General Care Discussion :: I don't know what to do!

[PcBuilder14]

Well if he didn't eat that one pellet that he might have ate, it will have been 2 weeks and 4 days since he ate. And the water temperature stays at 80'. Tomorrow I'm going to dip a few pellets in tuna juice and let it dry and try to feed him that. Next time I go to town I will try to get that cod liver oil. Oh and I have never seen him go underwater except one time when he was healthy and I stuck food up against the tank and he chased it about half-way down the side of the tank, and that is the only time he has ever gone underwater. Is that normal, also the middle of his plastron, or whatever the bottom of their shell is, is really soft and I am kind of worried. And someone told me to get that repti-aid stuff and I don't see how I'm supposed to get the end of that syringe into its little mouth. My other RES, Slash, Is doing great!

[SpotsMama]

How did it go with pellets dipped in tuna juice? Also, for a turtle that's lost his appetite, you can offer him a little tuna, boiled chicken or shrimp, just anything to get calories in him.

It is not normal for a turtle to not go underwater. They're aquatic creatures and in the wild they love to swim and dive.

When turtles are very young, their shells tend to be flexible (not floppy). They gradually harden over the first year until they are completely hard. The last part to harden is the area around the tail. Is the only place where the shell is soft the area on the plastron? Is the rest of the shell hard?

To get a syringe in a turtle's mouth, some turtle's will snap at anything that comes near their mouths, which gives the person an opportunity to insert the syringe.

What is "repti-aid" stuff???

[PcBuilder14]

I think the sofness of the shell is just from being really young. This turtle is weird he has never snapped and he doesn't really even try to get away from my hands. It seems like he is really, really lazy. This is the repti-aid stuff.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753955

[crackerlady2007]

I've never used that, but from the description, it looks like it would help. Try not to handle him very much. When they're so young their shell being so soft can break easily. My baby turtle that died was given to me by a freind who's little children handled it to much, so the edge of it's shell got broken. It didn't come clear off, and I don't think that's why it died, but it didn't seem like it did it any good. That's not very good for him to not eat for that long. Do you have a good light for him to bask in? Are there any other animals in the tank? Mine first lived with frogs and seemed quite lonely when we took them out. Since you just bought the turtle, maybe it's lonely. I've actually not been to a pet store before. All my turtles where given to me, and I make someone else do the shopping, but I've heard they are in there with quite a few other turtles. Maybe he's lonely? I don't know. I hope you are able to do something for him.

[PcBuilder14]

I bought Slash about 3 months ago, then about a month ago I got Flash who is the sick one, so it's not lonely, and I have a Basking light where the tamperature is about 90' and a UVB that's about 8-10 inches away. Slash the healthy turtle basks all the time so the lighting is fine. Also for the first 2 weeks or so he ate like a pig, then I did a water change and after that he won't eat. I was surprised that he wouldn't eat because He ate the day I took him from the pet store and out him in the tank.

[SpotsMama]

Did he eat the pellets soaked in tuna juice? Have you tried shrimp or boiled chicken or tuna?

[PcBuilder14]

No he wouldn't eat the pellets, and I really don't think he will eat anything no matter what. because he doesn't even react to the food. All he does is lay on the turtle dock and sleep and won't move at all.

[raverqueenage]

I think you should give it back to the pet store you got it from and NEVER buy from them again if this is the second turtle to be dying for you.

[PcBuilder14]

I may take it to a vet to get it euthinized if they will. Because it's bleeding just a little bit in some places all of the sudden.