Urgent Care :: Strange turtle poop

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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:37 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

I'm an old man now only have used ivermectin in the old days at the center I volunteered at but it had bad side effect. Fenbendazole is newer and only hear it's good and much safer .

Looking at photo a "long time" and wishing it to be a bloodworm. That's only a name , it's known as a midge larvae. Which is very similar to mosquito larvae. Let the vet decide which type and treatment course and dosage. This is treatable. I know how you feel if it was my Piggley my child/ friend it would be hard to see him sick.
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2019 10:21 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Thank you so much for the information! I went into panic mode and started searching up different types of worms. I found this image on google and it seems to match the worm that I found. So I’m hoping that it is a midge larvae and is not harmful to my turtles. I also started tracking my turtles’ weight so I hope that will help indicate whether or not it may be a parasite infection. I am still waiting for my vet to reply back but I don’t think he will since it is Sunday. I’m going to have to somehow force myself to sleep tonight without feeling so anxious. :(
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 2:32 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

If you have a pond outdoors, it will attract all sorts of instincts and animals. The injury to mouth is more of a concern right now. Dry docking and observing is the right move for now.
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 3:19 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Hi Steve, I have brought Bubba inside the house and I am currently dry docking him! He was bleeding a little bit later from his mouth during the evening but it stopped at night. He is still alert and active and I will try feeding him in a bit to see how he reacts to it. Currently trying to make an appointment but my vets won’t be in until tomorrow and there is still a small chance of me getting an appointment tomorrow due to how busy they are. :(
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:45 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Are you saying to Steve he started to bleed today again. Or you are talking about on the 20th the bleeding from the tissue you found in his mouth then ? Hopefully no mouth problem and maybe a little more vomiting up another worm. He has enough going on. Have you been able to inspect his mouth again ? I know last time you did not see any injury and he ate. But as a precaution keep dry docking him.
Hope you talking about the bleeding from the other day and not bleeding again today !
What about today 21st did he eat anything yet? Don't forget to hydrate him while dry docking. A short swim ( 30-40minutes) when feeding him does it or as needed.

Did the vet respond to photo you sent ?
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 6:51 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

He was bleeding yesterday on the 20th and there is no sign of blood today! I left him in shallow water today and he ate some pellets. He seems to be fine and is climbing the sides of the tub. I am going to keep him dry docked for a few more days just to be sure. I’ll try to get him to open his mouth too.
The vet hasn’t replied back to me yet and the earliest appointment that I can get is on February 8th. I am first on the waitlist if anybody cancels earlier than that. I am hoping that my vet can reply by tomorrow. :(
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 7:58 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

That's good. I also like he has strength to try and escape the dry docking. Make sure he can't tilt it over ! The fenbendazole and fortaz may be helping. Two vets I talked to said your vet may want to keep the fenbendazole going for a week or even more to make sure all stages are gotten . Ask him/her what he thinks.

Eating more is good !

Piggley opens his mouth on command , well that is when I push his head back by his nose. Then again he may just want to taste my finger.... ?
He does work with me !

How's Bubba doing ?

Get a good sleep tonight the both of you !
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 8:53 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

Bubba is not on any medication as of now and is the one with the bleeding mouth. He seems to still be very strong though. I tried feeding him again but he kept trying to escape rather than eat. I will ask the vet to put him on antibiotics once my vet is available! I also looked in his mouth and there are no signs of him bleeding.
Bulbasaur got his second shot of fortaz yesterday and I will be starting him on his second treatment of Fenbendazole on Monday, the 28th. Hoping for the best!
I’ll keep updating this post with more information once I get some.
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 9:04 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

My turtles react similarly like Piggley. A bit of agitation they will retract their head but open their mouth aggressively. Good time to look inside, but be careful of course. Do they get a lot of observation in the pond? There could be some aggression that you haven't seen.
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Post Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2019 9:47 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

I check them around 3-5 times a day. I did notice Bubba trying to bite my other turtle, Momo. I would usually break up the fight by separating them. They have been fine recently and I made sure to check for injuries in case he was able to bite her. He’s aggressive in the water but they all bask together fine. I think I may try to separate my two girls from the males in my pond. Still figuring out how to exactly do this with the amount of space that I have. :(
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:58 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

Bet more going on than what you see that you would not like. What would you do with 20 or more babies. It's hard enough with 5 already. I assume it a rigid tank buried in ground. That's how I started. I got a pallet of cinder blocks and a liner extended around the buried stock tank making it much larger. Part inground and part above ground helped for a few years until all were adults. I ended up with 4000 gallons which in 2005 was making larger just for 6 adult RES's and a few adult Koi. Also had a large beach area for nesting. Then the unthinkable , Hurricane Katrina , levees broke and lost all of them. House , car, boat all but the cloths on our back , life started over ! Twenty two foot storm surge then nine feet of flood water sat on them for 21 days. Today it's just Piggley and me but very happy now.
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Post Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 12:45 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

I am sorry to hear that. :( I’m glad that Piggley is doing well though! I will definitely try to separate my males from the females. I was able to get an appointment with my vet tomorrow! Hoping all is well and that a round of antibiotics and other medication will make all of my turtles feel better. Bubba ate a lot today but he was breathing a bit hard so I will ask the vet for more information.
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Post Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 8:25 pm   Re: Strange turtle poop

How did the vet visit go? Try not to overfeed, even if you are making up for lost meals. Easing them back to their normal routine is a bit safer.
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:46 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

Bulbasaur is still not eating but he seems a bit more active now after getting his Fortaz injections. I will be tube feeding him starting Friday if he still refuses to eat. The vet prescribed Fortaz and Fenbendazole for both Bubba and Koopa! Bubba has some mucus coming out of his mouth and the vet said that he had an infection going on in his mouth. Koopa has a minor shell infection. All of my turtles are now on Fenbendazole as the stool sample showed parasites. He said the amount wasn’t too alarming but they will be getting one dose every two weeks for 3 treatments total. I will make sure to get them back to routine again. I usually feel them 3-5 times a week but I was afraid of them losing weight so I had started feeding them everyday. I will definitely cut back a bit now since I feel less anxious! Also planning to do partial water changes around 2 times a week to improve the water quality. Hopefully this will be my last vet visit for a while. :(
Do you guys have any suggestions for live plants that can be kept with turtles? I’m hoping that plants can help improve the water quality! Also, thank you to both you and litefoot for helping me with my questions!! I felt a lot better and gained more knowledge about how to keep turtles. :)
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Post Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 7:27 am   Re: Strange turtle poop

Sounds like your vet has them on a path to get better. Will still take time and patience.

Hornwort is a good one that helps water quality and grows fast to keep up with your crew. Anacharis would be another. Along with floating frogbit and water lettuce. All will become a food source for them. Even with store bought plants clean well and quaratine awhile for hitchhikers. Just let them "all" float ! If you try to root them most turtles will dig them up , just to curious to see what's under them , they will win ! Also will add more maintenance but may get them eating more.

Larger water volume for 5 turtles will help a lot and or the separation we talked about. Look at farm supply store's for stock tanks much cheaper there.
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