Urgent Care :: Strange turtle poop

[txnatruong]

I have some good news! Bubba’s mouth is back to a healthy pink color and the red discoloration on his feet are now gone. He also ate today along with my three other turtles! Just did a 25% water change to the pond. Bulbasaur is still not eating but he actually feels dense now compared to before so I am hoping that he can gain a little weight and feel better with once he gets tube fed.
I will definitely check out hornwort. Can I put them in a little bucket and let water run through it to prevent the turtles from making a mess? Kind of like a plant water filter?
I will also try to make space to separate my turtles!

[steve]

Great to hear about Bubba. As for Bulbasaur, we suggest a soak for turtles not eating. Dilute some unflavored Pedialyte with some warm water (1:1) and make it deep enough so that your turtle can drink some. If you'd like, take a few crumbs from pellets and add it into the mix.

[litefoot]

Yes as Steve said when he drinks some will get some nutrition in that way. Wish we/I thought about the soaks sooner just a lot going on with your crew .

To be honest will take more than a few plants in a bucket for 300 gallons water. Plants can improve the water’s parameters to help a cycle and plants with long roots like floating plants help clean the water.
To notice any number change or quality change for 300 gallons you would need 5-8 pounds of plants. Sounds like a lot but it’s not. I used that amount in Piggley’s 150 gallon to see any helpful affect. Instead of buying them I had a 70 plant tank and grew my own from cuttings. Offer a few in Bulbasaur's tank mainly for a food source. Most turtles will eat up Anacharis. For now just work with a few for Bulbasaur as a food source then when things calm down add some in the main tank.

[txnatruong]

I have tried soaking Bulbasaur for the past month in diluted low sodium V8 juice with unflavored pedialyte and water but he started sneezing. I think it may have irritated him a bit. He lost a lot of weight and muscle so the vet was concerned and recommended tube feeding to help him get his nutrients and maybe gain a bit of his strength back. I tube fed him around 3cc of Carnivore Care mixed with warm water today. Should I start soaking him with just water and pedialyte every few days?
I will definitely start accumulating those plants. My parents and I are planning to buy some plants and build them a better basking spot this Sunday! Do you guys have any recommendations on how to keep a basking light outside? My dad was planning to build a small box to cover the light in order to protect it from the weather but we are really afraid of it falling into the pond and hurting the turtles. Also afraid of rain destroying the light and the wires.

[litefoot]

Being outside the natural sunlight alone is better. How much direct sun does the tank get. If all day I would be more concerned about offering a shaded area for them to cool down in. Or have main basking dock in the sun and offer a dry dock in a shaded area if they just want to dry off without warming up.

[txnatruong]

My backyard doesn’t get as much sun since the angle is a bit weird. Usually the sun hits the pond at around 2-6pm during the winter. During the summer, a lot of sunlight hits the pond. There are a lot of shaded areas for them to hide and cool off. I am worried that they aren’t getting warm enough while they bask during the colder seasons.

[litefoot]

I build my own light stands after I had one fall on basking area. I use electrical conduit as the frame. Very strong. Were I connect pieces together use the conduit couplings. For extra safety use the "heavy duty" couplings because if a weak spot it's there. I also add a wooden oak dowel's , not the soft popular, at the connections of the conduit for extra strength. Outside one's for a rain shield I drilled a hole in plexiglass used a rubber gourmet and added sealant on it for the wires. I used a heat gun (painters heat gun) warmed up the plexiglass and curved it down some for rain to run off it. Started with square ones but still got wet so cut out round pieces made it much easier to bend down when heated and then even protected bulbs for wind driven rain. Took a few try's but back then came out pretty good. Any DIY ideas will work for protecting the bulb's with Dad's help. Nice all the family in on this ! Make sure to use a GFI being outside for safety ! Also if extension cord is needed make sure it can handle the watt's especially if it has to be a long one.

Have a picture of the outside tank , may be able to come up with an idea.

PS : I would use the Pedialyte mixture , do all you can , for Bulbasaur.

[txnatruong]

I will let my dad know! This is what our “pond” looks like. It’s a picture from October but we made a few minor changes. The water level is lower now and there is a pedestal in the middle of the pond for the turtles to get on top and bask by climbing onto a driftwood. We also have a waterfall filter as well. We were thinking of making a bridge for the turtles to climb up to bask.

[litefoot]

Very attractive home for them !

First note! If only adding supplemental UVB bulb my type rain shield works. Most UVB's do not produce heat or maybe a very little. BUT if you use something like a mercury vapor type like a mega ray that produce both UVA and UVB then the rain shield needs to be heat proof !

Instead of the pipe stand , so not to take away from the attractive look , use wire. Like what Dad did for the hanging plants add another wood to the soffit and angle brace to wall , a screw eye or bolt on eye , wire down with a snap ring for the fixture . Extend it further to get directly over basking area. If you Dad fishes the solid stainless steel wire used for leader material works great and even 200# wire is smaller than an 1/8". Use a haywire twist on both end's attached to snap ring's , easy on then off for the winter . Would make fixture look like it's hanging in mid air. Or put angle brace lower to height you want with wood or a pipe extension to get over basking area would be easier. You would see it more so I would wrap a piece of artificial vine around bracket to hide it year round. Look more natural.

