Cagle Map Turtle. Need Help for A Friend

[bullitzx2]

ok so there are four of us guys that have tanks. i have a 5.5 gal with a fiddler and he is doing really good. aside from being skiddish when someone stands over the tank, i think he's doing well. two of the other guys have red eared sliders in 10 gals and they are doing very well.

my problem is the fourth guy just bought a tank without doing any research that i can tell from. bought a hatchling Cagle Map Turtle and dropped him in without cycling. also i want to say when he first dropped it in the water it was distilled. when he moved it up here he refilled it with tap water. the thing is the turtle barely moves around on his floating rock, doesnt swim much and not very well, doesnt eat from what we see and has some kindof dent in his shell on one side and the bottom. looks like someone picked him up wrong. but is there anything yall can think of that would be causing it to be this way or are hatchlings like this. also the tank is a 10gal. he has glow in the dark plants and black rocks why i dont know. i personally think a natural feel will give them a more homey calm mood. any help is appreciated, i just hate the stupidity of someone who doesnt do any research and has no regaurd for the poor things life.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Does your friend have the tank heated? Turtles need a warmer environment to live in. I didn't cycle my turtle tank either, and my turtles were fine. Did your friend buy the turtle or catch it? Is it eating? What is he feeding it?

It's illegal to commercially sell a turtle under 4 inches in the United States, so the person your friend got the turtle from may or may not be very reliable. Cagles are also an endangered species.

Having gravel in a turtle tank is not a good idea beacause they can eat the gravel. The plants might also be nipped at to.

Is the shell soft? Hard? Look on the belly of the turtle. Is it red at all?

 

[bullitzx2]

yea he knows it was illegal to buy a turtle that small but he signed papers saying it was for scientific use. He has a heating tube in the water plus a ultraviolet light and regular white light on the top. He bought it and he is trying to feed it bits of worm and this hatchling food thats pretty small but so far i havent seen it eat and he says he doesnt either. yes the shell is soft and the bottom is yellow like its supposed to be.

 

[zenkatydid]

people like that make me mad he bypasses laws that are there for a very good reason, and adopts an endangered species, because, what, they're pretty? grrr. sorry that wasn't very helpful, i just wish people who be more responsible with animals.

 

[Devilishturtles]

The shell shouldn't be soft. I would call up your nearest Herp (reptile) vet tommorow and see what they say. That's the best chance you will have at saving the turtle.

 

[bullitzx2]

yea ill tell him thats what he should do

 

[bullitzx2]

well nevermind the turtle died today, thanks for the help though guys

 

[Devilishturtles]

That sucks.

 

[bullitzx2]

yea it does suck but the turtle never acted right when he first got it anyway. it had a dent in one side of its shell and the underbody that looked like somebody had picked him up and squeezed to hard. He is gonna go back and tell them they gave him a sick turtle which it was, with what we have no idea. Plus its illegal to sell a Cagle Map turtle plus it being that small only makes it even more illegal. i think what probably put it out of its misery was he put it in a sulfur bath for his shell hoping that might help out or something. i dont think it could lift its head enough to get out of the water to breath and drowned.

 

[tropicfishman]

this is definatly the first turtle thread I've seen in a VERY long time lol