Urgent Care :: Sick turtle would like opinions...

[ravanger]

I'm calling the vet on Monday, but have had unsatisfactory experiences with the herp vets in my area (I own a african spur tortoise also). So I'd like opinions to discuss possibilities incase they aren't brought up by the vet.
Here's the info and I'll include pictures of the bumps on skin
.
How big is your turtle? Hatchling (4 months) 1.5 by 1.5 inches
How long have you had it? almost 2 weeks

What is the water temperature? 72-75F
Are you using a water heater? no (only one at store didn't bring temp up)
How much water is in there? 30 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? NutraFin Aqua Plus
Are you using any filtration? Natural Filtration and water changes

What is the basking temperature? 86-90F
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? Zoo Med Floating Turtle Dock
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? ZooMed Hatchling Aquatic Turtle food/Tetrafauna ReptoMin (switch with each feeding), and ocasional treat of brine shrimp or bloodworms (both freeze dried), and cuttlebone that it hasn't tried to eat yet
When was the last time your turtle ate? today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20x20x24 (it's an octagonal tank)
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? bumps on skin and just today I realized he hasn't submerged ever and when I submerged him he came right back up and started blowing nose bubbles for a few minutes (that's the reason I'm calling the vet on Monday to test for RI)

Three bumps (circled in red)


Bumps on legs (circled in red)





Bump on eye


Good eye and another bump by mouth


Also if Diego has RI and I can't really pay for treatments until the 20th will he be okay for that long?

Thanks for your opinions,
Heather and Baby Diego

[Hoooneylynn]

Okay, first thing... you need a water heater. The temp must be 76-78 degrees, and if it has RI, it needs to be 80-82 to help his immune system. Its VERY important, especially if he is already sick I would really get one tonight or tomorrow. It is vital to his health, and it might have caused the RI in the first place. I would try to borrow money from people, because the RI needs to be treated ASAP. The 20th is a long way away. Also, do you have any other turts in the tank?

[ravanger]

No Diego is the only one in the tank... can you suggest a good water heater because if I can't find it in a store I'll have to get it online. As I stated the only one at the pet store didn't bring the water temp up even after having it on for 2 days. Also if Diego has RI I'll find a way to pay for treatments or work something out with the vet! Thanks for your quick reply

[Hoooneylynn]

Walmart believe it or not can carry really cheap heaters, Ive even seen one for $10! I would take that heater you got back to the pet store and ask for a new one. That would be the best thing to do, I would try calling vets and asking for payment plans, not a lot of the do, but hopefully you can find one that will. Im not sure what the bumps are... but it could be a fungus.. I asked if there was other turts, cause the one on its face kinda looks like a turtle bite! From what you described, it sounds like he has RI. I know money can be an issue, but I can tell that you really care about him and you are being very responsible about it which is awesome! Good luck, and keep us updated!

[steve]

How long has he had this condition? Has it been worsening/spreading? Is he active/alert? I understand he's eating... how is his appetite? Is he adjusting to the environment?

[ravanger]

He's had the two bumps on his front legs since I've had him... I know the bump on the eye and the one by his mouth are new (developed since I've had him). He seems mild mannered, somewhat active/alert and has seems to have adjusted to his enviroment, but he doesn't jump into the water when I get near his tank or anything like I've read. Although if I try to put my hands near him and he's awake he tucks his head in and when I pick him up he moves all his feet and tries to wiggle out of my hand.

He wants to eat and he usually eats all the food I give him... he does have a problem with his pellets sticking all around his head making it hard for him to see them so it does take him awhile to actually chomp his pellets up lol. Also he drives me nuts because he seems to always get pellets stuck up into his shell (I take a needle-less syringe and squirt water to remove them since I don't want him to take them back to his regular tank and dirty it up... do you think this will stress him out? He doesn't appear to be.)

[Hoooneylynn]

How do the pellets possibly get in his shell? thats crazy! They stick to his skin? Is the container you are feeding him in too small, making it harder for him to eat? He does look quite skinny, so I can see how you are saying they are stuck in his shell.. but Ive never heard of that before...

[ravanger]

Well it almost seems like he's trying to hunt his pellets because he won't try to eat them until he gets 4 or 5 of them around his head and then he has a problem seeing them. Since he's floating (from RI maybe) and can't come up under his food I have him in a shallow dish with water just above his shell. He sticks his head way out to corral the pellets to push them to the side of the bowl to eat them... they get stuck behind his head and shell, I'm guessing as he trys to chop into one of the pellets some of them float up in there by the way he moves his head to eat. Hopefully the vet will see him tomorrow so he gets better(calling him in the morning) and I can feed him in deeper water in his feeding tank

By the way I got the water heater and his water temp is a nice 80F for him... also since I turn his lights out for his natural day and night cycles should I put in my red light heat bulb for heat? It's my tortoise's bulb will it be okay for my res?

