Urgent Care :: NEED URGENT HELP - I think my RES has respiratory infection

[Adam]

Hi,
I have 2 RESs and maybe just 2-3 months old since it was a gift not sure. 2.5 inches in size. Recently one of it started havin swollen eyes,. so i was taking care for that,. providing extra basking light and also once in a day keep it in sunlight for natural light... im cleaning eyes everyday with mild luke warm water just a pinch of salt. Then apply a Tetracycline ointment. changing water everyday,. kept in quarantine with just 2 inches of water. also gave a li'll bit of Vitamin A drops,. used to just drop a little near its mouth so it can lick it,. also apply a cod liver oil once a day on eyelids... it moves around little nowadays coz it cant see with the eyes closed i guess... Otherwise turtle looks active,. eats also by feeling around,. usually feed pellets and dry shrimps (it loves shrimps). Thing is it has not got any better,. eyes are mostly closed all the time. opens once in a while. also noticed the inner membrane of the eye is also preventing it to open ... also noticing from yesterday that its breathing from the mouth often and looks like a runny nose. Im really worried,. There is no turtle vet where i live (Bangalore, India) ... wat can i do.. is there any particular antibiotic that i can use or any other suggestions??? need reply ASAP plzzz...

[Nettle]

Answer the questions from this post:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

We can help you from there.

[imderanged]

A vet would be best, but if it really is not an option, I once used ReptileRxtra anti-bacterial pellets at the first signs of RI and it worked for me.

[Adam]

Hey @imderanged ... where can i find ReptileRxtra? coz i havent come across such pellets in pet stores where i stay... wat we get here is mostly chinese made pet accessories... is there any alternative ,.

and

hey Nettle .... here are the answers for the questions below

How big is your turtle? = 2.5 to 3 inches when measures head to tail

How long have you had it? = 1.5 months,.

What is the water temperature? = around 23 to 25 deg C without heater

Did you use a thermometer? = yes

Are you using a water heater? = was not using,. have bought one now but the sick turtle is quarantined in another small turtle container in which i cant fit the heater./but have put a basking light and daily for 1-2 hrs keep it in morning sunlight

How much water is in there? = 2 inches of water in the small quarantine container so that it can easily breathe n not drown.

Are you using a water conditioner? = using a general aid aquarium water purifier

Are you using any filtration? = water filter to clean out any food particles n such

What is the basking temperature? = around 30 to 35 deg centigrade

Is there a basking light? = yes but not UV.. have yellow light

Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? = yes

What kind is it or what is it made out of? = made of arranged flat stones and big pebbles

Is there a UVB light? = no (difficult to get one coz have to order from somewhere else,. working on it)

What have you been trying to feed it? = turtle pellets,. dry shrimps,. dry worms,. tried few vegetables n leaves,. guess they were not interested,. shrimps are their fav

When was the last time your turtle ate? = its been eating regularly as of now

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? = my tank is 2.5 feet and 1.5 feet in lengthn breadth and 1 feet height,. but there is only 6-8 inches of water filled to make room for basking area n all that... the quarantine container in which i have kept the turtle is 1 feet by 1 feet with 2 inches height water


Is the tank near a window? = no but there is one wondow 5 to 6 feet away

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? = no not always,. when im in my room maybe i play loud music,. hopefully it wont bother them,.

Have you read the Basic Care section? = yes

Have you searched the forums for similar situations? = yes and at the end they say take it to a vet,. but the problem is i cant find a herp/turtle vet where i live,. most of them are cat n dog vets or cattle n sheep vet... lol

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? = no extra unusual activity apart from the ones i mentioned above.. and yeah one thing i have noticed about this sick turtle is that since the time i have it it basks very little,. mostly it stays in water,. even if i put it on the basking platform it jumps in water, rarely it basks and it is hyperactive or fidgety sometimes i feel... just keeps swimming and kicking around randomly... The other turtle basks very well... once it had eye infection and i cured it with methods i mentioned above.

[imderanged]

I got the pellets at a Petsmart, maybe you could get them shipped to you?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=3077190
This is the product, unfortunatly I don't think they ship to India, but hopfully the info provide will help you track down the product.

[mikee]

Adam. Aside from you other problem I would suggest that you get a uvb light and feed him plenty of calcium along with veggies. Good Luck!!

[steve]

Can you take him outside, to get some sun (not in any water and completely supervised)? And what is a yellow light, is that a normal incandescent light? Eye injuries do happen, do you think that might have happened?

