Urgent Care :: My turtle(RES) is acting wierd...please answer

[Poliana]

my RES is just a baby,and for the past 4 days it has been oppening its mouth and it puffs up its neck, im not sure whats wrong with him....i need helppp!!
I dont know if he'sgetting agressive, theres no other turtle in the tank with him just a gold feeding fish..

[turtleman123]

does it do any other weird things like swimming lopsidedly? or yawning?

[megcornell]

Can you answer the following questions, it helps people find out about what's going on with your turtle and makes it more likely that you'll find out the correct problem:

How big is your turtle?
How long have you had it?

What is the water temperature?
Did you use a thermometer?
Are you using a water heater?
How much water is in there?
Are you using a water conditioner?
Are you using any filtration?

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light?
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
What kind is it or what is it made out of?
Is there a UVB light?

What have you been trying to feed it?
When was the last time your turtle ate?

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Is the tank near a window?
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?

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

Are there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

[rachel16]

does it look like this?

[marisa]

Turtle do puff out their throats when the breathe (and smell), is it like in the pic above? If he's doing that, I wouldn't worry. But if he's breathing with his mouth open when he's out of the water and on the basking area, he could be getting sick. Does he have any other symptoms like wheezing, swollen eyes, swimming to one side when in the water, mucus coming from the nose or mouth?

[Poliana]

Hi Marissa,

hes breathing with his mouth open and is wheezing a little bit. What should i do?

Turtle do puff out their throats when the breathe (and smell), is it like in the pic above? If he's doing that, I wouldn't worry. But if he's breathing with his mouth open when he's out of the water and on the basking area, he could be getting sick. Does he have any other symptoms like wheezing, swollen eyes, swimming to one side when in the water, mucus coming from the nose or mouth?

[Poliana]

It's not swimming lopsided but it doesnt see to want to swim much today he spent the whole day on the Island under his basking light, and it didnt eat much, yawning? well it seems like ywaning, he eather yawns or breathes with his moutn open some times, i not sure, but what do I do??

does it do any other weird things like swimming lopsidedly? or yawning?

[Poliana]

Hi Marissa,

hes breathing with his mouth open and is wheezing a little bit. What should i do?

Hi turtleman123,

It's not swimming lopsided but it doesnt see to want to swim much today he spent the whole day on the Island under his basking light, and it didnt eat much, yawning? well it seems like ywaning, he eather yawns or breathes with his moutn open some times, i not sure, but what do I do??

[octpusgirl8]

Sounds like you've got a sick turtle on your hands there. You need to get him to a vet ASAP.

[RES123]

he could have an respiratory infection
my baby res bout 3 or 4 months ago was doing that
it was breathing through its mouth
put it near heat
what i did was put mine on basking area and brought the light close so it could get heat fast
next day he was better

[emma]

Yeah, I agree. I would take him to the vet.

[SpotsMama]

I'm afraid you're describing some of the classic symptoms of a respiratory infection (RI). Your guy needs to see a vet ASAP. It's rare for turtles to survive an RI without antibiotics from a vet. If it's caught and treated early enough though the chances are good that he'll be ok. Sorry to have to tell you.

Sometimes when a turtle is getting sick he'll act sick for a day or two then seem to get better, but then he'll get worse again. So even if he seems to be getting better, you should go ahead an take him to see the vet.

The symptoms of RI are lethargy (lacking energy), yawning a lot or breathing with the mouth open, poor appetite, swollen eyes, mucus around the mouth or nose, wheezing, swimming lop sided or trouble submerging. When a turtle is first coming down with it he may not have all these symptoms.

Until you see a vet, keep him warm (around 82 to 85 degrees), very clean, and make sure he eats. If he loses his appetite, you can go ahead and offer him things that you usually only offer for occasional treats, like tuna fish or shrimp. Avoid stressing him as much as you can (ie, don't pick him up unless you need to).of

By the way, if the vet wants to give him a shot of vitamin A, why don't you discuss other alternatives with him or her, such as eye drops with vitamin a in them, cod liver oil, or food supplements. A lot of the time vets want to give vitamin A shots but some turtles have very bad reactions to them.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Poliana]

THANK YOU SOOO UCH FOR YOUR HELP!!! IM GOING TO TRY TO FIND A REPTILE VET IN MASSACHUSETTS RIGHT NOW!!!

THANK YOU

[Poliana]

HEEELLLPPPP!!!!

THE ONLY VET I FOUND FOR MY BABY RES IS ONLY OPEN TOMORROW...

DO YOU GUYS THINK IT WILL BE OK UNTIL TOMORROW????

[kmichael55]

You say he spent the whole day on the island... your habitat is not like this is it?




That's good you are getting him to a vet, I think it should be fine to wait until tomorrow.