[SpotsMama]

That's good about the heater. It will help his immune system. As long as his water temp is 80 or 82 degrees you really don't need to have a heat light on him at night. Normally aquatic turtles sleep in the water. If you think his tank water loses heat at night why don't you put a towel or little blanket over it - that will help keep the heat in.

His behavior sounds lethargic to me. Most little turtles run like crazy to hide if you get too close to the tank and will submerge in the process. Also I agree with Jessica that he looks thin. He very well may be ill from what you describe - if not RI than something else.

it's good that he's still eating and interested in food. Is he pooping regularly?

I think you're doing the right thing to keep those uneaten pellets out of his tank water. Nothing is worse for a little turtle than dirty water.

I don't know about those bumps. Could he have been injured - bitten by other turtles for instance - where he lived before you got him? Or if he was in dirty water maybe he's got infections that are only now beginning to show.

If you've only had your little guy for two weeks and he's already ill, trust me it's nothing you've done that's caused it. He probably picked up something before you got him. It's very common that little turtles are kept in awful conditions awaiting sale so that when people get them home they are already sick. It's a real shame.

He won't be able to wait until the 20th to start treatments. The turtles that survive are the ones that receive aggressive treatment right away. Hopefully the vet will work with you on payment. Most would let you pay it out over time if you can't pay right away.

I wish you and little Diego all the luck in the world. He looks so tny and sweet. It's really good of you to be taking him to the vet when money is tight.

[marisa]

It looks like some sort of infection (fungal?). Do the bumps ever break like a blister would? Have it checked out by a herp vet asap.

[ravanger]

All day Monday I got the run around... the lists on this site should be updated to tell if the herp vets on here will deal with hatchlings or not. First off I called my other animals vet because they just got a herp vet, but they won't do hatchlings... so they gave me a number of someone who does. I called them and she quit to start her own business 2 weeks ago, but I was told her name so I could find her home number. It went to the fax machine. So I called the wild life rehab in my area to get a referral since red ear sliders are native here, the lady really didn't want to help but gave me either a faulty name or someone she hasn't contacted in a long time because the vet didn't work at the clinic I called. So I gave in and called the herp vet I don't like (took my tortoise into her and got bad experience) and left a message, she called us back yesterday afternoon and told us she only had a Saturday appointment.
**RANT OVER**

Even though Diego won't submerge he's not blowing mucus bubbles (just blew water bubbles one time when we submerged him... but we might have caught him off guard because we've pointed him down and he will try to swim down on his own for a few seconds and come up without any bubbles). He will keep his head submerged for long periods of time. I'm just wondering at what stage he's at if he has RI... this morning his good eye was swollen just a tad and he wouldn't open it all the way, but now it looks fine again (is this just turtle morning eyes?)

Question is does he sound okay to not be seen until Saturday... we will call the vet again and try to find a way for him to see some vet before Saturday, but if we can't what can we do for him and should he be okay for that long?

Side note I put Neosporin on the bumps and dry docked him over night and the bumps are now brown, so I've left him in a small dish floating in his regular tank with just enough water to not submerge his bumps, hoping that they will dry out. They are hard bumps and don't pop like human blisters would... they just resemble blisters. I was told it's probably a bacterial infection.

[DavidY]

Man that's frustrating. I don't know much about this stuff so I can't help any, but I hope you can find a better vet in your area. You may need to look farther away. Until recently, the only place that would treat serious conditions in exotic animals around here was the Angel Memorial Hospital in Boston which was 90 minutes away (that really isn't [i]too[/] far, but I hate driving into the city). I think some others here have had to go a lot farther to find a good vet.

I hope Diego feels better.

[marisa]

Some vets won't take hatchlings because they can be difficult to treat and the prognosis often isn't good because they're so small. I don't think it's possible to have a definitive list of who will and won't treat them. Sometimes I think luck has something to do with it. You might have better luck if you could find a practice that has an emergency clinic attached to it.

Angel Memorial has a good reputation, or at least it used to.

[airgetsthinner]

i think i can solve your pellet in the shell problem, get a bigger feeding bucket, like one from homedepot or somthing and fill it with like 10 inches of water, the only way i can see pellets getting stuck is if you have him in like 3 inches of water when you feed him. im sure even though your turtle has ri it can swim in a lot of water, mine could and they were really sick

[airgetsthinner]

oh and one more thing i forgot to add which really helped me to pick a vet, if turtles and reptiles and such are common in your area, dont be scared to ask other people about their vets, or even going to the local pet store if they know anyone who will treat your turtle, a lot of the time someone who works at a pet store, has a variety of pets and knows where to go, and usually there are county vets and such. did you find any on the list on one of the stickys? sorry if you looked and said you did i kind of skimmed through all the responses on this