Baby Turtle

Question
QUESTION: I rescued a baby (6 months old) yellow belly slider turtle 3 days ago from someone who did not know how to care for it.  Its eyes would not open, it would not eat, and its shell looks very dry and is not shiney at all, but it is not soft. I treated its shell with peroxide, betadine, and antifungal cream and rinsed it well, treated its eyes with sterile petroleum eye ointment and an antibiotic eye drop, and have provided an environment with a uv lighted basking area and clean 78 degree water.  Its eyes no longer look swollen and are open today and it finally ate today!  My question is this, it tends to stay on the basking platform even when I turn the uv light off and only the warming light is on.  Should I be concerned about this, and is there anything else I should be doing to try and save this little guy?

ANSWER: You're doing very well, and I think you have it covered.  (A vet visit would still be a good idea, to evaluate whether he needs antibiotic injections or treatment for parasites).

I would bump the water temperature up to 80F.  Sick reptiles that are recovering tend to seek out heat, because a little extra heat aids immune system function (like us running a fever).  If possible bump the basking temp up a couple of degrees as well.  Once the turtle is fully recovered, you can drop the heat again.  No worries about the basking--he had to be in the water to eat, so he's spending at least some time there.  It's less effort to rest on land and be warm.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, Donna!  I wish I could take this little guy to the vet (I tried to get an appt.), but Indiana has a law that turtles less than 4 inches can not be bought or sold.  I did not buy him and I am certainly not trying to sell him, but the vets here still will not see him.  I got my first turtle about 5 years ago, and now this little guy makes my 5th. I just wish people would not get a pet and then not research how to take care of it!  I put a water lily in the tank I have this little guy in, and it was on the lily pad with just it's head sticking out of the water when I got up today.  Yesterday it stuck only its head in the water at the slope on the basking platform to eat.  Anyway, I won't chat your ear off, I just wanted to make sure you understand how happy I was to get your reply!  Thank you sooooooooooo much!!!

Answer
Well, that makes no sense--that's actually a Federal Law, and nothing in it prevents a vet from seeing a baby turtle.  (Where do they think turtles over 4 inches come from, anyhow?  Most are captive bred!)  Try www.arav.org and see if there are any actual reptile vets in your area.  I would keep checking around, because if a vet honestly believes that they can't see an animal just because it can't be sold, then they're not an experienced reptile vet anyhow.

I wish you better luck in finding a good vet--and, I agree, water turtles are deceptively labor-intensive and expensive to care for, and I wish they weren't quite so commonly sold to an uninformed public.