General Care Discussion :: Turtle dewormed...now what?

[kikicool]

So, Shmeegal was dewormed about a week and a half ago. Seems as though his appetite has not returned to normal yet. He eats very little now. How long should it take for him to feel the effects of the dewormer? Is it possible his appetite is smaller because he doesn't have PARASITES in him? Just wanted to ask....

he is moving his bowels when he eats. And there's really nothing in his tank he would eat... some fake plants, but he hadn't eaten them yet.

[grey goose]

Whats his activity level? Swimming and basking? I know you had some trouble getting him to bask, and to be nice to you.....maybe because he was sick he showed it by being antisocial. Turts take awhile to recover, it took Boze over a month (it seemed like forever) for him to get back to normal after his impaction....maybe once he's feeling better he'll be more frendly toward you.

[kikicool]

Sorry, I had requested to be notified of replies, I thought... guess not. Well, he ate all his little pellets today. I think he may just like those better than most. Glad to hear it takes a little while to recover. I'm thinking his belly is prolly just a little off still. Thanks, Grey Goose!

Also? I made a new dock with ideas from teh forum--I'll post some as soon as I can. I came in today, and there he was!! BASKING ON THE DOCK!! My heart soared!

Then I heard him hiss and he jumped underwater. *sigh* Seems like I always pick the ones that play "hard to get."

[steve]

Glad to hear he is basknig. What did the vet say about the treatment?

[kikicool]

Thanks--I'll post pictures. I'm quite pleased with it, as I am SO not handy. I hadn't thoguht to ask the vet about when he'd feel better before I posted. I have to say, though, I think I figured it out. Tell me if this is possible:

While I was working on his new ramp/dock, I had to remove it. Also, I had mentioned, he wasn't basking anyway so I would put him in a separate little tub for a few hours a day. I think that stressed him out. He's a shy guy, no doubt. Not a fan of being handled. It seems that, in the TWO days I've stopped that, he's changed. He has his dock to hide under, he eats when I feed him, he's making a right mess of things in the tank...and he is back to watching me work (like right now...) Could it be that the stress of being moved each day was affecting his appetite? It seems vets don't put much value on possible behavioral reasons, you know? But as experienced "turtlers" what do YOU guys think?

[CountryGirl68]

Some turtles just don't like being handled. It can be very stressful. If you've noticed a change for the better in his behavior now that you've stopped handling him, then you should only handle him when you absolutely have to. My turtle is fine as long as he is not handled. He'll come up to us to beg for food and sometimes just to stare at us. But the minute my hand goes into the tank (when scooping up leftover lettuce or to pick up poop), he immediately hides under the dock.

[grey goose]

One of the things I learned early about handling turts was that any tasks, interaction, handling etc. should be done just before feeding. This way he comes to expect that once you are done, he'll get some food. This way he'll be more receptive to you. My little guys (with the exception of Beeker, aka "twenty minutes") will actually swim around and bump my hands as if to say "are you done yet?".