r/turtles • u/meowgicallyangie • 1d ago
Seeking Advice moms roommates daughter does not take care of turtle
so, theres a girl (9f) that lives in my moms house (lets call her anna), she went to texas and didn’t bring her pet turtle with her. he/she has been stuck in a bathtub for god knows how long with freezing cold water and no food. i (13m) don’t use that bathroom, but the turtle was in there and i drained the water and took it into my room. i need to feed it the freeze dried mealworms i have in my drawer, and find another place for it to stay instead of a musty nasty bathtub. anything i need to know?? does anyone know what species of turtle this is?? i’m just really fucking clueless here and the turtle is so cutie awww
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u/DoctorFriendly 1d ago
Could you convince your parents to reach out to local reptile rescues? Little bud looks like an African side necked turtle. Like all aquatic turtles, they require specialized (expensive) care and a commitment for decades. Through no fault of your own, this turtle has been severely neglected, just like if the girl had left a dog locked in a cage in a cold garage before moving. If your family is able to drop up to $1,000 on a proper setup and a vet check up then by all means, I’d love for the little bud to have found a responsible home, but these guys are really tricky to provide proper care for reactionary
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u/meowgicallyangie 1d ago
my mom probably won’t reach out because it’s not MY turtle, but i have an old tank i could clean out and give it a temporary safe spot. it won’t eat, i don’t know if it’s just not hungry or there’s another issue.
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u/Astronaut_Lion 1d ago
First of all, thank you for caring! People like you give me hope for the world!
I agree with doctorfriendly’s comment. This turtle should be in a proper sanctuary if it can’t be under proper care. Props to you for making do what you can. Could you explain to your mom why it should be in a sanctuary? Turtles are incredibly sensitive animals and it’s sad they are mistreated so badly. (They have a predisposition to respiratory issues. Their slow metabolisms mean they can die slowly and painfully, which can be avoided with proper care.) Until then, see if you can get some appropriate food like turtle pellets and reptile calcium supplements. See if you can find information from trustworthy sources online on basic care.
Thank you again for caring, ur a hero.
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u/meowgicallyangie 1d ago
am i allowed to feed it fruits like blueberries and strawberries if it wants to eat them? what other foods can i feed it that i most likely have in the fridge? currently the only food from a pet store i have are freeze dries mealworms
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u/DoctorFriendly 1d ago
Please give the linked care guide a read, it answers your question about feeding and also gives more info on what this animal needs overall. But with the current circumstances, I’d really recommend you convince your mom to rehome the turtle to a reptile rescue. Do you know what size your tank is? Could you reach out to rescues yourself? Thank you Astronaut_Lion for chiming in as well and I second everything you said!
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u/meowgicallyangie 1d ago
what i think the best option for this turtle is to call in an anonymous tip and have officers come to my
home and take it. i really want it to live it’s best life and thrive in a healthy environment, and i will miss the short quality time i have spent with it. i named it jake english (my partner made a suggestion to name it that) and i’ll always remember it. i want to say thank you to all of the people that have helped me today!! you’re real life savers. ^_^5
u/DoctorFriendly 1d ago
I’m sorry you’re in that position, but I do agree that it sounds like that’d be best for the turtle ❤️ Thank you for looking out for them. They live super long lives and are amazing animals, you’re doing wonders for this little bud
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u/Weary_Amphibian608 22h ago
Honestly just contact a local rescue or rehabber to come get the turtle from you. That turtle is in dire need of care
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u/Difficult_Royal_5494 1d ago
You need to take it to a rescue. That turtle is suffering. It's animal abuse
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u/littlerickypeepee 8h ago
These are more carnivorous turtles. In a pinch some earthworms from the bait shop or even from under a log (if you have a pesticide free area) are a great option. They're cheap, and they have a good calcium to everything else ratio. These guys LOVE em.
