General Care Discussion :: Possible sickness & filter question

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:58 pm   Possible sickness & filter question

My 5 year old son found a hatchling about the size of a quarter at a soccer game 2 weeks ago. I was adamant that we were taking it to the pond at our farm to release it but got suckered in by my son & husband to keep it. It's name is now Henry the Lucky. Anyway, off to Petsmart we went 2 days later & bought a 20 gallon aquatic turtle set up just to get us going. Yes, I know not the best option but we had to get Henry into something. So now I have 2 issues. The first is that in the last 2 days, I've noticed that when Henry swims one side of his body seems higher up than the other but it's not affecting his ability to swim. And he has a good appetite & gets out to bask as he should etc. But I'm just concerned this may be the beginning of something bad. Also, I know I need a better filter. And yes I have read a lot but still just don't knowk what the best choice is. I'm only familiar with underground filters. I've had a 75 gallon fish tank for years & have always preferred those but I know that they aren't a good choice for turtles. Any help is appreciated.
CaseyTom
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Mar 25, 2017
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:39 am   Re: Possible sickness & filter question

Listing could be a symptom, definitely not something to be ignored. It has been linked to respiratory infection (one lung fills with fluid) or a neurological condition (coordination problems). Without other symptoms, I would continually keep a close eye on him. What't the water temperature?

Are you able to fill up the tank or does it have a cut-out on the side? If you can fill it up, I would probably look into an Aquaclear 50 or 70.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male


Return to General Care Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests