Turtle w/ Hook in throat

[reptigirl04]

Yesterday, i was out herping w/ a few friends and we were canoeing in a lake near where i live. There's a decent population of (what i beleive to be) Eastern Painted Turtles. We saw and photographed many live healthy ones, saw 3 dead ones, 1 dead snapper, (i think pollution is getting out of hand in this neighborhood...sad) and we found a painted who was moving slowly so we went in to get a closer look and discovered a hook in his throat. I called around....alot...and finally got a hold of the Northern Virginia Reptile Rescue. A woman there gave me the number to a vet who will see if they can help this turtle. I have high hopes for this little guy! The vet office is closed till monday, so now i have a turtel in a baby pool out back. Yesterday was a nice sunny day, we gave him land, water, sun, shade. Today is....cloudy and cool....Should i put him in a tank w/ heat light indoors? w/ paper around the glass to minimize stress? or will he be fine outside?
Weather today: High of 67, low of 59, pm showers/ thunderstorms and thunderstorms tomorrow....looking even cooler.
We wont be taking him to the vet till the afternoon tomorrow...untill then, What should i do!?

[natedoggSXE]

You can keep him indoors, but in that tank with a heat light is there water in it? Becausse you said you had paper towels on the sides. Anyway you can leave him in the tank, but put some water in there with a log or rock so he can come out and bask. I wouldnt make the water too deep since he has an injury and was moving slow when you found him. I suggest making the water level cover him and then an extra 2 or 3 inchs, depending on if he is an adult or hacthling. I dont know if you should feed him or not because I dont know how that hook in his troat, and it might cause him to choke on his food. Let me know what the vets says.

[reptigirl04]

yea, def. water in it, and probly like a log or brick to climb on to bask....i just wanted to give him privacy and keep him comfortable too....thanks...he's an adult. Yea, i was scared to feed him, so i didnt, but i put some minnows in w/ him. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Originally Posted by reptigirl04

Yea, i was scared to feed him, so i didnt, but i put some minnows in w/ him..

um lol...That's like finding a stray dog and not feeding him but giving him a pork chop lol. The minnows are probably making fun of you for trying to catch them with a big old turtle on the hook.

Getting a hook out of a turtle is tricky. I had to get one out of a 15 lb snapping turtle once. NO FUN! but in a way probably easier in the long run than a smaller turtle since there is such a smaller work area. Good Luck. A vet is probably the best bet as a anesthesia is probably going to be a must. All I had to do was let the snapper chomp down on a 2x4 while I wiggled it out with some long needlenosed pliars. Kudos for caring enough to get the little guy some help.

[NicoleRussell]

Awe poor little thing.
I wish I knew more (or anything) about turtles
Let us know what happens though. JS is right, you get serious points for caring

[reptigirl04]

Lol, i didn't realize i said that....well, i wasn't gonna shove food down his throat w/ a hook stuck down there...he can eat if he wants...since i have no idea how long the hook's been there, i don't know if he's capable of eating or not.
Thanks guys for the nice replies. I was sort of worried that i'd get beat up (verbally) for taking an animal out of the wild....

I moved him inside since tomorrow's supposed to be really crappy....
"Provide a water temperature of between 76-78ºF with a basking area of high 80's to low 90's .Use a submersible heater to maintain water temperature. Use spotlights for basking heat red, night bulbs or a ceramic heating element should be used to maintain day / night light cycle. Always use a thermometer to ensure proper temperature range is maintained."
- im using a heat light for basking and a heating pad (human...its all i got) to maintain the correct water temp....doing my best... de-chorinated water?? - could i use the lake water? or should i go w/ tap (which needs to sit over night to declorinate, if im not mistaken? or lots of bottles of spring water??lol

edited to add "Maintain 4" - 8" of de-chlorinated water."....hmm....

[John_White]

Out of curiosity did Rita direct you to Dr. Scott Stahl?

[reptigirl04]

Rita directed me to Dr. Rose Fiskett in Fairfax. Before now, I've never heard of her. I think Rita's reason is because she's closer than Stahl. I go to Dr. Stahl for all my reptiles and i'm convinced he's the best of the best; Wonderful vet and person.

by the way, I moved the turtle into the aquarium inside and covered the sides w/ black construction paper. I put the minnows in there too...and i caught him trying to eat them!!! ( i take that as a good sign) Also i can see the glimmer of the hook in his throat, so im praying Dr. Fiskett is able to get it out!

[John_White]

Yes, Scott is a great guy and my herp vet as well.

[natedoggSXE]

What happened at the vet this past monday?

[reptigirl04]

thanks for asking....lol....it wasn't the best trip.
Well, first, we were given the wrong directions by the clinic, so we went about 30 min's in the wrong direction, and went back to get there about 10 minutes till closing. So we dropped him off (the vet didn't come out to talk ), and they said they'd call us today to let us know what was up. I ended up calling and talking to a receptionist who didn't know and she said she'd call back and didn't!!! Now i'm getting worried cuz i don't know what's going on with him. I named him Captain Hook...lol. But i trust Rita sent me to a good place and i i trust the turtle is in good hands.
But, i will call again tomorrow...Hopefully they'll have some info for me!!! I can't help but worry myself over this little turtle!!