i'm so glad you got a hold of him! and if you can't get rid of the algae completely, don't worry about it. most aquatics have some kind of algae on them somewhere. it's not harmful to them or anything. keep up the great work!
Sounds like you've gotten him off to a great start. Sometimes rescues aren't that lucky. Amazing how happy animals get when they're put in the right conditions!
yeah... can't wait till this summer so I can get him out onto the lawm in the kiddie pool...lol.... Thanks guys
Just a couple of pics of Frankie in drydock... his colors and everything look better now.... Thanks again for the tips guys
One question: in the bottom picture, what are the two bumps on his shell? Just water droplets? or something else? Honestly, I don't see a lot of algae on him. his shell looks pretty weathered though. I'm glad he's doing better and hope you two have a long friendship!
hmm... most be water droplets... its nothing I can see on him in the other pictures I have here of him... A question about shells though, you say it looks pretty weathered, well, I notcie in a couple of spots while he was drysocked that there was a very thin, almost like crepe paper, flakes coming off... and the color underneath was this nice rich tone. Do they shed there shells as well?? Thanks again
Yeah, they shed their scutes (the large hexagonal scales on their shells). They're kind of thin when they come off, but usually come off in one piece. It could be a build up of unshed scutes you are seeing. If it's not soft or red underneath, then it's probably not shell rot, but after all that time in just water, it wouldn't surprise me if he did have it. I'd keep an eye on it and see what happens.
yeah, like I said, it looks like normal shedding, but not all in one piece, the area underneath is a beautiful glossy color, but I will indeed keep my eye one it. It blows me away how different he seems to be in just the little while we had him, nowhere near as skittish. First when we got him he would pull himself into his shell when we approached him, now he actually cranes his head up towards us when we approach. I put a stick of celery in there last night for him, took him a while to realize it was food but man, once he did he tore it apart pretty quick! lol...
