See the full details below. We are trying to come to terms with what is happening to our RES Lucky. She is five years old this month and, up to this point, has been the picture of health — other than concern once after a little tumble and slight bleeding from a shell (which we went to the Vet for and treated with topical) about three years ago.
Well about 10 days ago we had noticed the tiniest of tiny red spot on the plastron, just below her neck. So tiny we were worried we thought she had cut herself and we were relieved when it wasn't blood (in retrospect we missed an early sign). Nothing else suggested illness, no respiratory issues, no breathing issues, no abnormal routines, totally active, eating as much as ever. We chalked it up to just a freak thing. On Saturday, six days later, we were both home and noticed for the first time that prior to basking she would just hang out at the bottom of the tank — pretty unusual for her to be inactive when at the bottom and then we noticed the red spot had become a red blotch on her plastron and there was some red on the inside of her carapace as well, near her skin. We immediately called the vet, who couldn't get her in until Monday a.m. Otherwise, throughout the weekend she was again mostly a picture of health when not hanging out on the bottom. Monday morning when we were getting her ready for the vet, she had slept on the bottom (usually she sleeps in her basking area), but when coaxed awake swam, ate, although she was a little more lethargic and now there was a red spot on her tail, but only slightly more lethargic than her usually hyper-active self.
The vet immediately confirmed the few things we knew: no obvious cuts, no scrapes, no shell issues (she had been shedding a little abnormaly, which the vet said she would have otherwise chalked up to just some humidity or something, not cause for concern on its own), her eyes were clear, nothing coming from her nose or mouth. We told her about our setup, a slightly small tank for her size (we live in NYC and a 50 gallon tank is literally all we can spare— in March we moved places and downgraded from a 75-gallon tank that was 3/5 full with in-tank basking area), but we have it filled to very top and built her an above tank basking area that nearly runs the distance of the tank. So no obvious reason why she could be showing signs of sepsis.
The doctor took X-Rays — no signs of pneumonia, no signs of an obstruction in her stomach, nothing to suggest a sick turtle. The doctor noticed her mouth and tongue were "slightly" pale. Unfortunately, Lucky's blood was so thin that they couldn't do adequate blood work, thus hard to know what else could be going on. She gave the turtle fluids, a shot of iron and a vitamin shot. She then prescribed Cefotaxime/Clarafan (something I have not seen for a turtle in any of my readings) — a total of 200 MG distributed in seven shots over seven days. She said it was the best as it would respond to gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, since we couldn't know for sure. She avoided using the word septicemia and said she hopes Lucky improves.
We did a 100 percent water change last night. We also changed a few things, a new filter pad or two, we scrubbed everything more intensely than usual (we typically do 100 percent changes every three to four weeks). I identified that in my homemade ramp there was some rusting from a metal element, so we removed that element. We warmed it up slightly (to like 92 degrees and her water to 88 degrees).
We gave the second shot this morning. She is noticeably more lethargic this morning than yesterday, swimming awkwardly across the tank and hanging her back legs. But she did eat veraciously. There are no new red spots we see, although the old ones haven't subsided. I want to attribute some of her increasing lethargy to the shots and overall stressful day. But we have accepted that something is wrong with our turtle, there is no logical cause to her illness and it very well may not be bacterial, and there may be no turning back from this.
Just curious if others have encountered anything close to this, a nearly perfectly healthy turtle could turn on a dime so quickly, even as it is unclear what the overall. Anything we are seeing that we missed? The vet really seemed super qualified, asked the right questions, but the fact she used an antibiotic I have never seen mentioned in the boards is slightly cause for concern.
For now we just worry when we are away and are hopeful that she doesn't fall off any more.
INFO:
How big is your turtle? 5.5 inches
How long have you had it? 5 years
What is the water temperature? 84 degrees
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 50 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? Yes, XP4
What is the basking temperature? 90 degrees
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? We built a custom plastic box that stands on top of 50-gallon tank, it runs about 30 inches by 11.5 inches and is carpeted
Is there a UVB light? Yes
What have you been trying to feed it? Red Leaf Lettuce, Anachoris, Reptamin, some carrot
When was the last time your turtle ate? This morning
How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 50 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? In our bedroom (we live in New York, small apartments and such)
Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes
Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? See above
