Urgent Care :: found turtle after 7 months

[xtremetenacity]

Well I had three turtles and and they all ran away but one day i found one then a couple of months after i found another one and today after 7 months i found the last one. I wasnt sure if it was dead or not the legs were out and it had very slow response so i put it in some warm water and tried giving it food but didnt eat. So now it's just floating in the water not moving but whenever i pick it up it sticks it's head out. Is it dead is it about to die? What do i do? Im afraid? I dont want it to die.

[zero_tails]

wait, are you trying to say you lost your turtles within your house for several months? how is that possible. unless they found some way to food and water..that can't be right. and 7 months of being lost without supervision? it would have been dead waaay before the 7 months. can you clarify your situation a little bit more?

[xtremetenacity]

they've been living outside in a pond and when i noticed all of them gone i decided to move them inside in a tank and today i found one of my turtles outside

[zero_tails]

ok then that makes everything a lot clearer. it is possible for the turtles to survive that long if it was outdoors (considering that you live near a creek or some body of water asides your own pond) im guessing that theyve grown quite a bit, if they havnt then they were probably malnourished during their experience outside of human care. and the latest turtle that you found, if its floating and motionless its a possibility that you may have lost him/her already. but you say that his/her head sticks out when you remove him/her from the water, but how is its head coming out, sticking up or bobbing down? if its bobbing down, im sorry to say that your turtle may be gone. but how are you so sure that they are your turtles, what if they were some random turtles that walked up to your yard?

[xtremetenacity]

i know they were mine because i put a bit of some nail polish on there backs. I just checked on it and moved it's head out and made a hissing noise but it barely moves. So does that mean it's dead? And when i took it out of the water it seemed like it was out of breath it was like it was inhaling and exhaling.

[zero_tails]

not all hope is lost yet. your turtle is very weak and is losing a lot of its life fast. it also sounds like your turtle is exhibiting symptoms of respiratory infections. i suggest you bring him to the vet asap. my turtles symptoms was exactly like yours. but i didnt take him to the vet soon enough. dont make the same mistake i did. im pulling for your turt.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You realy shouldnt put nail polish on a turtles shell......are you crazy?

[zero_tails]

hopefully it wasnt toxic, we should stick to the topic because his turt is in really bad condition.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Just because it isnt toxic it doesnt mean it wont do damage. But yes, i agree that we should stay on topic. xtremetenacity, your turtles need a vet ASAP. You can still save them.

[marisa]

Does he move his head on his own? Are his eyes open? Don't try to force his head out of his shell. If you pull gently on a foot, does he pull it into his shell?

How warm is the water you have him in (don't have it too warm---check it with a thermometer). Take him to a vet ASAP. In the meantime, you could add some Pedialyte to the water if he's dehydrated (will add electrolytes).

[xtremetenacity]

He moves his head on his own and just recently i saw him moving around a bit

[zero_tails]

that's a great sign, hopefully you contacted a vet to get him/her checked up.

[xtremetenacity]

i really wanna bring it to a vet but i dont have that kind of money to do that

[SpotsMama]

Have you put some Pedialyte in the water yet? If not, go ahead and do that.

Most vets will work with you on the money. First of all, you need to find out what they would charge. Call several vets if the first one is too high. Maybe it's not as much as you think. Then, see if they will let you pay out the bill over time.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Alot of vets will cut you a break, spotsmama gave you some great advice, unfortunately your turtle will not survive unless taken to a vet.

Good luck