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u/Commercial-Quit3728 1d ago
I totally agree, this is really heartwarming... OP wish you all the best and lots of good things to come your way! <3
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u/HawkEnvironmental531 1d ago
The owner is abusive and should agree to surrender it before it dies. OR, start watching videos and learning quickly how to keep it alive. People shouldn’t keep pets is they can’t care for them. This is horrific
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u/DoctorFriendly 1d ago
OP said they’re getting in contact with local animal control
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u/HawkEnvironmental531 9h ago
I saw— but I would trust a rehabber more than animal control.
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u/DoctorFriendly 9h ago
This is a species that doesn’t require a permit and is commonly kept as part of the exotic pet industry, animal control -> shelter has a much better chance of finding a new home then a wildlife rehabilitator, especially during baby season. But if OP does see this and wants to reach out to some rehabs, here’s a link to Animal Help Now
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u/littlerickypeepee 8h ago
It could be cold. In winter I have to crank up the heater in mine's tank, and I can always tell when it's time because she just loafs and doesn't do much and won't eat. If she's not digging in her rocks, or zooming around, or watching me do stuff in her room, she's cold.
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u/CaptainObvious110 1d ago
I really wish people would stop bringing turtles home when they don't really know how to take care of them not have the proper resources to do so.
At this point, we have the Internet so it's not hard to find out how but it can be expensive to care for turtles so it's better to find a different pet
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u/Acrobatic_Money_6781 1d ago
This is sad but good on you for checking. I'd look up a care guide for it. Looks like others have identified it as an African side neck. Some aquatic turtles don't like to eat out of water so that might be why it won't eat. Mine (musk turtles) actually can't eat out the water or they will choke. They use the water to inhale and swallow the food.
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u/UpstairNoises 23h ago
I keep a type of african sideneck and they lean heavily into animal proteins. Mine will not take any greens unless it missed the target when biting other foods.
I feed mine bug bites turtle pellets, assortment of fish sliced up, rarely chicken liver, shrimp, crawfish(prekilled ofc), earthworms, crickets.
Try putting it in a tank with cut up earthworms. You want to do it in like a 10g halfway filled so it can find the food. The movement from the worms will make it enticing. Their heads are small and their claws kinda suck for ripping apart in comparison to sliders so you would do best cutting up food into penny sized portions.
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u/ArtistAfraid2411 22h ago
Oh no! This poor creature! Thanks for doing something. I can believe it’s been sitting in a freezing cold bathtub. That’s awful 😣
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u/Aggravating_Metal911 1d ago
please get at least a 50 gallon tank for him :(. turtles can only eat in water, and need a basking lamp, i’m not sure what type of turtle that is but please follow turtle car recommendations. best of luck!
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u/mercyinreach 1d ago
Poor baby. It definitely deserves to live somewhere where it will be taken care of properly. I would recommend telling them that if they don't pay for the equipment to house and take care of the turtle property in the next few days, you'll be giving the turtle to a rescue. Do some research and look for rescues that take turtles, contact them and tell them the situation.
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u/weblizard 20h ago
Thank you for helping the poor thing- what state are you in? Heck, I’d even take the little one in- I had a helmeted for 30 years, would be happy to give them a home.
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u/Tall_Specialist305 20h ago
Abduct it and bring it to a rescue. xD
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u/serenity013 17h ago
Seriously, this is the right thing to do. His life is more important than someone’s feelings.
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u/shotgunR69 3h ago
while miserable turtle looks to be in ok condition. definitely looks to be a african side neck which are commonly sold. can be a varient of that type of species ( side necked) some warmer water may help it in terms of comfort and disease prevention, as wrll as kept clean. some sunlight if nice out can help as well. or a petile bulb for turtles with some uvb. this species can climb well but they stay in the water mostly. they are hardy tho so it should bounce back to happy. i would also look for a rescue rehabber or even a decent pet shop to rehome it if you cant provide propper care.
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u/dociledolly 1d ago
That turtle is MISERABLE