Urgent Care :: PLZ HELP - URGENT!!!... Turtle not able to go into water :(

[Adam]

Hi, Im Adam, kinda new to this forum, had posted few times earlier sometime back.,.. Anyways... my turtle "Jade" has started acting wierd from yesterday and im am worried. Need help...

What has happened is, yesterday i noticed the turtle was feeling very uncomfortable inside the water, it was moving around very rapidly in a terrified state, and it would come up and sit in the basking area. it wud look a lot less frantic when outside water... but then again it wants to go into water, like it goes near, and thinks a lot before goin into water, but when it gets in it again starts goin frantic and trying to get out and comes back and sits in the baskin dry area. Well i thought it could be somethin with the water and anyways it was time to change water and i changed... even after that it was acting the same... and i changed water again, twice and still i see no improvement. the moment it gets into water it goes crazy and comes back and sits in the dry area. Im not sure wat is wrong. Apart from that it looks healthy, Eats properly. But to eat also it needs to be in water so that has also become a tough thing for it to do... Eys look normal, they r not puffed up. only strange thing i nolticed was there was a thing under the throat, it looked like a small splinter of wood stuck types. and i kinda removed it, it wasnt wood though, it looked like the skin that forms on a small fresh wound. after i removed that i din notice anythin unusual at that place, skin looked normal. hmm and one more thing. the turtle looked a li'll more shaky that it is usually while walking around. LIke its legs looked a li'll shaky, like when u r very tired climbing a big hill types or something. So im really worried wats happening here. PLZ HELP>>>>

The basic details are as follows :

How big is your turtle = 4-5 inches
How long have you had it = 1 year 1 month

What is the water temperature = 23.5 degrees
Did you use a thermometer = yes
Are you using a water heater = no
How much water is in there = half the tank... around 20-25 liters i guess
Are you using a water conditioner = a wee li'll bit when i change water
Are you using any filtration = Basic water filter and air blower

What is the basking temperature - around 28 - 30 degrees i guess
Is there a basking light - yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on = yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of = stone slab
Is there a UVB light - no, regular incandescent bulb of 40 watts

What have you been trying to feed it - turtle food (pellets)
When was the last time your turtle ate - today morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure - its a 2.5 ft by 1.5 ft and the height is 1 ft
Is the tank near a window - kind of
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity - not really

Have you read the Basic Care section - yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations - yes, but cudnt find any that fit exactly

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms - apart from what i have mentioned above it looks pretty normal to me. But wait. yeah it did look like it yawned 3-4 times since yday. Also like i mentioned above that splinter kinda thing stuck under its throat. Well i found a dead bee in that room. Wud the bee have stung it??? i donno... when i was trying to take out that thing from under its throat it tried biting me, which was very unusual coz my turtle never bit me ever. but i guess that cud be coz of pain or somethin... turtle does look a bit petrified and shaky in movements on the dry area...

PL HELP ASAP

[Adam]

and yeah it does try to rub the eyes or something sometimes... and i have no option to go to a vet coz there isnt any around for turtles...

[RyanJ]

Where do you live? I'm sure I can find a vet through google. By the name, I'm guessing you've sexed it as a female. When she's frantic, does she try to escape from the tank, digging motions at all? Can you get a picture of the area where you removed the sliver-like object? Sometimes when a turtle gets panicked in water, it's a sign of something wrong in their lungs (respiratory infection)- any wheezing sounds, mucus from the nose?

[Adam]

i live in India, Bangalore city... and u r right, it tries to get out of the tank and frantically digs thru the stones rearrangin them... Also found that she has been sheddin skin lately but i thought it cud be coz of the weather, its begining of summer here... and yeah i did see it weezing 2-3 times from yday till now... don see any mucus around nose though... The area where i removed the splinter like thingy is on its throat below... like the area where we have our adams apple on our throat...

[steve]

So when it goes into the water and acts "crazy", is it swimming in circles or in loops?

[Adam]

kinda ramdom i guess... the moment it gets into water it kinda goes frantic n just tries to get outta water from wherever its possible... i feel its kinda hurting itself more by bangin to the glass or stomes this way... dunno wat to do... i wil try n notice if its goin in loops or circles... maybe i havent noticed or somethin...

[Kemul]

I think the water is rather cold. Try to raise it to about 25°C. The basking
temperature is a little low too. You might want to use 60W bulb and raise the
temperature to around 32°C.

I'm not sure what's happened to your turtle, but providing comfortable environment
might help. Good luck

[SpotsMama]

I agree with raising the water temp to 25 or 26. This will give her immune system a little help. You should be able to a water heater in the fish section of a pet store.

She's almost large enough to be gravid. Even if a female hasn't been around a male, she can lay eggs. The typical behavior of a female who needs to lay is frantic attempts to escape the tank and digging (when outside the water) motions with the back legs. She's probably not gravid because she's a little small for it but just in case, here's a link on the subject:

http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

You mentioned she ate yesterday morning. How about this morning?

[marisa]

You've got a 4 - 5 inch turtle in about 5 - 7 gallons of water? Not enough...If that's half the tank, then the tank is about 10 gallons? If so, way too small...

When you say you're using an air blower with a basic filter for filtration, do you mean a fan? If so, why?

[Caphits]

I think kemul is saying that its an air pump. Like the kind you use for airstones. You can get sissy filters for them.

[Adam]

hi ppl ... well Jade ate today morning also, and the best part is she is now able to get into water... i did raise the temp of water with a water heater... and yeah will put a 60 watt bulb n raise the baskin area temp...
and the water filter... well its a basic water filter for fishes which blows air also while cleaning thje water...
she looks a lot better now... not too much frantic movements in water... But she has been trying to get out of tank and diggin around stones in water from quite few days and i also noticed from 2-3 days she kinda keeps kicking her hind legs now n then n keeps biting her front legs... maybe she wanna lay eggs... i gotta do somethin for that now... any suggestions ???... and yes she is alone,. her companion died a long time back
I know the tank is a bit small for her now that she has grown big,. i've been trying to find her a different good home or maybe a zoo or xsomethin who can keep her n take care of her well and she gets to be with more turtles n in a bigger more natural environment,. coz nowadays for some reason i feel so guilty when i see her captive with me and single :-/
Anyone in this forum who is from Bangalore, India and can provide the turtle a good home, interested to adopt a lovely gentle cute turtle???
but i shud say im very attached to her n it'd be really tough for me to part with her but my only consolation wud be that she gets a better home n be with more of her kind...

[RyanJ]

There's a section on the main site about building a nesting box for her, even if she's not gravid now she likely will lay eggs in the future. You don't need to feel bad about her being by herself- many RES enjoy their solitude, as evidenced by their territoriality. As long as you give her attention, stimulation (new things in the tank to investigate) and food, you're doing great.

[SpotsMama]

One other thing - when a turtle is gravid, she'll make digging motions with her back legs. When a turtle is constipated, she'll kick at her tail with her back legs. Have you noticed whether she's pooping normally?

And here's a caution - on the light, you know that the 60 watt incandescent will provide some heat for her (which she needs) but it won't provide UVB, which is also essential. Without UVB, either from a good UVB bulb or from natural sun, she won't be able to metabolize the calcium she eats and will get "soft shell" and metabolic bone disease, which are very serious conditions. I understand your difficulty living in an area where it's probably more difficult to find a good UVB bulb, but have you looked and what sort of results did you have?