By me getting 64" rain a year I would need an over flow for that style pond to control the waters height. Depending on what part of the world you live in that may not be a problem . Piggley want's to come over and play in it !

[txnatruong]

Can I use this as a basking lamp? And would I use a normal light bulb for this? The bulbs I am looking at say no outdoor use

[txnatruong]

Also, for the water and pedialyte mixture can I leave him in there for around 4-5 hour with light?

[litefoot]

I actually have several I use but sorry not outdoors unless you seal the end were the wire goes into the socket ! Look at the end were wire goes in if socket exposed no good , I'm sure it's the exact ones I use in my hot house not water proof. If your Dad is familiar with rubber cone gaskets slide it on wire end down to shade and use sealant in the hole then yes , making it water tight on the other side of socket were wire goes in . Can be found in plumbing dept even in automotive store like photo below. Any old outdoor security light or I used the old style barn type fixtures when 100% outdoors. I just modify them to fit my needs , see picture below. They also have ceramic sockets but "just " for a cfl type UVB bulb that produce no heat a regular socket sealed well will work.

4-5 hours soaking is ok but it's keeping the water temp at a safe level. I keep an small cheap preset heater around just for a hospital tank if ever needed. Like those for a 5 or 10 gallon tank.


Not a normal light bulb , does not produce UVB. I used cheap #10 cfl UVB's , yes rated for indoors but work well for me down to 20* . It will only be on a few hours in day when shade is on basking area. That's with a good fixture to protect against the rain. Did I understand you correct trying to add UVB only because all the shade in the area during winter ?

[txnatruong]

I will look for the rubber come gaskets! I was hoping to find a bulb that can help heat the basking area a bit. My dad is planning to build a cover to protect the light.
Also, Bulbasaur’s eyes are a bit sunken in. My vet noticed this last week at the appointment but he says that Bulbasaur should be okay. I am afraid of him being dehydrated since I’ve been dry docking him this week since his skin was shedding a lot. I let him swim in shallow water for around 4-7 hours a day and let him dry dock overnight. Not sure if he’s actually drinking the water though. I am planning to soak him tomorrow for around 4-5 hours since I will be out for a bit. Is it possible to feed him some water with pedialyte while I tube feed him? My vet says to feed him small amounts of Carnivore Care until he is strong enough. Then increase the amount until he starts eating again. I have also emailed my vet asking about the possible dehydration but haven’t received an answer yet.

[litefoot]

Having an outside pond using daylight I would read up on UVB’s especially one’s that do heat too ! Some are sold for reptiles and not adequate for sliders. Only three type are good to me powersun , solarglo and megaray. Megaray’s are the best , cost more but the best usable UVB light and last 18 months the other’s only produce usable UVB rays for 5-6 months. Making megarays much cheaper in the long run ! Also “plan well” for fixture’s placement for wattage to be used. Any UVB bulb will still produce white light after the usable UVB ray stop so a UVB meter help's to know when replacement is needed.

This site has good info on UVB’s also where I but my megaray using the discount code.
http://www.reptileuv.com/shop/index.php ... e710270b0f

Watch this too: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=UV ... ORM=VRDGAR

Need to re-hydrate longer and shorter dry docking time.
When tube feeding you can just a very little at a time use the water/pedialyte.
I would still do the soak in mixture may drink some. Use the soaks as hydration time.

https://animals.mom.me/signs-dehydratio ... -6593.html

[litefoot]

This is just a thought. First do the tube feeding with the carnivore care you were told by your vet. But ask about this recipe. The center I was at made there own to fit the different species better.

In modern days people added gelatin that started jello shots for turtles , which works on healthy turtles that are picky eaters.

In the old days this slurry worked well on “tube feeding” but "no" gelatin was used ! Please ask your vet first if he/she thinks this balanced slurry can help Bulbasaur. It also will help to hydrate him too.


A blender is needed:

Parboil some carrots add to blender…
Parboil a small sweet potato add in blender
(“not” a white potato)
Add skin of an apple…
Add a few blueberries…
Some can tuna , the type in water “Never” the oil type…
Add some kale or red lettuce or romaine OR all
Crush some turtle pellets or stick’s first then add to blender to mix better…
Then a good supplement like Rep-Cal…

Puree all together may be a little thick. Most use the water from the can tuna or vitamin water at this point to get a slurry. I would use pedialyte to get the slurry just right. But water can work.

Keep used portion in refrigerator until needed . May need to thin it out some over time but still works great.
You can adjust ingredient's to what Bulbasaur like's better if needed.

Copy/paste in email to vet and see what is said.

Don't pass up post above , look at the links. Sorry for two back to back post but I think this recipe can help !