Urgent Care :: Possible Respiratory infection?

[BiGTyMePCS]

How big is your turtle?5.5 - 6 in
How long have you had it?just recently about 2-3 days

What is the water temperature? 76-79
Did you use a thermometer?y
Are you using a water heater?y
How much water is in there?13.5-14 in
Are you using a water conditioner?y
Are you using any filtration?y

What is the basking temperature?havnt had a chance to temp it but prolly about 90
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?floating platform
Is there a UVB light?yes

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 75 Gal.
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

** Issue **

Seems the turtle has some trouble swimming. When he tries to swim up he tends to nose dive back down... he eventually gets up but has a rough time sometimes... It is almost as if his shell is to heavy....

Also today i noticed that at times when he is on the bottom of the tank he will be kind of lopsided. Like his right side will be on the bottom but his left side is slightly floating... as well when he tries to swim it seems that one side drags down a little bit more then the other side. its almost as if he has an airbubble stuck in one side of his shell or something.

I have another turtle a bit smaller but female that is perfectly fine.

I read on the site that irregular swimming could be due to respiratory infection or possibly an ear abscess... Is there anyway I can tell what it may be or could it be something else? I dont wanna sound mean but to be honest I dont wanna spend a few hundred bucks at a vet for a turtle that i just got when it may be nothing.


THANKS FOR ANY HELP IN ADVANCE!!!

[BiGTyMePCS]

well ive been reading some more posts about lopsided swimmers and RI and seems its more common then i thought... I guess i will bring big boy bowser to the vet and see whats up... Any other suggestions would be welcome...

[megcornell]

The best thing for a possible RI is a visit to the vet, that's the only way you can get the necessary medications to treat the infection so your plan to make a visit sounds like a good one. The lopsided swimming is a strong symptom of a pneumonia, so I think the vet visit is definitely warranted.
Other than that you can boost the water temp to around 80-82 to help boost the immune system. Try to make sure he keeps eating.

[cage69]

I know what you mean about not wanting to spend the $- I just got my 3 RES a few months ago and one of them has a major RI. I came to this site and it was a huge help and I finally broke down and took him to the vet- the vet gave me great advice and told me other things i didn't know about him, he's on meds and hopefully he will get better. Not sure where you live but my vet was awesome and it cost me 90 for the checkup and antibiotics together. I understand that having a pet entails responsibility but I can't spend too much more on him. The advice the people give you on here is awesome!

Hope you figure out what's wrong with bowser and he gets better!
Good Luck..............

[steve]

Is he floating/swimming sideways (listing)?