[SpotsMama]

Swollen eyes is one symptom of RI. Others are lethargy (acting tired, wanting to bask a lot, lacking energy), poor appetite, breathing with the mouth open or yawning a lot, mucus around the mouth or nose. If you're not seeing any other symptoms (especially lethargy), then it sounds like your problem really is with the eyes rather than a generalized respiratory infection - at least for now.

The tank and quarantine tank are very small. One of the things that happens when a turtle is in a small enclosure especially when there is little water in it is that the water gets very dirty very fast. How often do you change the water? Water that isn't clean can cause eye infections and irritation.

Another thing that can cause eye irritation even when the water is clean is chemicals in the water. Is your water heavily chlorinated? Chlorine is an irritant. Do you use a dechlorinator or water conditioner? Too much water conditioner can be irritating to their eyes just like too much chlorine. Anything else in the water that might be irritating?

When there are two turtles in a tank, especially if it's crowded, one can accidently scratch the others eyes and injure them, like steve said.

Does your other turtle bask very much?

Be careful with the vitamin a because too much is toxic. Dab a little cod liver oil on your turtle's eyelids once a day and soak a few pellets in it and feed a couple to him every few days and see if that helps.

[Adam]

Thanks @imderanged,. will check it out

@ Mikee ... yes will get a UVB soon and wil feed some calcium n veggies,. any suggestions for calcium rich food?

@ Steve ... yes i let him atleast bask in the natural morning sunlight everyday for atleast an hour or two.. and this yellow light is the regular home use incandescent bulb u get,. Is that good? coz i need to wait for a while to get the UVB light ordered n delivered from soewhere else...

@ spotsmama .... well this turtle looks a li'll lethargic,. in the sense he is not moving around much,. one of the reason cud be that his eyes are closed almost all the time,. but he doesnt bask much and his appetite is good,. he eats regularly,. mostly dry shrimps coz its his favourite,. and there is no thick mucus around its mouth except looks like a li'll runny nose,. but he does once in a while breathe thru the mouth... And the big tank is big enuff for the 2 turtles,. i mean they wudnt scratch i guess,. i change water in this once in a week and for the quarantine tank i change water everyday and sometimes twice a day if it becomes dirty... And i use Ground water from the borewell,. so no chlorine in that... and i use a li'll general aid solution whenever i change water for safety,. .... And yes my other turtle basks a lot,. maybe not tooo much but it does a bit maybe more.... and i've been giving only a li'll vitamin A drops,. n i will be carefull with that.... i use cod liver oil also,. but not with food,. i just dab a li'll on th eeyelids once a day,....

And as of now,. the turtle is in the same condition,. but the swelling seems to have come down a wee li'll bit... Hopefully it'll recover,. thing is i dont want it to come to a situation where i have to take it to a vet... coz there is no herp or turtle vets in the place where i live....

and thanks a lot for everyone for replying... lemme know if i can do anything else

[Adam]

Still the same condition... eye infection,. it hardly opens its eyes,. apart from that it eats properly,. looks normal itself,. but feel it moves very little nowadays, but i think its because it cant open eyes... but the eye infection/swelling doesnt seem to be coming down,. have been applying ointment everyday... im kinda worried,. Any other suggestions?

[TheComputerGremlin]

RI presents with what appears to be an eye infection but won't be treated by giving eye drops. If he's not getting better (and he's still lucky to be alive), I think it's time to go to a vet. If there are none in your area, you can try going to a normal vet and have them call a herp vet. Any vet will be able to get and give the necessary antibiotics, they just might need help with the amount.

[Adam]

i did ask one or two vets that i know,. and they cudnt help me much,. but will try again n check with others... Is there any particular antibiotic i can give for RI? (name of the antibiotic) maybe i can give it orally...

[SpotsMama]

I agree with ComputerGremlin. My guess is he's not moving around much because he feels bad. The fact that he's still eating is a very good sign. He needs to eat to keep his energy up so he can fight the infection.

For a sick turtle, keep the water temp higher than usual - around 82 degrees fahrenheit (around 28 celsius). You're doing a good job with changing the water - it needs to be clean. Avoid stressing him as much as possible; ie, don't pick him up unless it's necessary and keep the room quiet. If he starts losing his appetite you can feed him things he'd normally only get for treats like shrimp, tuna or boiled chicken.

I hope you can find a vet for him. The best cure for RI is antibiotic injections. Usually Baytril is what's given. I have no idea about dosage.

Good luck. Keep us posted on how it's going.

ew