Urgent Care :: HELP! rescued a new YBS hatchling

[dave_m141]

Today i rescued 2 yellow bellied slider hatchlings! Both under 1.5inches! there both in a terrible state, one worse than the other.

I quarantined them in a spare 10 gallon fish tank with only 4 inches of water for them to get use to swimming again as there enclusore i rescued them from had about 10 inches of pure green gammy water, no heater, no filter and no heat lamp!
There shells are all pealing aswell.

I need help with the smallest one. his shell is really powdery and white. no colour to it atall. and hes pretty lifeless. i got him because he was one of the not so fortunate in the tank hoping as i can make him better as he has a gorgeous plastron!

Anyway... i put him in the water and hel just float there, eventually hel put little effort in and drift to the basking area where he manages to crawl there and bask.. but thats all he does. and its not the typical basking position. all his feet are inside his shell and his head just mopes down on the floor.

I was worried about him when i saw him a few minutes ago, i picked him up and his eyes wer closed and just hanging there so i put him in the water to see what he did and it took some time but he opened his eyes and mouth but then just floated there so i put him back on the basking area. turned the lights off so im going to see what hes like in the morning praying to god hes not gonna die over night!

Any one have any suggestions on what to do? IF he does survive which i reli hope he does, what could i do for the shell? just feed him proper foods now and let him sort his shell out naturally ? im sure he wasnt being fed properly atall. there was over 20 hatchling turtles in this 15 inche tank with about 10 inches of water!

my other little sweetie is fine really. swimming around and basking like thers no tomorrow! but he also has a bit of shell peeling type thing.

so yeahhh.. Dont want him to die!

will appreciate any advice as ive only kept turtles now for 9 months with no problems with my other turtles what so ever! there healthy and as happy as larry!

Thanks
Dave

[dave_m141]

just watched him in the water again. he attempts to swim now buttt hes rubbing his eyes that barely open? and hes swimming all wonky?

and hes shell is more crusty white noww .

[steve]

If he's having difficulty swimming, you probably want to take him out of a tank. I'd pick up two things from a local pharmacy... cod liver oil and unflavored pedialyte. Apply the oil to his eyelids and give him soaks in the pedialyte (mixed with water). Can you post pictures of the white areas on the shell?

[dave_m141]

i will try and get some pictures later. hes shell is developing but hes stil lifeless. i got cod liver oil earlier before i saw this post but i will go and get some pedialyte. I will update you on his progress. thanks

[dave_m141]

applied some cod liver oil and within seconds hes opened his eyes for the first time! what can i do about trying to get some vitamin a inside him? he wont eat and im finding it tricky to open his mouth withuot hurting him?

his shell has also improved over the night and day as he has had proper lightingg 2 which i am happy about

[steve]

Can you post a picture? Is his shell condition changing rapidly?

[dave_m141]

yeah its changing to a nice green now when hes in the water! i got a toothbrush and brushed the shell with warm salty water to try and clear it up and get rid of the funky smell they both had. gna do that twice daily. and im trying to dig out my camera so will post asap!
ive put him in some water for now with some pellets to try and get him to eat.

can i put a small amount of cod liver oil in with his water so he could drink it and get some vitamins inside him as hes not eaten atm?

applied some more cod liver oil when hes eyes closed again and since then hes so much more active now. proper running about in his little bit of water i have him in.

[steve]

The main thing is to get him to eat as soon as possible. When he's out of the water, that when you can apply the oil. Just give it a few minutes. I's probably also best to keep him warm and separated... water should be around 80F. Try to pedialyte soak, it will help him get some electrolytes.

Any way to get some feeder fish or earth worms?

[dave_m141]

yeah ive got the water around 80 now in his own 10 gallon tank. i can get him some earthworms , that should be a problem. his eyes are open at the moment. so he should be alright. dont think he will die, hes fairly active now, swimming around and basking, his shells cleared up.

il get some worms for him. the other foods ive got is the zoomed aquatic turtle food, baby turtle/ terrapin foood which is like dried krill and that fishy stuff. il try it all for him.

[steve]

Getting him to eat would be the best sign right now.

[dave_m141]

2days after rescuing them, my little one (the illest) with his crusty white shell, swollen eyes that wont open and lifeless activity.

Ive nursed him better! hes now got a perfectly green shell (which i did clean with salt water and a toothbrush). hes more active, i actually saw him climb the drift wood earlier to a higher spot and his eyes are open 2!

Best of all, ive just got him to eat!!

Only tuna though but its a start! i think hel be ok

Thanks for all your help guys.

[steve]

Whew! Thanks for the update!

[dave_m141]

The info on this site saved his life! ima go back to that terrible shop, take them all, heal them better and report them to the council!

sorry i wasnt able to post any pictures. you would all be disgusted!

[RosesNKeeks]

I'm glad to hear he's all better!

[dave_m141]

speak to sooon, he was all fine when i went to sleeep, got up this morning and he isnt moving or anything, found him floating in the water, i think hes given up and died