Urgent Care :: My turtle is floating unevenly!

[RyNViv]

Hi, I don't know if this is "urgent" or not, but we have a question. We have two RES; we've had them for about 3 months. We just noticed that Jetsom, the smaller one, seems to float and swim unevenly. This started about two days ago. When he's sitting on the bottom of the tank, his left side seems to float up off the bottom. When he's floating in the tank, his left side rises higher than the right. We just want to make sure there's nothing wrong with him. As far as his other habits, he's doing very well; his eating habits haven't changed, their water is between 72-75 degrees, the basking light over the floating dock is between 88-90 degrees. They both bask regularly. Should we be concerned about this? It might be a dumb question, but we just want to make sure. Thanks! Ryan & Viv

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

That sounds like the beginnings of RI (Respiratory Infection) , I would have him checked out, he needs to get medicine for the infection. I hope everything turns out alright. Good luck

Here is two links to find a reptile vet near you:

US: http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm
WORLD: http://www.arav.org/WorldMembers.htm

[steve]

yes you should be concerned. does he swim in circles or seem unbalanced? how is his coordination?


you might want to keep him seperate from the other RES for now.

[soopermum62]

I would get him to a Herp Vet ASAP, floating unevenly is a sign of pnemonia. The lungs fill with infection and make them float lopsided.

[RyNViv]

Thanks very much everyone for your advice. He doesn't swim in circles, but he does seem unbalanced on one side, the best way to describe it is like he has an air bubble or something, and one side of him floats up more than the other. He seems to walk ok, like when he's on the floating dock and walking around. They're both in a 55 gal. tank-we're going to take the other guy, Flotsam, out and put him in a 10 gal. tank for now, because that's all we have. We do have a heater and lights for the 10 gal. We did some reading on some other problems people wrote in about, and saw about giving them vitamins. My husband thought about giving him small pieces of vitamins-we can hand feed both of them-any thoughts if this would help? Tank temp-should we turn it up? Any advice would be a huge help. Thanks again..

[steve]

you should be able to get a vet to administer a vitamin shot. it shouldn't be too expensive...

[RyNViv]

Called our local vet this morning-we're taking Jetsom in tomorrow morning for his shot. Hopefully this takes care of the problem! Will keep them separated for a while-don't want Flotsam picking up this infection. I just want to say thanks to everyone who wrote in with suggestions-this is a great site, very informative and helpful! I was telling a friend of mine about taking Flotsam to the vet and she laughed-take a turtle to a vet? Some people don't "get it" when it comes to pets, but I'm glad you guys do. Keep up the great work and we'll keep you posted on his recovery!

[jenaero]

just wanted to say, one shot won't take care of it. He'll be getting several shots over several days.

[RyNViv]

Thanks jenaero, I didn't know that they had to get more than one shot. That's not a problem, we just want to get him feeling better!

[marisa]

It's good you're taking him in--there is the off chance it could be gas, but if it's been going on for a while, it's better to be safe. Try to find out what antibiotic he's getting. Let us know what happens.

[RyNViv]

Just an update on Jetsom. He went to the vet on Wed. and got one shot (I think med. is called Baytril?), plus the vet gave us 6 more to give to him at home. He's doing pretty good; eating well and swimming a lot! Little tricky giving him the shots though-have to hold the leg and put the needle in close to the shell. He's not thrilled about it either! Guess we must be doing it right though, because he's looking and acting much better!

[marisa]

The medication you're giving him should work well, follow through on all the shots even if he's acting healthy. If he loses his appetite, it's most likely the meds and he'll regain it when he's off them. (Keep offering the food, though.) Keep us posted on his progress.

[soopermum62]

Are you giving the shots in the front legs? If not please do. Giving the shots in the hind legs will let the kidneys will filter out the medication before it has time to work. Also alternate sides that you give the shots in. I.e right leg then left leg then back to the right leg.

[Toadzilla]

Hi, I just joined the forum and unfortunatly the day after i join my little guy seems to be floating sideways. Yesterday he was fine, He is just a baby ~ 1.5" and ive had him for about 2 months now. He's still eating ok. I feed him everything. Reptomin stick, ocassional feeder guppy that he likes chasing, dry shrip snack, small piece of grape, carrot.
I hope he doesnt have a RI. The water temp is kept at 78ish but goes up durring the day from the heat lamp to about 82. Could this be a cause for the RI, If he has one? Could he be constipated? I havent seen poop in a while but i also put in a pleco and i think he is eating the turtles poo.

When i get home from work i hope he is better . Love the site, Lots of good info.

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

Lobsided swimming is usually a symptom of RI, if you have doubt, you should have him checked out by a reptile vet, I hope it turns out alright.