Urgent Care :: Baby res ate pebbles but is passing them

[donnamartin]

I posted yesterday in regards to my Aunts baby res. She told me he pooped out more pebbles today. I guess it is a good thing that he is passing them and he doesn't have access to pebbles anymore. Do you think he will still require surgery. The baby has not eaten so we are going to try tuna or feeder fish to see if it will eat. My question is did anyone every have this happen to them before, and is this baby going to be okay.?

[jenaero]

My res has eaten gravel and corkbark. Passed both just fine. You'll probably be fishing gravel out of there for a month like I did. Just make sure she's taking them out as soon as she sees them because he'll eat them again. If I remember correctly, she has him in a small container right? That's a good reason for him not to eat. Water and basking temps need to be stable. I think you said she was going to get a new setup next week? Tell her to put a rush on that because if he's still just a baby, he may not make it that long.

[steve]

if the turtle is eating and producing solid waste then it should be OK. if it is eating yet not producing any waste then I would take it to the vet for an xray.

[cam722]

Just curious.. but was the turtle eating before it was brought to you to babysit? I know that mine don't take well to change even in my house. I had babysat some turtles last summer and they pretty much went into panic mode because so much had changed. It took them a bit to adjust to the change but they did and they were much older. So maybe that's what's wrong with this baby, just not liking being moved around so much.

[marisa]

The fact that the gravel is coming out of the turtle is good. Warmth would definitely help the baby--water temp of 78-79F (constant) and basking area of 88-90F. If the temps are too cool, the turtle will become prone to a respiratory infection.