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 #2073542


Kelwag
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 Painted baby has something growing on it?

I found a baby painted turtle in early Aug and have been keeping it in a nice habitat. He has what looks like fur growing on his feet and under his neck. Could this be molting of his skin or something else?
I cleaning his water 1-2x a week, plenty of basking time outside and now he has a moonlight light/heat lamp. He has great appetite and eats mostly worms and freeze dried shrimp. Seems healthy otherwise - very active, etc.
09/18/09  10:43pm

 #2073546


Heatseeker
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   Message To: Kelwag   In reference to Message Id: 2073542


 Painted baby has something growing on it?

Could you please post a clear pic for us? Can you please give us some more info on your tank set up. What are your temps, water and basking area (asuming he has a basking area in the tank)? do you have a uvb light or does he just go outside for sunlight? How long was he without a heat light in his tank (you said he now has one) is it for daytime or are you just using it at night? Do you have a filter or are you just doing water changes? How big is the turtle? You’ll need to try and feed a little more variety and get some calcium into him. Cuttlebone will help just take the hard back off. Also a good turtle pellet and some leafy greens will help him get some vitamins.
09/18/09  10:54pm

 #2073657


Kelwag
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   Message To: Heatseeker   In reference to Message Id: 2073546


 Painted baby has something growing on it?

Right now he is in like a Rubbermaid tub. I have plans to upgrade him when it is not warm enough to carry the container outside everyday as I have been doing. He is in about a 10x20 inch container with about 5 inches deep of water. About 6x6 inch space for basking and I do see him basking. The water temp this morning is about 75F. Is this too cool?
He goes outside for sunlight and when he is indoors I have a 40watt NightGlo moonlight on him (recommended by the pet store). I only got the moonlight light about 1.5 weeks ago.
No filter yet - just doing 1-2x weekly water changes using water conditioner to take chems out of water.
He is about 1.5 inches long - was about 1 inch (size of a quarter) when I found him early Aug.
I tried the pellets and he doesn’t touch them. I will get some calcium and cuttlebone (or does the cuttlebone contain calcium? 2 different things?)
Thanks for your input!
09/19/09  08:47am

 #2073806


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   Message To: Kelwag   In reference to Message Id: 2073657


 Painted baby has something growing on it?

I need a picture of the skin to know what I’m looking at. It could be a fungus. Can he get out of the water to dry off competely? The basking platform needs to come all the way out of the water.
Sounds like he is in need of a bigger set up. Rule of thumb is 10 gals of water (not tank) per inch of shell length plus if he is growing he’ll need room to grow in.
As far as heat lights go you can use any household bulb as long as its at the right temp. You don;t have to buy the expensive ones. You will need a UVB/UVA light when you take him inside and they are expensive. Some combo lights have heat and the uvb all in one.
You will need a filter that can filter 2x as more then your tnak size.
Cuttlebone is calcium but they don’t always eat it and its good to get some pelleted food that has the calcium and vits in it. If he won’t eat the pellets you’ll need to powder some of the foods with calcium a couple times a week or so.
Here’s a site for red eared slider care - its babsically the same for paints. It has some really great info and discribes health issues. maybe it can help http://www.redearslider.com/index.html
09/19/09  04:07pm


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