Advice Column: Can a red eared slider survive winter in a pond in NY

Question from Colleen:

My mother has a red eared slider who is about 8 months – 1 yr old. She recently has become ill which makes it difficult for her to care for her turtle. My sister has a beautiful pond in her backyard. We live in Utica NY. Can Red Eared Sliders stay outside in our climate?

Colleen,

Photo Courtesy of Kyle Petersen

Red eared sliders can be kept outside. However, for the winter months that needs to be reconsidered carefully.

I’m not familiar with the seasonal climate of Utica, NY, but I suspect that a backyard pond would fully freeze, from top to bottom, during the winter months. Since red eared sliders that do hibernate (because it is actually not a requirement for a captive red eared slider to hibernate, nor is it recommended) would need a pond that has a thick, leafy and muddy bottom and is several feet deep in order to do so. I don’t believe your sisters pond would provide this, making it an uninhabitable place for the red eared slider. In general, you’ll find that most people bring their red eared sliders indoors during winter months.

My recommendation to you? Contact the New York Turtle and Tortoise Society to see if they have a program where they can take in captive turtles that can no longer be cared for by their owners. If they can’t help you, I’m sure they can at least point you in the right direction.

Good luck!

Advice Column: What To Do With Turtle On Doorstep

Question from Mr Turtle Head:

What do I do when a turtle sits outside in front of my door?

Mr Turtle Head,

As it turns out, that turtle is probably on its way to its nesting area and saw your doorstep as a nice safe basking spot at the exact moment he/she wanted to take a rest. (Take heart…it means your home is very welcoming!)

While in general, you can simply pick up a turtle by getting a firm grasp of their shell on both sides of their body and moving them to a safe area in the direction they were already pointing, you do need special instructions if the turtle happens to be a snapping turtle.

Snapping turtles come in two variations: Common Snapping Turtle and Alligator Snapping Turtle. They are equipped with extra long necks that allow them to reach around and to their sides as far back as the middle of their body, if not more. So it is *very* easy for you to lose a finger or get a really nasty cut if the snapping turtle is not treated with respect.

Here is a great video that can show you how to…somewhat safely…move a snapping turtle along.

(Notice how this turtle is already poised in attack mode with its mouth open…scary!)

Good luck!

Advice Column: There are little white worms swimming in the tank…

Question from Luther:

I can see little white worms swimming in the tank. Do i need to treat the RES and the tank?

Luther,

Photo Courtesy of câmara escura

Sounds like you may have Planaria in your tank. Planaria are flatworms, related to flukes and tapeworms. They are quite small and hairlike. Take a good look at them and you may see a hammerhead shape on one end with eyes.

Bottom line, they are not harmful to turtles.

However… they are an indicator that the tank has a problem. Either you are feeding your turtle (You do have a turtle, right? Making an assumption here since you didn’t mention, but you are asking this question on a turtle website) too much, or you are not cleaning your tank enough.

I say this because Planaria require a food source, which means there must be excess food wastes in the tank to support them.

If you want to get rid of them, you should:

• Clean your tank thoroughly. Really get into the gravel as that is where the worms find food. Remove dead plants and other waste.

• Cut back on the amount you feed your turtle. Excess food not eat becomes part of the waste and can sustain the Planaria as well.

• Finally, once the tank is clean, make sure you keep it clean. Change the water frequently and do regular maintenance. A clean tank = no Planaria!

Good luck!

Advice Column: Red-Eared Slider is not eating…why?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I said I would be starting an advice column on the first and third Friday of every month. Now, I know your thinking I’m stupid, because here it is a Monday and I’m getting ready to post my first advice question.

Well, as it goes, I decided that Friday’s were just too busy for me and have changed the date to Monday’s. I have an irregular work week and Monday’s happen to be a day off for me, so this works quite well.

After my announcement, two girls logged into the Georgia Public Library System thought they would be funny by sending me questions regarding how to make turtle soup and how to get rid of turtles with suggestions of shoving them up one’s butt. Don’t hold your breathe on my answering those questions, ladies.

That aside, here is the first question of the first column. Woohoo!

From Geannine

I have a red eared slider, approx. 10 years old.  She has stopped eating.  No matter what we try, pelletes for aquatic turtles or lean meat, even small fish. she refuses to eat.  I’ve also noticed some small soft brown spots on her shell.  Can you help?

Geannine,

If you still have your turtle and she hasn’t improved, I would recommend you take her to a veterinarian who is trained in reptiles immediately. While the lack of eating can be due to many things, the brown spots sound like the onset of shell rot. Shell rot is caused by organisms that penetrate the shell through scratches or abrasions. Once in, they start to eat away at the shell and eventually at the body of the turtle, leading to serious infections and potentially death.

As for the lack of eating, that maybe be related to the potential shell rot. Again, here it would also be good for you to get a fecal sample and have a veterinarian analyze it.

The easiest way to get a fecal sample is to put your turtle in a plastic container with breathing holes and a centimeter of water over night. If your turtle likes to roam, make sure you put a lid on the container otherwise you might be in for a game of turtle hide and seek in the morning. In the morning, you should have a fresh fecal sample to take to your veterinarian. (Fecal samples should not be older than 4 hours. You will want to keep them refrigerated as well.)

Now, to answer the actual question, here are several reasons your turtle might not be eating:

• Need a change in food (shrimp is always good for getting them out of their rut)
• What season is it? Turtles will generally get more lethargic when it’s time to hibernate. (Think winter for your region, just like all other creatures that hibernate.)
• Is the water warm enough? If it’s too cold, their body might get confused and think it’s time for hibernation. They can stop eating if they’re too cold.
• Is your turtle stressed? They experience stress just like humans, so if they’ve been traveling recently, get handled a lot, or have just gotten a new friend in their tank, they might be stressed. Give them some time and peace…they should be back to normal soon enough.
• Is your turtle sick? Lop-sided swimming, nasal discharge or raspy breathing could mean you need to take a visit to a veterinarian for some antibiotics.

If eating doesn’t happen in two weeks and you think you’ve done everything right, definitely take them to a veterinarian. Something else might be going on that you can’t see.

Advice column on Turtletopia

I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting lots of questions in blog comments on the site. So I thought it would be a good idea to start up an advice column to answer your questions as best as I can. I’ve said before, I’m not an expert, but I’m awfully good at researching information and I can certainly find the information for you from good resources, none the less.

With that, I’ll start running an advice column bi-monthly, on the first and the third Friday of the month. That gives you guys about two weeks to get your questions in and I’ll pick them out as I can answer them. I’ll even let you ask them anonymously, if you like. It also gives me time to think up a catchy name for the column.

Send me your questions and let’s see if I can help you out!