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Possible RES Found

22 16:01:23

Question
Turtle
Turtle  
Hello!  

One of my neighbors found a turtle on her porch earlier this week.  I'm pretty sure it's a red eared slider however, they are not native to Pennsylvania.  Can you tell if it really is a slider (sorry about the pic quality, but at least the red coloration is visible)?  I have inquired at local pet rescues and wildlife rehabilitation centers and if he truly is a RES then no  will take him in.  

He is 4 inches long and is fairly active (although he prefers to stay underwater most of the time).  I call him 'he' because of his longish fingernails and tail. He also has some fairly severe shell pyramiding and even some scute curling around the edges of his shell. He's very active and spends most of his day swimming around in the six inches of water I put him in and trying to escape.  He did not eat the greens (dandelion, turnip, & chard) that I put in with him.

If he is a RES, I cannot afford to adopt him permanently with his prospective size, lifespan, and habitat requirements, but I want to house him properly until I can find him a new home.  Right now he is in my bathtub, which is certainly not ideal (I keep calling him my little "Salmonella Surprise" =P)! I have an old 10 gallon fish tank in my garage with a filter and heater from when I used to breed betta fish, but I'm not sure if that might be too small for him.  I was hoping to use either that or a large plastic tub Tupperware sweater bin.  Do you have any suggestions/recommendations as far as temporary housing, diet, lighting, temps, etc.

Also, any ideas on turtle/reptile rescues or adoption agencies in PA? =)  Thanks so much for your time!

Answer
Jess,  Yes he is an RES. They are legal in PA so try the local pet shops and see if they can find a home for him. You could also put an ad in the paper or craigslist. Yes it is way to small for him he would need at least a 37 high tank minimum great filtration, lighting and so on. So make sure he goes to someone who knows or has turtles. I will send you a care sheet since its a temporary fix. Good Luck, Tina

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/aquaticturtles/tp/resguide.htm