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I never knew a turtle could hide an illness long before we ever see signs of it ~ at least that is what the vet told me.

My never-ending words of wisdom. If you see typical signs of illness (posted all over this site) take your baby to the vet. It may cost more than your budget allows, but it definately will save in the long run.

A preventative check-up is about $50 in California; a check-up and medication if they happen to have an RI is about $90.

As for my Penelope, she got so sick we had to leave her in the care of a vet (in the vet hospital) to the tune of $1523 - OUCH!!!!! Not due to neglect, just her ability to be sick and still remain active and eat everything in sight the whole time.

My little Penelope barfed back in April and had a bit of diarrhea, then life went on. Swimming, eating, basking - everything like normal. Hmmm...I should have wondered back then.

Then last month (June), right before we left for vacation, she vomitted and had diarrhea again. Since we were leaving town for several weeks, we thought we would get her checked before leaving. No sooner had we made an appointment, then...

Bam!
She was down for the count!
She 'suddenly' stopped eating, diarrhea continued, she was breathing through her mouth and sleeping like a sunken rock on the bottom of her tank.
We dropped Penelope off at the vet and let the vet 'do her thing' - here's what we found several cultures and x-rays later:
Penelope had roundworms, 'almost' pneumonia, a completely empty digestive tract, and some funky algae growth on her skin (not her shell, and not fungus).
We let the vet deworm her and assist her with feeding - aka a tube down her throat.
Penelope needed shots, eye drops, nose drops and daily soak baths. We couldn't leave town and trust someone to watch her, so she stayed at the vet hospital.

Our vacation destination was in the middle of nowhere. We were able to find a phone and call the vet. While Penelope was there, they did more tests (fecal and blood) and found the first deworming got most, but not all the worms. She also had a parasite in her blood, and they noted recent trauma (based on a level of something found in her muscles). More shots, more forced feeding and more sadness.

We got home and the vet wanted to keep her a few more days. Finally, 20 days after dropping her off, we got to pick her up and bring her home. We still have one more round of shots to finish (about 4 left), have to keep her water at 82-83 degrees temporarily, and return to the vet one more time for a re-check on August 1.

I have since removed everything from the bottom of Peneleope's tank so I can keep on eye on her bowel habits (yuk) and keep everything clean (XP3 and a vaccumn)

She has started eating again - dandelions and Reptomin. She has her sleepy days, but seems to be progressing well.

What happened to cause all this? Don't know. Penelope lives by herself, and always has.
She had an exam and cultures when we first got her a year ago, and have followed all the "turtle rules" The only outside influences have been some gold fish and an algae-eater. The algae eater was new and about 4" long, but it didn't stop her from eating it.

My guess is the goldfish or algae-eater introduced the parasite(s). The trauma probably occurred because Penelope will swim full-steam ahead towards her pellet container until she is stopped by the little thing called the side of the tank. I have no idea really. I just feel really bad because I try to do everything so carefully, and watch her every move.

My opinion: don't trust goldfish!!!! or algae eaters. They have a very strong exoskeleton (sp?) that can cause internal damage (though, not in this case), that's why the vet needed the x-rays-to look for bones.

I asked the vet how Penelope could get so sick. She told me that turtles can hide their illnesses very well if they 'want to'. Often, by the time we know they are sick, they are really sick.

There really isn't a point here, other than...if you think your turtle is sick based on symptoms - see a vet.
OK - enough, I just wanted to share my sob story. Thanks for "listening"
Any questions? let me know. I have all the technical details the vet provided (too many to write here)

wow. im glad she is doing better now. and i have to say that you did an amazing job caring for her. i love it whenever people do whatever it takes to help their turtle

Oh my! What an amazing story! I am so glad you shared it with us. All the time people hesitate before going to a vet. They aren't completely sure their turtle is sick and don't want to take the time/spend the money if it isn't necessary. However, my thinking is that if someone is worried enough to question their turtle's behavior on the forum, it probably means something's wrong, and only a good vet can diagnose and treat a serious illness, and if a serious illness isn't treated, the turtle always dies. So my advice is always - when in doubt, see your vet. It's also true that we see a lot of cases where a turtle shows only minor symptoms, then suddenly dies. It's probably like what you were seeing - your turtle was really very ill but was hiding her symptoms. It happens pretty often.

I'm sure glad you were able to catch it in time. I hope little Penelope continues to improve.

Wow, what a story.

Glad penelope pulled through.

wow...i know when i got mikey from my gf's cuz he was sick with MBD. soft shell didnt like to eat too much . but with some sunlight and some good food with calicum (previous food did not!) and having a tank with 8 inches of water and room to actually be a turtle he got better in no time! shell is hard as a rock now!

but i'm glad i read this. Going to take any sympthoms you said serious though if i see them.

Wow, poor little Penelope ... That's a rough couple weeks for the little gal. At least you are one of the few responsible pet owners, many would have just given up.

Thank you for sharing Penelope's story. I hope the ordeal is over soon!

Penelope's gone through an amazing amount, and I hope she continues to recover. Kudos to you for sticking with her.

It's not only turtles, but any "prey animal" will (very successfully) hide symptoms of illness from predators for as long as possible. When symptoms finally show, the animal is extremely ill and often time is of the essence in getting medical attention to save it.

Wow

Today we gave Penelope the last of her shots!!!!
Tomorrow she goes to the vet for a follow-up.
~ we finally found a way to grasp and stretch her arm, and give her a shot without getting bitten. We also found that it was much easier to insert the needle when the skin between her neck and her arm was really taut (within reason) ~
Still, I am nearly certain I will have to worry a few more days.
I don't think the vet will give her a 'clean bill of health' until Penelope's biological samples are examined.
Here's hoping....

Great job! She's in great hands and please keep us up to date.

Yahooooo! She is all better!
The vet said we have to put a little bit of weight on her, and keep her water temperature raised for about another week.
The vet did the biological tests on-site and they came back normal.

Penelope is as spunky as ever. My husband and I are so happy!!!!!

The vet showed us signs to look for that could indicate illness even if Penelope (or any RES) is acting perfectly normal. She also gave us some examples of behavior that would typically warrant a vet visit (some I would have never thought of...)

I love my vet!!!! - Even better, she owns a couple RESs herself.

Needless to say, I'll be watching every move Penelope's makes for awhile...then life will go on.

Thus ends another chapter in the Penelope-story.

Thanks to everyone for your support!!!

Sounds like you've definitely proved yourself as an apt turtle parent!! Great job saving your little one. It'll thank you in the end

Could you share with us the behaviors that would warrent a vet visit? I'd be curious to know.

And good for you for following through and seeing to it that little Penelope got the care she needed. She's a lucky girl - and tough!

Glad to hear she is doing better! Nyxie had roundworms when I got her but I didn't even know. She was constantly hungry to the point where she was acting as if she was starving. I know turtles always act hungry but it was really out of hand. I took a poo sample into the vet and they ran a fecal and found the worms. And shots are a pain to give!!

For anyone who is worried about vet bills, check out pet insurance. I spent about $5,000 in vet bills before I discovered VPI (Veterinary Pet Insurance) and they are really awesome. You can pay monthly or yearly and they will pay 90% of the bill (after your $50 deductible). Usually when I go to the vet I am spending $180 so the money I recieve back really makes a difference.
Here is the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.petinsurance.com/index.aspx