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Hi

So I recently got myself a pair of turtles and one of they seems to be sick.

He doesn't eat in a feeder bowl, his eyes seem puffy (left eye Is worse than the right) and he tends to shy away from any direct light. He seems very lethargic

Both turtles are in a new tank

Tank setup :

100 litre tank
Charcoal and cotton filter
2 bigger filters (will update with models tomorrow)
150w heater
Temp of the water is 25degrees celsius
Uv a and uv b buld along the canopy
I have built a custom basking area with a ramp but both turtles have yet to find it
They currently holding onto a rock with their heads above water

I have tried feeding in the tank but they never eat and the one eats happily in s separate feeding bowl

Food I have tried is pellets , dried white strips , freeze dried worms but the one is only responding to a cube of bloodworms

I have used both a conditioner and a stabilizer In the tank

I have 2 Molly's and at least 12 baby Molly's as feeder fish. It currently the turtles are treating them as friends and never chase or eat them

The pet shop gave me a treatment for fungal and bacterial infections, I have added this to the tank but haven't seen much improvement.




Any suggestions? I'm welcome to all ideas

So one eats but not the other? What kind of UVB light is it? How long has this been going on?

I have had them for a week now. Both are hatchlings and very small. Approx 7cm in length

Both the uv a and uv b are reptiglo bulbs.

The sick turtle seems disoriented and sleeps a lot. This morning I found him holding onto the wire of the filter and sleeping, moving him from the wire he plonked to the bottom of the tank and after a min he woke up and swam to the other side of the tank. The other turtle is a lot more curious of his surrounding . He has found a common hiding spot and basking spot. He reacts when you open the canopy lid and normally hides of you come close to him.

The puffy eyes are only affecting the sick turtle so far

If I attempt to move the sick turtle to the basking area he will stay there, but the healthy turtle seems to prefer to just hide away.

I have tried some finely cut lettuce and carrots but both were not interested in eating

Try leaving the UVB lamp off for now. I'd also try some Zoo Med Repti Turtle Eye Drops. Him not eating for a week is pretty serious. I'd place him in a small container for feeding, add some unflavored Pedialyte with water (1:1) and some food/pellet crumbs as well.

So the puffy eyes have subsided. I'm owing this to a combination of increasing the water temp to 28 degrees Celsius and also the water treatment.

I have tried each day to get him to feed but he seems to lethargic . He often sleeps ontop of a few plants away from the basking area and moves slowly.

The other turtle is feeding a lot better. I have tried a small container that's white instead of see-thru. Now instead of staring out the side and trying to escape he concentrates on the food and is eating the bloodworms and dried shrimp. He ignores the pellets and vegetables today but will keep trying.

I'd try the Pedialyte soak described above. Live prey (minnows) is also very enticing.