HELP NEEDED IMMEDIATELY! Rescued turtle!

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

Turtles typically breath through their noses so if his nostrils are clogged, you may be seeing him take air in through his mouth. Or he could have soap in his mouth like you said.

If you feel up to it, you can take a tooth brush to his shell. I used to use old tooth brushes to get algae off my turtles' shells.

And I'm pretty sure that is not a snapper.

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Okay, I'll take a toothbrush to him after this next thirty minutes is up. I just wanted to get the thickest layer off. At least now he actually looks like a turtle

If you don't take him to a rescue, Otilith informed me there is a turtle specialist in Saucier named Askew. Not sure how close that is to you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

If you don't take him to a rescue, Otilith informed me there is a turtle specialist in Saucier named Askew. Not sure how close that is to you.

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Not too far actually! I'll try to call now

The luck. He's out for continuing education and won't be back until Friday afternoon. The lady gave me the number to a wildlife rescue though, should I need it

At least you have the wildlife rescue. They SHOULD be able to at lease give advice.

Called and got in touch with someone for wildlife care; I'm on the right track. She said to use dawn directly on him and don't bother with the soaks; use the dawn, scrub him with the tooth brush, put him in really warm water, and just keep repeating the process.

Well, he destroyed that toothbrush in no-time flat. I'm concerned because the lady said I may not be able to get it done in one day; how should I house him should I need to keep him overnight? I have 15qt tubs, a medium-sized wooden enclosure that I can put a heat lamp over, the tub I can put on some unused heat tape but that's near my snakes and I don't know if that's safe or not, I have a 45 gallon tank with a heat pad stuck to it stored outside that I'd have to bring in and hose out, etc.

Here's another progress picture:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...77382259_n.jpg

Am I right, is he a box turtle?

Oh, and I Googled "how to remove tar", and this was the best I got, for human skin:
http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Tar-From-Skin

The only animal options I could find was for dog fur. When I tried to put "turtle" in the search, I just got hit for turtle wax.

Are any of these safe? Obviously not the gasoline or whatever, but the ice? I'd be afraid of doing that due to the cold-blooded nature.. but there are some more ideas anyway.

Oh poor baby. I'd venture to say from the patterning that yes, he does look like a box turtle. I have little to no experience with turtles though other than my friend's box turtle.

I'm glad it's coming off his shell, I'm more concerned about his skin though. I think your wooden enclusure is the best bet for him, from the sounds of it. Have you put anything in his belly yet, or found out if he's even interested in food? He deserves a nice salad after what he's been through. Pretty little baby.

Definitely a box turtle. Ornate, I think. Thank you for helping the poor guy out!