I write this in hopes of helping people who are desperate to save their sick baby RES.
Several months ago my stepdaughter was given a baby RES (Rafael) and she came home with him in a small plastic “critter container” along with a container of turtle pellets. That’s it. At the time I was super busy with work and didn’t pay too much attention. After almost two months of seeing it sit in shallow / dirty water, I figured there must be a better life for the little guy, so I started researching. I was horrified to learn that this turtle was in desperate need of more water, a light, and other things. I started with a 30 gallon tank, an in-tank filter (cheap) and a CFL Zoomed bulb, and felt a little better. Next I thought, “he needs a companion”, so I found the turtle shack and for $5 plus shipping ordered a “friend” thinking it should be easy to get him going judging by how well the first turtle tolerated his awful conditions for so long. Boy was I wrong!
When “Leonardo” arrived in a small box from Turtle Shack, he was stuffed in some packing material with no moisture, and was VERY cold, maybe 50 degrees or so. He was stiff, and I figured he was dead and felt sad, until I saw a slight movement of one leg. After putting him in shallow water, much to my pleasure, he started moving around and I felt relieved. When I got him home, he had no interest in eating, or anything other than sleeping. I figured that he needed time to adjust and didn't think too much of it. But after several days of not eating, and sleeping constantly, I was very worried. He “bobbed around” in the tank with eyes closed, motionless, and when I set him on his turtle dock to bask, he would go limp. I mean he was DEAD LIMP, with head and neck lying at an angle limp on his rock, eyes closed, and his legs stretched out completely DEAD LIMP over the rock. Sometimes he would stay fully in his shell and stay motionless for many hours. He often would feel super cold to the touch, and took minutes to wake enough to move or swim when awaken. This happened at day and night. A few times he would lie on the rock limp for many hours before I was able to see him and rush over to get him moving. Once I felt SURE he was dead as I picked him up. He was completely limp and cold, with eyes closed. He also still hadn’t eaten after nearly two weeks. I started to get super worried at this point. I had by now gotten a Zoomed mercury vapor lamp that was UVA/UVB and a heat lamp, all in one, but it didn’t matter. All he did was lie limp with eyes closed.
I took him to the vet (should have done it sooner) and he was diagnosed with narcolepsy. Turtle narcolepsy?!? Apparently this happens to small turtles, and it can be fatal if they won’t eat, and sleep too much. I was told my best chance was to interact with him when he was limp, basically forcing him to wake up and do something. If I caught him lying limp, I picked him up and put him in the water, which would usually wake him up and force him to swim a bit. His tank-mate helped actually, because it “bothered” him to see the little guy lying there, and he would crawl up on the dock and nudge him or put a foot on him to make him move, much to my amazement, since I had by now learned that RES turtle’s usually don’t really need or want a “friend”. I got an over sized water heater and put it in, and raised the water temperature to 82 degrees to stimulate his immune system, and to encourage activity. I finally tricked him into taking his first bite by putting him in his own small container for feeding and getting him to nibble a bit of strawberry, then a small bit of raw bloody hamburger (I found RES turtles are attracted to colorful foods). I knew this was not the right diet though, and worked hard to eventually get him to try chewing up a small Zoomed hatchling pellet. I learned he was a bit “shy” and would only enjoy basking in his own container with his own light also. He liked “privacy” when sticking his neck out. He got slowly better at eating the super-small pellets (he had to thrash his head around to break it up in the water). He started to sleep a little less, though there were still scares here and there. I put Zoomed turtle drops in his eyes twice a day since he had a bit of white crust during all of this also. Eventually the eyes started to clear up after about a week. Fortunately there was never any sign of respiratory problems!
Now I have had him for two months and he is healthy, and active. He and his tank-mate happily share a 125 gallon tank with twin Fluval 406 filters that keep the water absolutely crystal clear. I monitor and adjust PH, and I monitor for Ammonia / nitrites / nitrates. I change water every two weeks, do a bio-scrub before putting filtered water in, and introduce a little beneficial bacteria with each water change. Twin heaters keep the water at 79 degrees, and the basking area is kept at 92 degrees by way of the light and a small fan that keeps the area from getting really hot (it will get well over 100 degrees without the fan). I use a water thermometer and an air thermometer for the basking area to make sure temperatures are kept where they should be. Twin 100 watt Reptisun bulbs in extra-long dome enclosures are suspended 12” above the turtle dock on the basking side of the tank. I use turtle-shaped tablets that sit in the bottom to introduce nutrients and vitamins into the water on a time release, and feed my RES turtles mostly with the hatchling pellets, and an occasional treat of a mealworm, or a fly, or a cricket, or sometimes a shrimp treat. They are very stimulated by live insects flailing around in the water.
Leonardo is now a strong swimmer and has an endless appetite. He is growing quickly, and I consider him a total success story, and wanted to share what I did to save my RES, since I have seen many desperate owners of sick baby RES turtles looking for advice.
So in summary, keep the water warm with a good heater to stimulate the immune system and encourage activity, install a mercury vapor bulb, keep your baby moving even if he just wants to sleep, and experiment with different foods. You will need an air thermometer for the basking area, and a water thermometer for the water so that you can monitor / adjust temperatures (do NOT trust the numbers on the water heater. Also know that your turtle may respond well to having a separate container to eat / bask in to begin with if you have any other turtles.
Be prepared to spend some money to save your turtle, and to give him a good life. The turtle may only cost $5, but what the seller doesn't tell you is that you will need so spend at least $500 to give him a proper home within the first several months, and that you will need a much bigger tank and equipment as he grows. $500 is a lot of money, so make a good light, and a water heater, along with regular water changes and thermometers, priorities. I have heard that a turtle in the condition mine was in, has little chance of survival, but this story proves that at least some turtles can be saved if you work at it. An animals life is now in your hands, so try your best! Don’t give up, your turtle is depending on you, and he deserves to be saved!
Bill - RES
